Man sparks anger over claim his wife was fired for discussing salary with her co-workers

‘Wrongful termination, lost wages... you’re going to have a good time’

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A man has sparked anger after claiming that his wife was terminated from her job, on her second day, because she discussed her salary with her co-workers.

In a recent post shared in the Reddit subreddit “Anti-Work,” a user who goes by u/Trillanasi and who is based in Illinois, revealed how his wife’s co-workers at her new job asked her about “wages.” According to the Reddit user, his partner’s colleagues weren’t very pleased when they found out that she “made more than them”.

“Yesterday at work my wife’s new co-workers asked her how much she made and when she told them, they found out [that] she made more than them,” he wrote. “Fast-forward to today, when my wife gets to work, she finds out that one of the new co-workers quit over the wages and they fired my wife on the spot for discussing wages.”

In a follow up to the post, the original poster (OP) noted how he’s been in contact with “local employment lawyers” about the situation. He also said in the comments that he and his wife are “filing complaints now and getting in contact with [his] family lawyer to see if this is worth pursuing”.

As of 25 April, the post has more than 41,500 up votes, with readers in the comments expressing ways in which the Reddit user’s wife could get paid for her two days at work.

According to one person, the OP’s wife should send an email to her former employer that reads: “‘Since I know you are angry enough about the fact that I discussed my wages with co-workers to fire me, I wanted to check to see if I was at least going to be paid for the hours that I did work on those two days.’”

“Get her to beg for her job back, and record the call where she states she won’t talk about her wages again, because they don’t allow it,” another person wrote. “And see if they can confirm that she was fired for talking about wages.”

Others recommended getting the reason she was fired “in writing,” so the couple could potentially sue the company.

“If she can get it in writing- you guys may as well drive down and give her ex-boss a big kiss because you just got a payday,” one person claimed. “Wrongful termination, lost wages / work opportunity, punitive damages... you’re going to have a good time.”

However, some claimed that the woman may not be able to take legal action, as the company will likely protect itself.

“Companies have HR [departments], legal [departments], they know how to protect themselves. It’s unfortunate and sucks for OP’s wife but if you are in an at-will state, be careful with what you do, the game is rigged against you,” one person wrote.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, most US states use an “at-will employment,” meaning that “an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason” or “for no reason without incurring legal liability”.

The Independent has reached out to u/Trillanasi for comment.