So I work at a preschool, been here just under a year. I got hired on at $15/hr, good for my area and for having no experience or degree. A few months in, I was talking to a few coworkers who had been there significantly longer than me (at the time, I was around 6 months employed and the other girls were over 2 years each) and mentioned my pay without really thinking about it. They were pissed. They had been making $12/hr the ENTIRE time without any raises or bonuses. I encouraged them to go to our boss because obviously, something was wrong. We're all working the same assistant teaching position; why should one person be compensated significantly more with less experience? Well, It ended with EVERYONE getting raises (even I was bumped to $16/hr, my current rate) and my boss posting multiple signs telling us if we “discuss pay rates” then we will be punished accordingly.
My question is this: is it illegal for my boss to tell us we cannot discuss pay rates? If so, what do I even do about that? And what can I do to protect myself from this in the future? My fear is that if I ever realize I'm being fucked over with wages and I try to speak up, I'll just be fired for “discussing wages”.