Apparently high school kids know a lot about equal pay! Here’s a new one for you: A 17-year old female employee was recently fired for demanding equal pay. But here’s the kicker: The employer ended up firing her male counterpart as well!
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A pizza restaurant in Kansas is under fire after a 17-year-old female worker was fired for asking why she wasn’t paid the same amount as her male counterpart. The female employee was hired at $8 an hour; her male friend (who also worked there) was making $8.25 an hour.
The female employee immediately questioned why she wasn’t making the same amount of money as her friend. They both did the same job, had the same level of experience, had been hired around the same time, and were the same age; so why weren’t they paid the same wages? According to the employer, it’s against company policy to discuss wages … as a result of breaking that rule, both employees were terminated. But wait—isn’t it illegal to ban such discussions, you ask?
According to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which applies to private employers, there is a long-standing policy against any prohibitions on employees discussing their wages or other terms or conditions of employment. As such, a rule or policy maintained by an employer that would reasonably tend to chill employees’ exercise of their rights under the NLRA is unlawful, even if the rule is not enforced.
It is unclear if the teenager will file a claim at this time, but keep in mind, just because they’re in high school doesn’t mean you can pull the wool over their eyes! No one is happy when they learn they’re making less than someone else for doing the same exact job!