“Many workers don’t know how much their counterparts are paid, and it’s not easy to find out. Private employers have no obligation to disclose employees’ earnings. While the National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of individuals to disclose their own salaries, these rights are difficult to protect in practice.

A recent national survey conducted on behalf of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that 61 percent of employees in the private sector reported that they are either discouraged or prohibited from discussing wage and salary information.”