Raising the Minimum Wage Will Cut Entry-Level Jobs

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 80 million hourly paid workers in the United States. Only 221,000 hourly paid workers age 25 or over earn the federal minimum wage. That’s 0.27 percent, an extremely small number. Moreover, most people in minimum wage jobs remain in them for less than a year. They typically work at that level for a relatively brief training period before their pay goes up. READ MORE

IRS Issues Guidance on Executive Compensation Excise Tax for Tax-Exempt Organizations

n Notice 2019-09, issued December 31, 2018 (the “Notice”), Treasury and the IRS have provided interim guidance on the excise tax on certain executive compensation arrangements under section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code. This new provision was enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the end of 2017. The Notice, which spans more than ninety pages, is primarily structured in a question and answer format and clarifies many ambiguities in section 4960. The Notice requests comments by April 2, 2019. READ MORE

Three performance management trends to shake up 2019

In HR we need to stay up to date with the latest performance management trends. It's the only real way to ensure we're motivating and encouraging our team in the most effective way. As the years go by, our knowledge of human psychology advances. On top of this, each generation is motivated and driven by different factors. If we don't keep up, our companies fall behind and in this great war for talent we'll lose out to our more forward-thinking competitors. READ MORE

IRS Provides Interim Guidance on Tax on High Nonprofit CEO Compensation

Remember that tax bill passed by Congress in 2017? Built into that bill was the imposition of an excise tax for nonprofit organizations paying employees in excess of $1 million. (If you need a reminder, please read this, which NPQ published almost exactly one year ago.) Now, the IRS has released Notice 2019-09, a document meant to provide “interim guidance” regarding this new legislation (known as section 4960), while the Treasury Department and the IRS further develop its application. READ MORE

Performance management – getting it right

Acas recently published a report entitled "Improvement Required?" which contained the results of research into employers' use of performance management systems. Performance management systems are processes which aim to maintain and improve employee performance in line with the goals and objectives of a business. Acas found that most of the businesses it consulted did not use any kind of performance management system (this was particularly the case for smaller businesses) and did not feel that they needed one. Only a quarter of respondents were able to confirm that their performance management systems were customised for staff with special needs, disabilities and neurological conditions. In response to its findings, Acas has called for organisations to increase the fairness and inclusivity of their systems and has published new guidance on performance management which can be found here. READ MORE

Dare to be Different - Strategic Compensation Plans

I’m often asked why so many executive compensation plans look the same. The answer is that in the post-Dodd-Frank era, proxy advisor policies and even investor guidelines have created a rules-based environment within which to design executive compensation programs. This pushes most companies to adhere to a common formula, comprised of a short-term incentive plan based on two financial measures, and perhaps an individual component, coupled with two long-term incentive vehicles with three-year vesting. Conforming to this structure has helped companies stay under the radar with respect to Say on Pay votes and proxy advisor criticism. However, it has had the effect of largely homogenizing executive compensation. READ MORE

Shell is tying executive pay to carbon emissions. Here's why it could create real impact

At a time when governments are struggling to find broad and economically workable responses to climate change, Royal Dutch Shell announced in early December that it would tie executive compensation to short-term carbon emissions targets in 2020. Whether this was a purely altruistic move aimed at corporate social responsibility or a response to investor pressure, it's more likely to affect Shell's greenhouse gas emissions than any press release or quarterly earnings statement. READ MORE

Americans say they feel better about wages and job security — but are they fooling themselves?

The stock market has been on a rollercoaster ride, spooking and confusing investors. Political tensions with China are fragile and unpredictable. There’s growing concerns among business leaders of a recession in 2019. And yet Americans say they feel better about key aspects of their financial security than they did a year ago, according to the annual “New Year’s Resolution Study” from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America released late Thursday. READ MORE