Workers want better pay and incentives, and businesses are responding

A new report out Tuesday from the marketing and sales tracking platform Salesforce gives a sense of just how hard it’s been for small businesses to attract new hires. They’re offering everything from bonuses to flexible work schedules. And, almost a third of businesses surveyed say that they’ve increased wages significantly. That can be hard on those businesses, but as some economists point out, it’s also a signal that there’s not so much a shortage of labor, but more a shortage of well-paying jobs. READ MORE

61% of Americans paid no federal income taxes in 2020, Tax Policy Center says

More than 100 million U.S. households, or 61% of all taxpayers, paid no federal income taxes last year, according to a new report.

The pandemic and federal stimulus led to a huge spike in the number of Americans who either owed no federal income tax or received tax credits from the government. According to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, 107 million households owed no income taxes in 2020, up from 76 million — or 44% of all taxpayers — in 2019. READ MORE

From pay to visibility, bosses have ways to get remote workers back

The impact of Covid-19 on where, when and how America works has been no less than seismic.

For some, it was a silver lining: no commute, lower expenses for everything from driving to dry cleaning and more time with family. With proximity less of a priority, many migrated from cities to suburbs in search of homes big enough to accommodate remote work and school. Initially, employees encouraged the shift, using technology to mimic in-person connectivity and reassuring customers, shareholders and lenders that they could remain productive and profitable in spite of the upheaval. READ MORE

Looking Ahead to the 2022 Proxy Season

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has launched its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey (available here) along with a separate Climate Policy Survey (available here), signaling potential changes to voting policies for 2022. Topics covered in the Annual Policy Survey include non-financial environment, social and governance (ESG) performance metrics in executive compensation plans, racial equity audits, virtual-only annual shareholder meetings, CEO compensation and votes on SPAC transactions. The Climate Policy Survey is focused on climate transition policies and board oversight of climate change risk. The surveys will inform ISS’s annual proxy voting policy updates. READ MORE

Four Key De-SPAC Executive Compensation Issues

In recent years, the number and value of so-called “de-SPAC” transactions have increased sharply. De-SPAC transactions are an alternative method of going public that may be faster and less costly than a traditional IPO. The typical de-SPAC transaction involves a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that merges with a target private operating company, with the result that the operating company becomes publicly traded. READ MORE

What Is a Deferred Compensation Plan?

A deferred compensation plan allows you to delay receiving part of your compensation until a later date. These retirement plans are offered by certain employers to a select group of workers. “Deferred compensation plans are typically designed for high earners, like executives, in order to allow them to push off receiving a portion of their compensation and instead receive that compensation with earnings at a later date,” says Jarred Wilson, vice president and consulting actuary at Segal, an employee benefits consulting firm, in the New York City area. READ MORE

Average Hourly Pay for Restaurant and Supermarket Workers Has Topped $15

Average pay for workers in restaurants and supermarkets hit $15 an hour for the first time in U.S. history, according to a report in the Washington Post. The bump, which also extends to other workers in food service industries, like butchers and fishmongers, comes amidst one of the most significant periods of accelerated wage growth since the 1980s, and marks a rare bit of positive news for millions of workers who’ve been hit especially hard by the pandemic. READ MORE

Apple keeps shutting down employee-run surveys on pay equity — and labor lawyers say it’s illegal

AppleApple insists it does not have a problem with pay inequality. Skeptical Apple employees have been trying to verify that claim by sending out informal surveys on how much people make, particularly as it relates to women and underrepresented minorities. But the company has shut down three of those surveys, citing stringent rules on how employees can collect data. Now, multiple labor lawyers tell The Verge the company may be violating worker protections: the surveys can be considered a form of labor organizing — under US law, employees have the right to discuss pay. READ MORE

How to Pay a Bonus for Something You Can't Measure

Most people agree that executive pay should reflect their firm’s progress on diversity. That’s easier to say than to do. Measuring financial performance objectively is pretty straightforward, and scoring climate credentials isn’t the headache it once was. But rewarding inclusion will necessarily be subjective. It’s unclear investors are ready to trust corporate boards to exercise such judgement given their track record of excessive generosity. READ MORE

Highest Paid CEOs At America's Largest Companies

For many people, 2020 was a challenging year. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic fallout caused millions of American workers to lose their jobs or to have their hours cut. Yet not everyone struggled.

There were over 100 CEOs who made over $19 million in 2020 in salary, bonuses, stock awards, and other forms of compensation. These executives ran some of the largest corporations in the country. READ MORE

What You Should Know If You Have Access To A Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan

Deferred compensation plans have become an integral way to save for retirement. They typically come in two general forms. The first is a qualified deferred compensation plan that is governed by ERISA rules, which include the more familiar 401(k) and 403(b) plans. The second is less common and technically known as a non-qualified deferred compensation plan (NQDC), also known as IRS section 409A plans or golden handcuffs. Although NQDC plans are less familiar than qualified plans, they have become increasingly common as an executive perk due to their potentially amazing tax benefits and their ability to help companies retain key employees. In this article, I’ll be breaking down the non-qualified deferred compensation plan to help you better understand what they are, how they work, and if participating makes sense for you. READ MORE

ISS Releases Surveys for 2022 Policy Updates

On July 28, 2021, the proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) opened its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey (available here), covering a broad range of topics relating to non-financial environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance metrics, racial equity, special purpose acquisition corporations (“SPACs”) and more. In addition, noting that climate change “has emerged as one of the highest priority ESG issues” and that “many investors now identify it as a top area of focus for their stewardship activities,” this year ISS also launched a separate Climate Policy Survey (available here) focused exclusively on climate-related governance issues. READ MORE

Is America Ready to Raise the Minimum Wage?

Since the federal minimum wage was introduced in the United States in 1938, it has provided a level of security for workers to be able to afford a minimal living standard. However, the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has not changed since 2009, the longest timespan without an increase in its history. Critics argue that $7.25 is not a livable wage, which by 2018 was worth 14.8% less after adjusting for inflation. For nearly a decade, discussions about raising the wage have continued, with the minimum wage in 30 states now above the federal level. READ MORE

Robinhood’s pay structure is meme stock heaven

For archers, a “Robin Hood” is where one arrow splits another in the same spot. Robinhood Markets has achieved something similar by tying executive awards to the company’s share price, which briefly almost doubled on Wednesday, its fifth day as a publicly traded company. Vlad Tenev’s digital brokerage has at best missed a trick, and at worst created troublingly skewed incentives. READ MORE