I don't have deep knowledge of this issue, but it seems like this is a legitimate strategy of having a set "price" which the prospective employee is free to tak

I don't have deep knowledge of this issue, but it seems like this is a legitimate strategy of having a set "price" which the prospective employee is free to take or not. This reminds me (in reverse) of travels in 3rd world countries, where every item's price becomes negotiable. I had grown up accustomed to shops where everything had a marked price, and was not prepared to haggle over the cost of toothpaste. It seems totally legit for a company to do the same/similar with salaries. No one is forced to take the job, they're just eliminating the negotiation part. As long as I knew this policy followed for everyone in a company, I'd actually prefer it.