Your rights, and how we protect you.

What this site is, and what it is not

• Fairness in Residency is an independent advocacy and information project.
• It is not a union. Under federal law, a labor organization is one that exists to deal with employers about grievances, pay, hours or working conditions.^[111] We never do that. We do not bargain with, negotiate with or bring complaints to any hospital or program, and we do not represent members.
• We are not affiliated with the ACGME, the NRMP, the AAMC, any hospital or any union.
• Want a union? Resident unions exist, and the largest is the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU). Joining here does not make you a union member, and belonging to a union does not stop you from joining here.

Talking about pay and hours is protected for most residents

• If you train at a private hospital, federal labor law counts you as an employee, not just a student.^[107]
• Employees have the right to act together about pay and working conditions, with or without a union.^[108]
• The National Labor Relations Board lists talking with co-workers about your wages and benefits, and openly talking about your pay, as protected. It says your employer cannot fire, discipline or threaten you for it.^[109]
• Public and VA hospitals (state, county, city, many university hospitals, and the VA) fall outside that federal law.^[110] Your protections there come from your state's law or from federal-employee rules. Ask a lawyer or your union which rules apply to you.
• Military residents: federal law bars joining a "military labor organization", meaning one that bargains or represents members in grievances. The same law keeps your right to join any organization that is not one, to get information from any source, and to petition Congress.^[112] This site is not a labor organization. If you are unsure, ask your installation's legal office.

Your program must let you speak up

• The ACGME requires every accredited program to let residents raise concerns and give feedback without intimidation or retaliation, in a confidential way.^[113]
• It also requires that you can report errors and unsafe conditions free from reprisal.^[113]

What the law does not protect

• Anything that could identify a patient. Never post it, here or anywhere.
• Statements you know are false, threats and harassment.
• Breaking ordinary hospital rules while you do it. Posting on a hospital computer or during a shift can break hospital rules, even when the topic itself is protected. Use your own phone and your own network.

How this site protects you

• Only your handle is public. Your school, program, year and specialty stay private unless you switch them on.
• We never sell or share the member list. We never tell any program, hospital or employer who joined.
• Our database stores no IP addresses.
• If anyone demands your information with a subpoena or court order, we tell you first unless the law forbids it, and we give out only what the law requires. An informal request gets nothing.
• You can delete your account at any time. Your email and profile are gone right away.
• No website can promise that nobody will ever learn who you are. A handle that is not your name, and posts without identifying details, protect you best. The full privacy notice has the details.

If your program retaliates

1. Write down what happened, when, and who was there. Keep copies of emails and messages on your own device.
2. Use your institution's confidential reporting channels. The ACGME requires them to exist.^[113]
3. At a private hospital you can file a charge with the National Labor Relations Board. You have six months from what happened.^[114]
4. Talk to a lawyer. If you are in a union, start with your union representative. Your state bar can point you to a labor lawyer.

General information, not legal advice. Laws differ by state and change over time. Last checked October 17, 2026. Every bracketed number links to the law or rule it comes from; the full list is on About + Sources.