I’m sure this question has been asked before, so I apologize if it has
I work at a local business that’s been short on cash lately and is probably going to
be out of business in a year. We’re pretty understaffed but I like the job itself so I stick around. Last night, one person who had been working there for several years found an online application for her job which had the starting wage listed at $18-20/h. Every single person here, regardless of how long they’d been working, make $17/h. I’ve only been there for 5 months but I’m making the same as people who have been there 4 years, and honestly I’d say I work harder than $17/h. The person who found the application told the owner of the company that she wanted a raise to that wage or else she would quit. Every time someone has asked for a raise the owner said that we were already absurdly over budget (which is true) so most people have tried to be understanding about it, and I’m a high school student so I never even considered asking for a raise since I don’t need one as much as my coworkers do.
I’m mostly wondering what the legality of posting a job listing with a starting wage that is significantly higher than the current employees wages. I know the “over budget” thing is bullshit in this situation since if she can afford to pay new employees $20/h, she can afford to give the same to hard working people that actually do their damn jobs. Again, sorry if this is a common question.