Tl;Dr I work in food service, my new coworker who has been in training at another location for several weeks finally started here yesterday. He disclosed his wages to me, and makes about $5 an hour less than me, he even makes less than most lower level employees.
I work in food service, I'm not management, but I'm a rank above regular associates. I carry a key to the store and have the safe code and everything.
My new coworker who just finished his training at another location, finally had his first day at our shared permanent location.
We got to talking a bit, and everything he was mentioning seemed very concerning. We have a tip pool at work that everyone receives an equal share of, management and associates alike. While in training, his location did not include him in the tip pool at all, which equates to almost 2 months of tips missed out on. While I was in training at the same location, I was in the tip pool and received anywhere from $60 to several hundred in tips on my paycheck. So he's not been missing out on a small amount.
I straight out asked him how much he was making (I won't say how much) but it is even below the company's standard for our shared position's starting wage. Several base-level associates have told me their wages, and he is making less than them as well.
He was hired by our Regional Manager who he previously worked with at another restaurant, and he thought he was getting a fair deal because he worked for the RM previously, so he didn't push for a higher wage.
He was also not told about the health insurance policy, I'm not sure if he's not eligible or if that was just not mentioned to him, but that seems like a pretty big thing to forget to tell someone.
Is there anything I can do about this? I fought for my wage when I interviewed and didn't back down from how much I asked for. I know I am not the one who hired him, but I feel slimy knowing I'm doing the same job as him for almost $5 more.
It's legal where I live to discuss wages with each other, but this state is also an at will state.