Your comp record is your negotiation base: the band, your placement, and the market data. Verify your own file before you ask — the strongest asks quote sources recruiters respect.
The Audit
- Band placement: ask the recruiter the posted range; pay-transparency states require it (see the bands guide). Your placement vs midpoint is the negotiation target.
- Market data: BLS OES metro medians (bls.gov), Levels.fyi, Glassdoor — the data-anchored scripts are in the negotiation guide.
- Pay history rights: most states restrict prior-salary questions (see the salary history guide); the deflection script keeps the negotiation band-based.
- Your record: the offer letters, comp review documents, and cycle results in one file. The growth contract is in the denial playbook.
Equity refreshers and bonuses stack on the base: the refresher path is in the refresher guide and the bonus plan rules in the bonus plan guide. The offer scorecard is in the offer evaluation guide.
Put the rule into action
Write the letter with the free Raise Denial Response Letter generator. The state pages carry the local payout and notice windows, and the application tracker keeps the follow-up date in writing.
Four documents are your real comp number
Your verified comp number comes from four documents, not from a recruiter’s memory or an anonymous survey: the offer letter you signed, the most recent merit or promotion decision in writing, the payroll record for the last twelve months, and the equity grant agreements. Everything else is a comparison, not a fact.
- Offer letter and amendments. Base, bonus target, band or level if named, and the effective date.
- Merit and promotion records. The decision email, the rating, the new band, and the effective date.
- Payroll truth. Twelve months of pay statements: base, bonus paid, commissions, and any clawback line.
- Award paperwork. Grant dates, units, vest dates, and the post-termination exercise window.
Pull them while the systems still let you log in. After an exit, the same request arrives as a summary, and a summary is not evidence. Put the record on paper with the raise denial response letter when an ask is refused.
Ask for the band, not the number you want
The first question in a comp conversation should be structural: level, range, midpoint. Ask: “What band and level is this role at, and what is the posted range with its midpoint?” In states with pay-transparency duties, covered postings must publish a range, and recruiters usually answer level questions even when they hedge on totals.
Send that ask with the compensation band request generator and quote your evidence in the same message: tenure, comparable roles, and scope already carried. Then run the arithmetic before you reply to any offer. The salary counteroffer calculator turns base, bonus target, equity, PTO weeks, and remote days into one delta the recruiter can carry up the chain. See the salary band entry for why placement beats a generic bump.
Where verification quietly breaks
- Acquisitions and transfers. Service credit and band mapping reset more often than the policy says, which changes both equity and the 401(k) match. Get the service start date in writing.
- Remote banding. Some companies price the role to the office city, others to your work location. Ask which rule applies and keep the remote approval email as proof of where you worked.
- Level inflation. A title bump without a band change is a pay freeze with better letterhead. Verify the band, not the title.
- Variable pay. Commission and bonus are quoted at target and paid at attainment. Verify the plan text and the true-up date.
- Refreshers. An annual equity refresher changes total comp, not base, and is the easiest thing to forget in a raise argument.
Keep one file with all five fixes in it. When you move to a new offer, the same evidence answers the reference check and the negotiation. If your state adds posting or pay-history rules, check the state map and the pay transparency entry before you quote a number in writing.
| Evidence | Proves | Use it for |
|---|
| Signed offer letter | Base, level, and effective date | Countering a new offer |
|---|
| Payroll statements, 12 months | What you were actually paid | Bonus and clawback disputes |
|---|
| Award agreements | Grant units, vest dates, exercise window | Setting the equity tax year |
|---|
| Merit decision email | Your placement in the band | A promotion request |
|---|
Before you rely on a date or an amount on this page, check it against the California Mini-WARN rule page and the Colorado Mini-WARN rule page, along with the Layoff & RIF Response Letter generator, the Mini-WARN Law definition, and the compensation negotiation guide hub. Rules move, and those pages carry the current text.
\n
Frequently Asked Questions
- What counts as proof of my current pay?
- Payroll statements for the last twelve months, the signed offer letter, and any merit decision email. Surveys and recruiter recollections are comparisons, not evidence. Pull the records before your systems access ends.
- Can a recruiter refuse to share the salary range?
- Where a pay-transparency law covers the posting, the range has to be published. Ask for the level and the midpoint rather than a single number, and put the request in writing with the band request generator.
- Does a salary history ban stop me from quoting my pay?
- History bans restrict what an employer may ask, not what you choose to share. Do not volunteer prior pay where a ban applies; anchor the conversation on the posted range and your documented evidence.
- How do I verify pay after an acquisition?
- Ask for your service start date, the band mapping, and the vesting treatment in writing. Acquisitions reset service credit and level maps more often than the plan text says, which changes both equity and the match.
PTO payout, final wages, and the claim deadline are state rules: this build reports several states mandating accrued vacation on the final check, several treating earned vacation as a wage that a written forfeiture term can wipe, and the rest following plan language. Confirm the current text with the state agency named on the state rule pages, keep the balance record described in PTO accrual, and run the hours and rate through the PTO payout calculator before you demand the payout.
Sources (official record — verify before filing)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division