Fifth Circuit Upholds DOL’s Minimum Salary Requirement for FLSA White-Collar Exemptions

On September 11, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) authority to use a salary basis to define its white-collar overtime exemptions.

Quick Hits

• The Fifth Circuit upheld the authority of the DOL to include a salary basis in the test in defining the white collar overtime exemptions.

• The ruling is a win for the DOL, which is currently defending its latest increase to the minimum salary thresholds for the white-collar exemptions. READ MORE

Salary budgets could grow at near-record pace for 2025

Base salary budget increases are projected to continue in 2025, close to the fastest pace in two decades, according to a Sept. 8 report from The Conference Board.

Employers reported planned salary increase budgets of 3.9%, which is slightly higher than the actual growth of 3.8% in 2024, the report showed. READ MORE

You Can Negotiate Your Starting Salary or Raise Using ChatGPT. Here's How

With historically low job openings, mass layoffs and a shaky economy, job jumping to increase your salary is a risky move in this market. Though this strategy to land a higher salary worked during the "Great Resignation," when the supply-demand equation favored employees, the conditions have changed. 

Whether you're in the job-hunt trenches or you're switching roles at your current company, it's important to know what you're worth and how to get it. READ MORE

Companies are seeing strong shareholder support for their executive pay programs so far in 2024.

The failure rate fell to its lowest level (about 1%) in six years, with average support levels and favorable votes of at least 90%, slightly higher than 2023, as reported through July 31, 2024. These results may be largely attributable to strong stock price performance, given the S&P 500 was up more than 24% in 2023 ― making it less likely that shareholders would push back on executive pay levels ― and a “return to normal” with special actions to address challenges like COVID in the rearview mirror. Also, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) issued fewer “against” recommendations than in prior years and, failure rates where ISS issued an “against” recommendation were significantly lower, perhaps indicating that companies are successfully engaging with shareholders to address their concerns. READ MORE

Executive benefits key to retaining leaders, report finds

Despite the role executive benefits play in retaining workers, NFP’s data showed that only 29% of respondents said they fully understood their benefits. 

“There’s a clear need for improved communication,” Greene said. “Employers should enhance their outreach and education to ensure executives fully grasp and appreciate the value of their benefits, particularly complex offerings.”  

Companies are offering nonqualified deferred compensation plans, performance-based incentives, supplemental executive life insurance and first-class air travel as part of their executive benefits packages, the report found.  READ MORE

Bank of America raises minimum hourly pay to $24, as tellers flee the industry

Bank of America is pledging to pay its bank tellers and other hourly workers at least $24 per hour starting in October.

The company says that this pay raise, from $23 per hour currently, will affect “thousands” of its 212,000 employees. The wage increase will particularly affect tellers and other customer-facing employees, such as call-center workers. READ MORE

A widening gender wage gap shows pay transparency isn’t yet working as intended

The gap between what men and women in the US earn recently widened for the first time in two decades, according to a Census Bureau report drawing on 2023 data.

Men working full-time, year round earned a median $66,790 in 2023, a 3% change from the previous year, the report found. Women, meanwhile, saw wages grow by half that much, earning a median of $55,240, up 1.5% from 2022. READ MORE

Major grocery chain hiring 13,000 workers, raising starting pay to up to $23 per hour

Discount grocery chain Aldi will add 13,000 workers this holiday season while boosting the average hourly wage to $23.

The jobs will be in stores and warehouses, the chain said in a statement, with an average starting wage of between $18 and $23 per hour, respectively, based on market and the position. Aldi currently has more than 49,000 employees and 2,000 stores across 36 states. READ MORE

14 Remote Jobs Hiring Now That Pay $250,000+ In 2024

Fresh research shows that high-paying remote job opportunities are making a comeback—specifically with regards to hybrid remote arrangements.

At the beginning of the year, high-paying hybrid jobs—the roles that pay $250,000 or more—equated to just 1% of total jobs available, reveals the high-paying job platform Ladders in their latest report; while by the second quarter of 2024, high-paying hybrid jobs yielding the same salary comprised nearly 3% of all listings, evidencing positive upward progress. READ MORE

Don’t assume quitting means losing your performance shares, equity specialists say

The common understanding of performance-based equity compensation is that if an executive leaves before a liquidity event – typically when the company is sold – they’re out of luck. They can keep whatever time-based equity they have that’s vested, but their performance-based equity goes away.  

But before assuming that, equity compensation specialists say, executives should examine the terms that were negotiated when the management team’s equity pool was created. If the terms include what might be called post-termination tail eligibility, they might still be in luck if their leaving the company was on good terms. READ MORE

Why Pay Equity Audits Are Essential, and How to Start

A pay audit entails understanding the work an organization does, who is doing what parts and how much, and whether people doing similar work are paid the same. Many organizations fall short in that last area.

