Finance staff use of salary info to make a case for bias. Is it a violation to cite salary info for case?

Hi All,

A friend whose role is in financial reporting and has access to payroll information as part of his job is considering lodging a formal complaint of bias. There are a variety of justifications for this charge among which is salary for a role that was recently filled. My friend inquired about the salary range of the position when it was posted and based his assumption that the person who accepted the job would be paid at least the minimum. After the person was hired, my friend saw the actual salary during the course of his job. Furthermore, HR inadvertently confirmed the salary minimum in a meeting. In a follow up meeting HR raised the concern that he may have violated privacy policy by accessing payroll data for purposes beyond the scope of his job.

My friend said he had no need to refer to the payroll data, because he had all the information needed based on the salary range info provided when the job was posted. Is HR just posturing or could they have a case that my friend is making improper use of information he has has access to?

Really appreciate thoughts on this matter. However, at my friend's request I won't be discussing any other reasons for thinking this is a bias case. He'd just like clarification on this particular point.
Thanks

@woot?

It's never a good idea to challenge HR when not in a position of supreme power.

I suspect he'll be terminated.Even the appearance of referring to confidential data would be grounds for dismissal. He stepped over the line, even if inadvertently.

Toast

I can't imagine the use of confidential data for one's own benefit, particularly if outside the scope of one's job but even if within, will end well at all.

Years ago I once saw my group's full salary info on a spreadsheet tab being used for divisional budget calcs I was working on. Didn't belong there. Wouldn't have dreamed of using that info for any reason, particularly my own, and quickly moved on.

ParticleMan said:
@woot?

I must admit that I am not 100% clear on the scenario.

If he was only citing pay range data I am sure this would not be a big issue (but still possibly inappropriate). That doesn't sound like something an employee would get fired over. I suspect he must have mentioned other people's actual pay if the organization is making a big deal out of this issue.

Pay range data is rarely referred to as maximums or minimums. There are various reasons why someone might be outside of that market range.

And if he were to "prove" bias, he likely has a heavy hill to climb.

My friend told me that he wasn't citing the actual payroll number. It was the salary range he was told of when the opening was announced. He does have access to the salary info though out of actual need including this specific person's salary. It's literally part of his job. He didn't bring up anyone else's pay.

Regardless it's a toxic environment with an unbalanced boss. Resumes going out.

I'll share the thoughts posted here.

Thanks

If the salary range was posted publicly as part of the official job announcement, it is public information. if all your friend did was repeat public information, there should be no problem.

If this information was obtained through "insider" means and said information was not made public for various reasons, then your friend through his actions has made confidential information public and there could well be consequences.

As Woot wrote, salary ranges, even in organizations with a strictly adhered to salary plan, are at best a point of reference. Inside vs outside appointment, prior salary history, highest level of education obtained, professional license or certification, number of years of experience in the field, possession/lack of preferred specialized experience, etc. can all legitimately impact on the starting salary offered for a given position. It is also possible, given a salary plan in use by the organization, that the person in question was hired at a lower pay grade than the one initially advertised. This too could have happened for a legitimate reason.

If your friend does not have an HR classification and compensation background, your friend may not have fully understood what your friend saw/heard in this instance. Jumping to the conclusion that an actionable bias exists in this case, may even be jumping to the wrong conclusion. Applying that conclusion to making a charge of bias in the instance of the above cited hiring or organization-wide pattern of hiring is what could easily get your friend fired.

I have learned over my career that HR is there to protect the company first and not the employee. Your friend should be very very careful. They will support the company's position in this scenario.