Katie Couric Clause

Let’s talk about things that are seriously uncool to do at work.

1) Clipping our toenails at our desk.

2) Nuking fish for lunch in a shared microwave.

3) Asking our coworkers how much money they make.

Actually, let’s hone in on that last one for a sec, because not only is that uncool...it can also go against company policy, depending on where we work. The truth is that pay discrepancies exist, and sometimes they exist for good reason. For example, if Julie has a degree and ten more years of experience than Lyle, then it makes sense that she might get paid more, even if they hold the same job title.

We bring this up because, back in 2006, the SEC tried to pass a mandate that publicly-traded companies had to disclose the salaries of up to three of their top-paid non-executive employees, if those employees made more than any members of the organization’s executive team. This mandate was shot down like a clay target at a skeet shooting tournament, but before it was, it earned itself the nickname of “the Katie Couric Clause.” Why? Because it would have forced CBS to disclose the salary of much-beloved newscaster Katie Couric, who made more—much more—than CBS’s execs at the time.

Why is this so bad? Well, because how much money we make is, for the most part, nobody’s business but ours. Sure, if we’re a top exec for a publicly traded company, it has to be disclosed by law. But otherwise, a salary is kind of a personal thing, and most people would like to keep it that way. And even though the Katie Couric Clause promised to only publish the salary but not the person’s name, it probably wouldn’t be that hard for the curious to figure out who was making what. And that’s just not fair to anyone, including Katie Couric.