WorldatWork’s “Salary Budget Quick Poll” confirms that organizations have evaluated the environment and are increasing their previously planned salary budgets to address the competitive labor market and inflation. This increased spending is still falling short of what the majority of responding compensation professionals say they feel is needed to stay competitive in the talent wars. READ MORE
Pay Compression Concerns Linger Heading into 2022
As the year winds down and organizations finalize their budgeting and forecasting for 2022, salary budgets are of utmost concern this year.
While the tight labor market proved profitable for many employees who switched jobs at fervent levels during the “Great Departure,” it’s put employers in a particular pickle for 2022 and beyond. New hires in the past year came aboard many organizations with the perks of salaries well above the usual market rate. READ MORE
Compensation Challenges in a Tight Labor Market
Employment growth was slow in November, with only 210,000 jobs being added to the American economy.
That number fell short of economists’ expectations, but there still seems to be more available positions than there are people to fill them. READ MORE
SEC Commissioner Voices Additional Support for ESG Disclosures
Last week, SEC Commissioner Crenshaw--one of the Democratic members of the SEC Commission--addressed the Center for American Progress and the Sierra Club, and availed herself of the opportunity to once again vocally express support for the ESG disclosures that the SEC is planning to promulgate in the near future. READ MORE
As Inflation Rises, Negotiating Compensation Becomes Key
As we head into 2022, many technologists are wondering whether their pay will keep up with skyrocketing inflation. Although the Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world are enacting policies to keep inflation under control, messy supply chains and other macroeconomic issues have caused prices to spike. READ MORE
Businesses aren't ready for how remote work is changing compensation
If you are in a leadership position and still on the fence about remote work, chances are high that you are underestimating the extent that workers value workplace flexibility and expect the option to work from home to continue after the pandemic. READ MORE
What About Now? – 83(b) Tax Rules Applicable to Early Exercise of Stock Options
Some years ago, I published an article on the importance of understanding the tax rules applicable to equity grants, with a particular focus on being aware of the timing rules for filing an 83(b) election and the importance of making timely elections (available here). READ MORE
US Companies Have Wage Hikes Planned for Next Year, Survey Suggests
US Workers are set for their biggest bump in pay since 2008, according to a survey of US businesses conducted by American think tank The Conference Board.
The companies involved in the survey – half of which employed more than 10,000 people on their payroll – are setting aside bigger proportions of their budgets to provide wage rises. READ MORE
25 States Where the Minimum Wage Is Going Up in 2022
Workers in half of the nation will earn more money in the new year thanks to an increase in the minimum wage. That’s good news for older workers , because research has found that hikes in the minimum wage help them stay in the workforce longer, leading to improve d finances in retirement. READ MORE
FedEx says it wants to keep seasonal workers past the holidays and that pandemic wage increases are 'here to stay'
FedEx may have been listening to President Joe Biden when he shout-whispered, "Pay them more."
Its wage increases are making it a standout among companies solving the labor shortage, and its CFO Mike Lenz says higher pay is "here to stay." READ MORE
NYC Just Passed a Law Requiring Employers to Post Salary Ranges in Job Ads
Even if pay transparency laws haven't made their way to your state, being more forthright with salaries in job listings could help you hang onto employees amid the Great Resignation. READ MORE
Ousted McDonald's CEO returns $105M after misconduct
Former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook has paid back more than $105 million in equity awards and cash to the burger giant after it learned that he had lied about the extent of his misconduct while he was its top executive.
"During my tenure as CEO, I failed at times to uphold McDonald’s values and fulfill certain of my responsibilities as a leader of the company," Easterbrook said in a prepared statement issued Thursday by McDonald’s. "I apologize to my former co-workers, the board and the company’s franchisees and suppliers for doing so." READ MORE
Managing Compensation and Benefits in a Competitive Labor Market
In 2020, businesses were in a period of great uncertainty. Flash forward one year, and employers are in a highly competitive labor market.
Compensation, Retirement and Benefits (CRB) programs are a crucial factor for recruiting and retaining top talent in 2021. Looking ahead to 2022, employers need to strategize about how to keep compensation and benefits programs competitive, while ensuring alignment with strategic company goals. READ MORE
UPS Pays $1 Million To Settle Wage Theft Allegations Over Charitable Deductions
UPS workers in New York will receive more than $1 million from UPS after alleging the company illegally redirected money from their paychecks to a charitable campaign.
The wage theft lawsuit revolves around the shipping company’s annual fundraiser for the United Way. According to the workers, in 2019 and 2020 the company diverted money from their checks ― typically a $1 or $2 each time ― even though it didn’t have their written permission to do so. READ MORE
Women’s Wages Are Now Growing Faster Than Men’s
There’s a tendency to gender our recessions. There was the “man-cession” following the 2008 Great Financial Crisis, when manufacturing and construction jobs dried up, and then those out-of-work men declined to get government-funded retraining in areas like health care, which have usually been worked by women. This time around, the pandemic “she-cession” has come with a child-care crisis, pushing women out of the workforce in droves. At the peak of the economic collapse last April, the unemployment rate among women was 15.5 percent, while it was 13.1 percent for men — numbers that perhaps deepened the overall wage gap of 93 cents to every dollar earned by a man. READ MORE
Over 1,000 Microsoft employees shared their salaries in a leaked spreadsheet in a push for pay transparency.
Microsoft grew its employee base by more than 23,000 workers in 2021, seemingly unaffected by the woes of a tightening talent market for tech labor. In total, the enterprise software and cloud giant now employs nearly 190,000 workers worldwide, including about 107,000 in the US.
But how much is Microsoft — the most valuable company in the world — paying its employees? READ MORE
Elon Musk's Tax Bill Wasn't a Surprise; We Just Weren't Paying Attention
The numerous stories about Elon Musk’s huge stock sale have all managed to miss a critical point — almost all of this was avoidable. As recently as December 2019, Musk could have purchased his stock options for $1 billion. With a bit of diligent planning starting in 2014, he could have picked up his stock options for as little as $600 million. READ MORE
SEC Proposes New Rules on Insider Trading, Stock Buybacks, and More. What to Know
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants new rules on insider trading, share buybacks, and money-market funds. While the proposed changes won’t directly affect most investors, it’s important to understand why these issues matter and how to react to the new changes, if implemented. READ MORE
Asset managers fail to 'move needle' on executive pay
CEO pay soared to new heights in 2020, averaging $15.3m across S&P 500 companies, as asset managers failed to “move the needle” on say-on-pay, a study by Morningstar has found. READ MORE
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation and the Special Timing Rule HR Professionals Should Be Aware of.
Twenty years ago this month the Enron Corporation imploded in spectacular fashion and declared bankruptcy. In the weeks leading up to its bankruptcy filing, over 100 highly compensated employees raced to receive early distributions of nonqualified deferred compensation, and were ultimately successful in removing over $50 million from the company before the bankruptcy filing. One of the most significant consequences of the Enron story was enactment of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), which now governs the time and form of payment of nonqualified deferred compensation. READ MORE