There are various reasons why organizations do not pay people the same. Often, those reasons are valid. But research and data showOpen in a new tab women and people of color are consistently paid less than their colleagues. And typically, it has little to do with differences in the work or workers’ education, skills and potential. READ MORE

Here are the top college majors for earning a six-figure salary with a two-year associate degree

In today’s world, money seems to matter more than ever. The price of groceries—and just about everything else—is sky high, and your buck doesn’t go as far as it did even a year or two ago. That means finding a job that pays well is top of mind for many—especially those who are thinking about getting a college degree.

A new report from salary data provider Payscale looked at the education and employment history of 3.1 million college graduates. From the data, it ranked schools and majors based on the potential future salaries for graduates. READ MORE

The Law Schools Where Starting Salaries For Graduates Exceed Their Student Debt

In today’s world, the vast majority of students attending law school have been saddled with seemingly insurmountable six-figure debt loads. Many law students are under the mistaken impression that they’ll be able to pay off that debt quickly; after all, they believe their starting salaries after graduation will be in line with the now-standard starting salary of up to $225,000 at Biglaw firms across the country (depending on office location). Unfortunately, these high-salary positions account for only a small percentage of entry-level jobs for recent law school graduates. The vast majority of law school graduates will be left wondering how they’ll ever be able to pay down their debt in a timely fashion, if at all. What’s a prospective law student to do? READ MORE

15 Entry-Level Tech Jobs That Pay Up To $120,000+ In 2024

If you're looking to start your career in an industry that is famed for its continuous learning and progression, with extensive career development opportunities, competitive salaries where six figures can easily be achieved, and multiple easy entry routes, look no further than technology.

The tech industry is renowned for being one of the world's largest and fastest growing sectors; it is projected to be worth $807 billion by 2028, while more than half of Gen Z still aspire and prefer to work at Big Tech and view this accomplishment as one of their ultimate dream career goals. READ MORE

Salary budgets for 2025 are growing at a near record pace

Hiring is slowing across the country, but for people whose job is secure, a bigger paycheck could be on the way in 2025.

Salary budgets for next year are projected to increase at close to the fastest pace in two decades, according to a new report from The Conference Board, a nonprofit business research group with over 1,000 public and private company clients across 60 countries. While that’s not directly tied to people’s raises, it’s often one of the best barometers of upcoming salary increases. READ MORE

Median income rose to $80,610 in 2023

Americans saw their incomes rise last year, even after accounting for inflation.

Median household income rose to $80,610 in 2023, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. That’s up 4% from the year before. This is the first statistically significant annual increase in inflation-adjusted median household income since 2019, the Census Bureau said. READ MORE

From Chipotle To Starbucks: Brian Niccol's $113M Pay Package And Its Implications For The Coffee Chain

Brian Niccol is stepping away as CEO of Chipotle and shaking things up as the new chairman and CEO of Starbucks. He will receive a history-making pay package of $113 million, four times that of his predecessor. Niccol will assume his role on Sept. 9, with Starbucks' chief financial officer serving as interim CEO until then.

Niccol's package includes a $10 million sign-on bonus, $75 million of extra stock options to compensate for lost shares from Chipotle, and a remote office near his California home, with access to a company jet for travel to Seattle headquarters when needed. READ MORE

The typical U.S. worker out-earned inflation by $1,400 a year, data shows

In the tug-of-war between paychecks and prices, the typical American worker has come out on top. 

While higher costs for everything from milk to medicines have preoccupied U.S. consumers in the pandemic era, earnings have also risen enough, on average, to push up households’ purchasing power a bit. And blue-collar workers have been the biggest beneficiaries. READ MORE

'Windfall' fees now less likely for lawyers who sued to cut Musk's Tesla pay

The lawyers who sued successfully to void Tesla CEO Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package are seeking a record $6 billion in fees, and the judge who will decide the amount got some unsolicited guidance this month from the state's top court: Do not give windfalls.

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware's Court of Chancery is weighing two decisions that will have a multibillion-dollar impact on Tesla and its investors. One issue is the request for the huge fee for voiding Musk's pay. The other is whether a June vote by Tesla shareholders actually restored the pay package, in which case a large fee may not be appropriate. READ MORE

Washington, DC, is the best place in the US for pay and good jobs. See the other top states.

If you want high wages — and a strong union — you may want to head to the nation's capital.

The District of Columbia ranks higher than any state on a new index from Oxfam measuring which US states are best for workers. You can chalk that up to the district's high minimum wage and robust unemployment benefits, two of the key policies that help dictate one of the dimensions Oxfam uses in its ratings. READ MORE