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Advice & Opinion

It's legal to compare paychecks with coworkers. Do it before you ask for a raise.

Most private-sector workers are protected when they talk pay, and prices are still climbing.

It's legal to compare paychecks with coworkers. Do it before you ask for a raise.
Stock photo. Photo by Mina Rad on Unsplash

If your last raise felt like it vanished at the checkout line, the numbers back you up. Private-sector wages and salaries rose 3.1% in the year ending in September, but after inflation they fell 0.6%, according to the Labor Department's Employment Cost Index. And prices aren't slowing: what businesses pay for goods and services is up 6.5% in a year, the most since 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

If your employer sets raises at the end of the year, now is the time to make your case. Here's how to ask for a raise that actually keeps up.

1. Bring the government's numbers, not your feelings

"Everything costs more" is true and easy to brush off. A number from your boss's own government isn't. Write down three:

  • Wages after inflation fell 0.6% for private-sector workers over the year ending in September (Employment Cost Index).
  • Real hourly pay was flat in October, and real weekly pay for hourly, non-supervisory workers fell 0.3%, BLS reported.
  • Producer prices are up 6.5% over 12 months (BLS), on top of a hotter-than-expected consumer price report this month.

A raise below inflation is a pay cut with a nicer name. Say that plainly, and politely.

Plenty of bosses act like salaries are a state secret. For most private-sector workers, they aren't. Under the National Labor Relations Act, "employees have the right to communicate with their coworkers about their wages," the National Labor Relations Board says, face to face, by phone or in writing, "whether or not you are represented by a union."

The Board also says:

  • "Policies that specifically prohibit the discussion of wages are unlawful."
  • Your employer can't punish you, question you, threaten you or spy on you for talking about pay.

Two catches. The law doesn't cover supervisors, independent contractors, farmworkers, domestic workers or government employees. And if you're punished, the clock is short: the Board can't act on a charge filed more than six months after the violation. You can call the NLRB at 844-762-6572 for help filing.

3. Make the case about your work

Inflation explains why you need more. Your work explains why you've earned it. Before the meeting, list what you took on this year: the coworker whose job you absorbed, the project you saved, the customers who ask for you by name. Put numbers on it where you can.

4. Ask for a number, in writing

Name a specific figure that at least beats inflation. Ask in a meeting, then follow up with a short email summarizing what you asked for and what your manager said. If the answer is "not now," ask what you'd need to show and by when, and put that in the email too. A paper trail turns a vague promise into something you can point to in three months.

5. If the answer is still no

A no tells you something. Compare notes with coworkers (legally, see above), check what similar jobs pay elsewhere, and decide whether your loyalty is being paid for. And if your workplace has a union, or you're thinking about one, pay is exactly what a contract puts in writing.

Sources

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