Can they just lie like that? 

It can be hard to know when you’re underpaid. A lot of people claim to be underpaid, even when their salary is pretty standard for their industry and experience level. Most employees don’t have access to their company’s books, so they have no way of knowing whether they’re making more than their coworkers or whether their bosses and managers are bringing home the big bucks while they get pennies. 

Sometimes you can tell you’re underpaid because you’re doing the jobs of multiple people. If you’re working the equivalent of three different positions, and you’re only getting paid for one of them, you’re getting underpaid, no matter how your boss wants to swing it. If your workload doesn’t reflect your title, there’s a good chance you’re getting underpaid.

It can be borderline impossible to get a raise when you’ve been working like a dog for years and have shown your boss that you’re willing to put up with bad working conditions long-term. They might just get rid of you and replace you with someone else who is willing to tolerate low pay because they feel like they have nowhere else to go. 

The employee in this story has proven she’s a good employee, and her company is promoting her as a reward. However, they’re not willing to give them the same salary they would give an external hire. It’s not even like they’re giving her the bottom of the salary range. They’re offering her a salary that’s $10K below the bottom of the salary range in the job posting! Why are they doing it? Because they know that they can get away with it, at least for now, and they have faith that she doesn’t presently have other offers on the table.