Can the boss share salary information with everyone?

Carrie Mason-Draffen

12:57 PM EDT, April 11, 2008

DEAR CARRIE: My company recently merged with another, so we have a new district manager. He and I got off to a bad start because he divulged my salary and caused an uproar among my new co-workers.

Some of them do the same job as I but make considerably less. When the manager received new salary and bonus information from the corporate office, instead of detaching relevant pages and e-mailing them to individuals, he did a mass e-mail. When I called him on this, he responded, "What's the big deal? They all tell each other anyway." I now know what all my counterparts make, and they know what I make for the same job, in some cases as much as $20,000 more. After I complained to my manager's bosses, he sent a letter of apology. But he can't take back violating my privacy and peace of mind. What recourse do I have? --Salary Snafu

DEAR SALARY: Even though the manager showed poor judgment, he didn't break the law, according to Richard Kass, a partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King in Manhattan.

"Employees have no right to privacy in their salaries," Kass said. The manager may have "acted stupidly," he said, but he did not break any laws.

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Your situation is unusual because companies typically get into trouble for directing employees to keep their salaries secret and then trying to punish those who exchange salary information, Kass said.

In those situations "employers are breaking the law," he said. "The National Labor Relations Act gives nonsupervisory employees the right to speak with each other about the terms and conditions of their employment."

DEAR CARRIE: I am a manager at a company that has been sold for the third time. Through the first two owners, my hours remained at 45 a week, which my salary is based on. We were grandfathered in at 45 hours. But now the new owner wants us to work 50 hours a week without additional compensation -- which, in effect, lowers my hourly pay. Can the company do this? What's to stop the company from increasing our hours whenever they want to? Working 9 to?

DEAR WORKING: If you are truly a manager, your company can generally increase your hours at any time without paying you any more. But if a union or employment contract restricts your hours, the company would have to honor that. Otherwise, join the club:

"It's rather common for employees' hours to be increased, and even more common for managers' hours to be increased," said Irv Miljoner, who heads the Long Island office of the U.S. Department of Labor. "We hear from them all the time."

Nonexempt employees -- generally hourly workers -- must be paid for all the hours they work. But exempt employees -- those who fall into the executive (including managers), professional, administrative or outside-sales categories -- don't have to be paid for all hours worked. In fact, those employees are exempt from overtime and even the minimum wage. But companies can't just declare an employee exempt because they want to. The person has to meet a duties test. For managers that includes making at least $455 a week and working primarily as a manager.

For more on exempt employees, go to the Department of Labor's Web site: www.dol.gov/esa/regs/ compliance/whd/fairpay/fs17b_executive.pdf.