No law in Mississippi prevents managers from knowing what employees earn

Q         Are there any laws regulating whether managers and supervisors are allowed to know the compensation of the employees they supervise?

Mississippi doesn’t have a law that prohibits management and supervisory personnel from knowing the compensation of the employees they supervise. More than likely, management and supervisory personnel are aware of their subordinates pay because they have input into pay rates for certain positions, an employee’s starting pay upon hiring, and pay increases based on performance during the course of an employee’s employment.

And while federal law—in particular the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)—prohibits employers from disallowing discussion between employees of their terms and conditions of employment, including their pay rates, it doesn’t apply to true supervisory personnel as defined by the Act and doesn’t speak to any prohibition on who may have knowledge of employees’ pay.

Martin J. Regimbal is a shareholder of The Kullman Firm and can be reached at mjr@kullmanlaw.com.