NLRA Concerted Activity Rights

Federal law protects your right to discuss wages, working conditions, and collective workplace concerns with coworkers — even without a union.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives most private-sector employees the right to engage in 'concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.' In plain terms: you have a federally protected right to discuss your wages, hours, and working conditions with coworkers, and your employer cannot legally retaliate against you for doing so. This right exists regardless of whether you're in a union — it applies to virtually all private-sector employees.

The implications are broader than most employees realize. Your employer cannot lawfully: prohibit you from discussing your salary with coworkers, fire you for complaining about working conditions with other employees, discipline you for organizing a group complaint to management, or create policies that effectively chill these conversations. 'Concerted activity' doesn't require a formal union — two employees discussing their pay at lunch are engaging in protected concerted activity. An employer who retaliates can face an NLRB unfair labor practice charge.

Common unlawful employer policies include blanket bans on discussing compensation (these appear in many employee handbooks and are nearly always unlawful for non-supervisory employees), prohibitions on talking to coworkers about workplace complaints, and policies requiring employees to keep personnel matters confidential in ways that prevent collective action. The NLRB actively investigates these violations — if your employer has a 'don't discuss your salary' policy, that policy is likely illegal, and you're protected if you disregard it.