Worcester Business Journal

20 Worcester Business Journal • August 17, 2015 www.wbjournal.com A provision in a gender pay equity bill now before the state legislature would prevent an employer from requiring workers not to divulge, discuss or share information about what they're paid or any special benefits they receive, a practice long frowned upon in the workplace at the risk of being disciplined by management. Business groups, especially Associated Industries of Massachusetts, believe such information should remain confidential and protected, citing other factors that enter into a company's justifications for a pay rate or salary. In our poll for the week of Aug. 3, most voters believe this is not an issue for lawmakers to deal with. Should the state prevent employers from disciplining an employee for divulging or openly sharing or discussing information about salary or benefits? Open talk about salary? Keep it under wraps Best Advertising Agency Best Web Design Firm Proud Winner of Two 2015 Best of Business Awards Join the WBJ's LinkedIn discussion group by scanning the code to the left on your smartphone. To scan the code, you need the NeoReader. Visit get.neoreader.com to download it onto your phone. Want to participate in the conversation? S even months into office, Gov. Charlie Baker has seen approval and favorability ratings in the neighborhood of 70 percent. He has governed in a manner that has generally been favorable to business, while also taking positions popular with the Democratic-dominated legislature, such as the first increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit in 20 years. In last week's poll, we asked WBJ readers to grade the governor's performance. The returns were more than encouraging. How would you grade Charlie Baker's performance as governor so far? Baker makes the grade COMMENTS: F L A S H P O L L T A L K B A C K "He is up to the job and performing as we expected." A 78% C 5% "He's off to a good start and is really trying to help business." "He's a no-nonsense governor (who) actually makes solid decisions based on what is practical, not politically expedient." HYDROPOWER? POUR IT ON! Gov. Charlie Baker's recently filed bill to widen the use of hydropower in Massachusetts, especially by importing it from Canada, drew this endorsement from an online reader to a July 29 article ("Beaton: Hydropower key to meeting state emissions target"): "Finally some common sense from Beacon Hill regarding green renewable energy. Quebec is the Saudi Arabia of hydropower. Buying hydropower at (a cost of ) 75 percent less than solar or offshore wind power makes economic and environmental sense." Online reader mverreault RISE IN HOME BUILDING? Sales of existing homes are increasing. Will that mean a rise in the building of new homes in Central Massachusetts? Here's one Realtor's take: "I agree. … There is a need for housing in Worcester, but the type of housing is one of debate. Insurance costs have gone up, which (has) put pressure on rental unit owners to raise rents to cover expenses." LinkedIn group member John B. Saari B 14% COMMENTS: "I am in HR and have been told that currently you cannot prevent employees from discussing salary. Despite the frustration many supervisors feel, I believe it should remain that way. … Employees should have the freedom to discuss it." 3% Yes 35% No 62% Not sure "Employers should discipline (or not discipline) ... employees based on (their) own ethics and standards. The commonwealth should keep its figurative nose out of any of this." "An employer should not discipline an employee for divulging salary or benefits (I have been both employer and employee), but the state should not be allowed to dictate that." F 3%

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