Proposed Law Would Require Employers to Share YOUR Paycheck Information with Co-Workers
In the interest of what they are calling fairness, two Congresswomen want the details of your paycheck to be public.Not sure where it will go, but late last week Congresswomen Barbara A. Mikulski and Rosa DeLauro, both Democrats, introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, which they claim would greatly enhance fairness in the workplace.
According to the two legislators, women only make .77 cents on the dollar compared to men in the workplace, and they want to do away with legal action or punishments for workers who discuss their salaries amongst themselves.
Currently, federal law allows employers to reprimand or sue workers who divulge their paycheck and salary information. These two legislators consider it a loophole in the 1963 Equal Pay Act. The new bill would allow women to seek punitive damages for pay discrimination. It would also require employers to share previously private payroll information for the purpose of showing that pay disparities are due to performance, not gender.
It would essentially open up numerous previously private areas of YOUR paycheck to others in your business. While everyone knows workers often discuss how much they make, many others wish to keep that private. It's no secret that some workers become jealous when they learn other people doing the same job are making more, often because of better performance.
The two Congresswomen believe opening up payroll information and removing punishments for discussing salary will eliminate inequities in the workplace.
We think it will just open up a can of worms, because spreading everyone's salary information around the workplace will just create an uncomfortable environment.