[kasey_junk]

Most discussions about salary are federally protected in the US and backed up by court decisions in nearly every state. If you get fired for talking about salary you almost certainly can seek redress from the National Labor Relations Board.

[wil421]

Companies usually wouldn't fire you for talking about salary but they will find another reason to fire you for talking about salary.

I've seen people get fired for being late to a meeting once. The real reason they got fired was something else but on paper and what they told the person was for being late.

[debacle]

You are completely correct, however I have personally seen two employee handbooks that forbid discussing salary and, living in an at-will state, I'm sure if I discussed salary I would be fired for something completely unrelated.

[kasey_junk]

I have as well and have pointed out that it is probably illegal and potentially opens them to civil liability.

I've also seen manager training materials that specifically tell managers not to even hint that salary is a secret topic as the liability involved is problematic.

It is one thing to claim that worker protections don't exist, its another to claim that you refuse to take advantage of them.

[kenko]

It's still true that you have limited practical redress if you're fired (especially in an at-will state).

[dbingham]

I've also seen an employee handbook that forbid salary discussions. When I politely pointed out to them (with references) said statement was illegal, the response I got was very cold.