Fired for disclosing my own salary to public

Hi guys, I am from Hong Kong. I got fired today without notice for disclosing my own salary on a public internet forum. I was a temporary employee and at this incident, the main discussion I made on the forum is whether I should go to the interview of another job I received invitation from and was merely asking if anyone knows about the salary of that job. Following that, I have disclosed the company I'm working for and my current salary at that time. I was then fired today for committing serious misconduct. The company I worked for is a VERY BIG New York based private company, founder is one of the richest men in the world and is actually a very admirable man.

However, when I signed the contract, the contract is vague about whether I can disclose my salary. The contract only reads that I cannot disclose company's confidential information. I'm not exactly sure if salary discussion is considered to be one of those confidential information.

In the United States, workers cannot be fired discussing their salary openly, it is against the law to fire worker this way. I'm wondering if similar case applies to Hong Kong.

And to add more to my defense:
The contract also read:
The Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in all respects under, the laws of the United States of America and the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws provisions. The parties hereto agree to submit to the jurisdiction of each of the federal and state courts located in New York County, New York in connection with any matters arising out of this Agreement, and to waive any objection to the propriety or convenience of venue in such courts. Any judgment rendered in such action may be executed in any jurisdiction in which a party resides or owns property without further defense or setoff.

^With that being said, does it mean the firm must also comply to US Law? It is actually a mutual agreement. If they are compliant to the law of the US, then does it mean they are illegal to fire me this way (I'm also a US Citizen).

Please help! Thank you very much!

 
Best Response

The reason provided for the firing was unfair and likely in contravention of New York law, yes. But what would your proposed remedy be? Clearly the relationship is damaged and you're not going to get your job back, nor would you want to be working for the same folks who thought it was a good idea to let you go for something so trivial. If you're hoping to sue for damages in the US, even though you might have some legal basis, as the previous poster mentioned the logistics and reputational damage are just not worth the trouble early in your career. Moreover, in a temp job you were almost certainly employed at will, so they would have had the right to let you get for no reason at all. Giving you a BS reason just makes it feel worse. Unfortunately you're pretty powerless here, and this is just one of those expensive life lessons that you have to take and move on. Resolve to be more compassionate when you're on the other side of the table someday.

 

Thanks. I'm actually not trying to sue them or anything. This is a bad idea. I just want to negotiate with the agency if they can not write me a bad reference due to some conflicts within the contract. Seriously, the HR who fired me also didn't want me to have bad reference since I have been so loyal (I was offered by some other very good companies and I even decided to decline their offer) and my bosses actually really liked me... they are just doing their jobs. If they can not write me a bad reference... I will be happy to leave...

 

Yeah... I think so too. I'm planning to talk to my agency and asked them to negotiate with the company for me if they can undo firing me... and instead, let me leave by myself so I can leave myself good record. I think this is fair game...

 

Sorry to hear that this happened to you - over something so trivial. But with regards to whether or not you'll get a bad reference disclosure... from your comments, it sounds like both HR and your bosses liked you, and are just following a protocol. If they were explicit ("we're not going to give you a bad reference") then you don't need to worry. If they didn't say something to that effect, then perhaps you could just have this conversation with them? "I'm regretful that I'm no longer with the team, but I really enjoyed my experience at XXXX and learned a lot from you. As I look for new opportunities beyond XXXX, would it be possible to get a positive reference from the team if future firms inquire? I would really appreciate your help."

If you're fairly close with these guys, you can probably do this in a more informal setting - like over a quick coffee meet or over the phone.

 

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