Employee immediately teaches manager a lesson for asking team in group chat not to discuss wages

One of the most reassuring rewards for an employee might be receiving the pay they truly deserve. So, naturally, employees tend to compare their salary with that of their co-workers to know how much their employer values them. Unfortunately, some companies try to stop their employees from discussing wages so that they don't have to offer an answer to them. That was the case for u/jcrexature2112 on Reddit whose workplace prohibited the employees from revealing each other's wages. However, the shrewd employee knew how to quickly shut their boss down with facts.

"Manager asked in a group text not to discuss wages. I shut it down real quick. Know your rights and don't give an inch!" the employee titled the post. In the snapshot of the group text attached, the manager addressed the team about a problem with "professionalism." The text read, "I have now had 4 people come back to me about the rates of pay that someone may have been offered. This has to stop." They then explained that the difference in pay could be because of various reasons and people discussing wages have been causing problems for the management. 

"I apologize if this is coming off harsh but seems like it keeps happening. Please do not discuss any further whatever it is that you get paid. It is a policy," the manager added. Though they understood that employees tend to discuss wages, they asked the team to keep it private- between them and the company. On receiving this message, the employee decided to stand up for themselves. "Asking us not to discuss wages is illegal," they replied to the manager's text. The manager clapped back saying, "How is that illegal? I am confused." That's when the employee gave the manager a reality check with facts about "pay transparency" laws by sharing links to the sites that explained employees' rights. 

The fact check humbled the manager who apologized saying, "I am very sorry. I was not taught that. Thank you. I will talk to HR." After speaking to HR, the manager again apologized in the group text, said that he never intended to break the law and promised not to repeat the mistake again. When this Reddit post went viral, many users lauded the manager's sensible response which was unlike toxic managers who never take accountability. However, the employee pointed out in a comment, "I don't know whether the manager actually went to HR, but I will be following up because they questioned our professionalism for one, and it was explicitly communicated that this is a company policy. If it is company policy that's a problem, and if it isn't, the manager outright lied to us to be intimidating."

Others shared the employee's perspective about how the manager tried to defy the employees' rights. "From my personal experience, most of my supervisors, managers, bosses and payroll people have never read any laws about my employment and wages and work strictly by 'word of mouth,'" said u/dontworryitsme4real. "You need to begin documenting every interaction with management, no matter how insignificant it seems at the time," warned u/Nevermind04. "I would say 90% of managers have no idea it is a federally protected workers' right to discuss their pay. As long as the workers also don't know this, the companies will continue to threaten workers to keep them quiet," added u/Comments_Wyoming.