Regarding this thread, where OP (based in the US) is being threatened with termination for talking about wages with their coworkers, a number of people are saying just file a retaliation complaint with the labor dept. if you get fired and you can get compensation. A number of other people are saying it's not as simple as that and, really, when have you ever actually seen it play out that way?
Hence my question: has anyone here ever been in this situation? That is:
- Discussed wages with a co-worker (as is your legal right)
- Threatened with termination for doing so
- Terminated
- Filed a retaliation complaint (and if so, with which office/dept., or was it a private lawsuit?)
- Won the case and received compensation
I'm also interested in more general stories where you've been fired, regardless of reason, and then successfully complained and won.
Accounts of this process working and specifically how it worked would be very useful to people here in understanding what's actually possible in practice, rather than just in theory.