A Reddit user said they were summoned to an HR meeting after discussing salaries with a coworker, in a post on r/careeradvice that drew more than 1,500 upvotes as of publication. Users are debating why employers discourage workers from discussing compensation.
The poster explained that the conversation began casually while discussing raises and the rising cost of living. "A few days ago, a coworker and I were talking about salary raises and the cost of living, and I didn't really see a reason to hide it, so I told them," the user wrote.
"They shared their salary too, and we realized there's a pretty big difference even though we do almost the same job."
The employee said they "[weren't] trying to cause problems or encourage anyone to complain," but after word of the conversation spread around the office, their manager informed them that HR wanted to meet. According to the post, the manager said discussing pay could "cause problems" in the workplace.
Unsure how to approach the meeting, the poster asked whether discussing salaries was legally protected and sought advice from others who had faced similar situations.
The discussion turned to U.S. labor law, as numerous commenters pointed to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which states that most private-sector employees have the right to discuss wages and other terms and conditions of employment with coworkers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). So employers generally cannot prohibit/retaliate against employees for these protected conversations.
One commenter wrote, "Assuming you are located in the U.S it's illegal for them to discipline you in any way for talking about salary to anyone," and linked to the NLRB's guidance on employee rights.
Others suggested documenting discussions with HR. For example, one Reddit user wrote, "Get the content of that HR meeting in writing," and that the employee send a follow-up email summarizing the conversation and asking HR to confirm what they understand.
Another commenter who identified themselves as an HR director said the legal protections generally apply in the United States. "If you're in the U.S., discussing your wages with coworkers is generally protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)," the commenter wrote. "That said, I'd keep the HR meeting short and professional. Don't volunteer extra information or speculate about who said what."
Many commenters also argued that salary transparency primarily benefits employees by helping identify unequal pay or below-market compensation. "Not talking about pay is only to the benefit of the company, not the employees," one comment read.
Another added, "Your employer got caught underpaying your colleague, and now they are trying to make like you did something wrong."
