Can My Boss Stop Me From Discussing My Wage?

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is a federal law that protects employees’ rights to engage in concerted activities, including discussing wages and other employment-related matters, and it applies to most private-sector employers in Texas. As a result, Texas employers subject to the NLRA may not lawfully impose policies or take disciplinary action against employees for discussing pay or other terms and conditions of employment, with limited exceptions for workers outside the NLRA’s coverage.

While Texas does not have a state law specifically granting or restricting the right to discuss pay, the NLRA’s broad protections preempt contrary employer policies for covered employees. Employers who attempt to restrict such discussions risk violating federal law and may face unfair labor practice charges. However, the NLRA does not apply to all workers—supervisors, certain agricultural and domestic workers, independent contractors, and public-sector employees are excluded—so restrictions may be lawful as to those categories.

Scope of NLRA Coverage

The NLRA’s protections apply broadly to private-sector employers, but there are important exclusions. The following categories are not covered by the NLRA:

These exclusions are significant because, for employees falling outside the NLRA’s coverage, the federal protections described above do not apply, and Texas law does not provide a parallel statutory right to discuss pay.

Texas State Law

There is no Texas statute that expressly prohibits or restricts employer policies on employee discussions of pay or other employment-related matters. Nor is there a Texas law that affirmatively grants employees the right to discuss such matters. As a result, the question of legality for most Texas employers is governed by the NLRA and federal law.

Application to Texas Employers

Because the NLRA is a federal law of general applicability, it preempts contrary state law or employer policy for covered employees. Texas private-sector employers subject to the NLRA cannot lawfully restrict or discipline employees for discussing pay or other terms and conditions of employment. This includes prohibitions in employee handbooks, confidentiality agreements, non-disparagement clauses, or any other workplace policy.

The provided sources uniformly confirm that Texas law does not provide a separate statutory right or restriction regarding pay discussions. Therefore, the federal rule governs for most private-sector workplaces in Texas.

Categories Not Covered by the NLRA

The NLRA does not protect all employees. The following categories are excluded:

For these excluded categories, Texas employers may lawfully restrict discussions of pay or other employment-related matters, unless another federal or state law applies (such as anti-retaliation provisions in specific contexts, or whistleblower protections).

Employer Protections and Limitations

While the NLRA prohibits restrictions on employee discussions of pay, it does not prevent employers from protecting genuinely confidential business information that does not pertain to terms and conditions of employment. For example, employers may lawfully require employees not to disclose trade secrets or proprietary information, provided such policies are not so broad as to encompass protected concerted activity.

Additionally, employees who have access to wage information as an essential function of their job (such as HR personnel) may be subject to restrictions on disclosing that information to individuals who do not otherwise have access, as noted in the legislative history of proposed federal laws. However, this is a narrow exception and does not apply to employees discussing their own pay or that of coworkers when such information is not obtained through a special position of trust.