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Salary transparency laws are quickly becoming corporate America’s worst nightmare.

Turns out companies really don’t want you knowing what the job next to you pays, or what your own job is supposedly worth.

In the following story, a new state law required employers to post salary ranges on job listings, and one company complied without thinking through the fallout.

The numbers they posted were dramatically higher than what their current employees actually take home. And the employees weren’t too pleased about that.

Keep reading for the full story.

newly discovered salary discrepancies

So in my state a new law went into effect today requiring employers to list salaries with job postings.

It didn’t take employees long to notice some glaring issues.

My company updated the listings today and the salary ranges are WAYYYY higher than what any of us actually get paid.

Like, we’re all on the bottom end of the spectrum.

We’re not talking about chump change here.

My coworker makes $15k less than the minimum salary on the listing. She’s going to talk to her boss tomorrow about it.

We are all rightfully ticked about this, but what do we do from here?

Corporate is CONSTANTLY talking about budget cuts and ways to save.

Sounds like just plain greed on the company’s part.

Did Reddit agree?

Why not just apply to the same role again?

Loyalty doesn’t seem to be rewarded in this day and age.

If companies are going to play games, employees might as well match their energy.

This user doesn’t understand why some employers behave this way.

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The best part about a paper trail is when the company creates it themselves.

By posting those ranges, the employer didn’t just follow the law, it built the exact case its underpaid staff needed to demand more.

Every worker now has a documented, employer-approved argument for a raise, and there’s strength in the fact that they’re all in the same boat.

Individual asks are easy to brush off, but a whole team armed with the same data is a lot harder to ignore.

The transparency law did the heavy lifting, now it’s the employees’ move.

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Author

Benjamin Cottrell

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.