A range spanning six figures, or one covering four seniority levels in a single posting, satisfies a badly drafted requirement while telling you nothing. The response is not to argue about the range but to ask which level the role is banded at and where in that band an offer would sit. Employers subject to a good-faith standard can answer; employers using width as a hedge usually cannot.
The three unhelpful shapes
The enormous span. A range wide enough to cover a junior hire and a director. Under a good-faith standard this is legally doubtful, and it is also a clear signal that the level has not been decided.
The multi-level posting. One advertisement covering three or four titles, with a range spanning all of them. Common in tech and genuinely defensible, which is exactly why the level question matters so much.
The technically-compliant floor. A range whose bottom is the statutory minimum wage, used where the law requires a number rather than a meaningful one.
The question that collapses all three
“Which level is this role banded at, and where in that band would an offer for someone with my experience fall?” It is polite, specific and factual. An employer who has done the work answers it immediately. One who has not has just told you something useful.
Why width is not always bad faith
Sometimes the role genuinely is open at two levels and the employer will hire whoever is good. Sometimes a national posting spans several location bands at once. Both produce a wide range honestly, and both are resolved by the same question rather than by suspicion.
What to do with the answer
If they name a level and a rough position, you now have a far better number than the posting gave you, and you have it before investing in a process. If they will not, treat the top of the range as decorative and the bottom as the plan.
Reporting one
Where a state requires a good-faith range, the state labor agency generally accepts complaints, and some allow anyone to file rather than only applicants. Whether that is worth your time is a judgement; that the mechanism exists is a fact worth knowing.
Common questions
Is a very wide range illegal?
Under a good-faith standard it is legally doubtful, though width alone is not automatically unlawful. Enforcement has been increasing in several states.
Why do employers post wide ranges?
Sometimes because the role is genuinely open at two levels or spans location bands, and sometimes because width is being used as a hedge.
What single question helps most?
Which level the role is banded at, and where in that band an offer would fall for someone with your experience.
What if they will not answer?
Treat the top of the range as decorative. An employer who has decided the level can say what it is without difficulty.
Can I complain about a meaningless range?
In states with a good-faith requirement the labor agency generally accepts complaints, and some allow anyone to file rather than only applicants.