The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant disruption in the financial performance of businesses across the globe, creating real challenges for compensation programs maintained by both public and private U.S. companies. READ MORE
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
In the week ending March 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 281,000, an increase of 70,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000. This is the highest level for initial claims since September 2, 2017 when it was 299,000. The 4-week moving average was 232,250, an increase of 16,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the highest level for this average since January 27, 2018 when it was 234,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,750 from 214,000 to 215,750. READ MORE
Time to Re-Evaluate Your Comp and Benefits Policies
When the world seems to be spinning off its axis, it’s reassuring to have workplace experts and strategists who can help make sense of the world at work under dire circumstances. READ MORE
Wells Fargo cancels $15 million bonus to former CEO Tim Sloan
Wells Fargo’s board of directors canceled a $15 million bonus it had awarded to former CEO Tim Sloan, the bank said in a proxy filing. READ MORE
The Impact of COVID-19 on Incentive Compensation
The COVID-19 outbreak has had a swift and volatile impact on business operations and the financial markets. Because this is occurring simultaneously with the annual incentive award cycle of many companies, immediately at issue is how companies will address incentive setting and employee retention in this rapidly changing environment. READ MORE
What will COVID-19 market upheaval mean for executive compensation programs?
A look back at previous financial crises helps us consider the possible implications, and following clear design principles can help you assess whether changes to your program are in order. READ MORE
Giving Americans Money to Offset Coronavirus Impact Gains Bipartisan Support in Congress
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are increasingly calling on Congress to give money directly to American households to combat economic strains caused by the coronavirus epidemic. READ MORE
The Case for a Social Distancing Wage
Paying people to stay home will save lives in the near term, and aid the economic recovery in the long run. READ MORE
The US government clarifies when workers must get paid amid coronavirus shutdowns
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) posted new guidance this week clarifying compensation requirements for employees who have worked only partial work weeks due to coronavirus-related business closures. READ MORE
10 Key Principles for Effective Capital Deployment: Part 1
The biggest obstacle, of course, is short-termism, which is reinforced by overconfidence, procrastination, and a distaste for cannibalizing existing products or services. It also doesn’t help that many managers feel they can readily influence their own short-term compensation but often view long-term incentives as a bit of a lottery. READ MORE
Google sets up fund to offer paid sick leave to contractors and temp workers who can't work due to COVID-19 symptoms or quarantines
Sick Leave Policies Are Changing Due To Coronavirus, Underscoring The Perilousness Of Hourly Wage Work
Topline: Olive Garden’s parent company announced on Tuesday a sick leave policy for its hourly workers, becoming the latest in a string of corporations to roll out similar policies amid the coronavirus outbreak and underscoring the lack of benefits that are typically not given to hourly workers in America. READ MORE
Tax Court: Deferred Compensation Triggers Self-Employment Tax
A company may reward its executives and others by setting up a deferred compensation plan that pays out amounts in the future. But as evidenced in a new case involving an independent contractor, Dunlap, TC Memo 2020-10, 2/18/20, recipients may still owe self-employment tax on the deferred compensation payments. READ MORE
Senate GOP Blocks Emergency Paid Sick Leave Bill From Moving Forward
Democrats hoping to pass an emergency paid sick leave bill to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus were stymied by Senate Republicans on Wednesday. READ MORE
High-income people in the US keep marrying each other, and it’s exacerbating inequality
The top 20% of American households have gone from making 43% of all US income in 1968 to 52% in 2018, according to the Pew Research Center, and the trend doesn’t look likely to stop any time soon. READ MORE
COVID-19, Work-from-Home Policies, and Maintaining Wage and Hour Compliance
As the number of U.S. states reporting cases of COVID-19 coronavirus increases, many employers are imposing mandatory work from home (“WFH”) policies to mitigate risk of contamination and ensure business continuity. Some employers are requiring employees who have travelled to or received visitors from mainland China (or other areas with high infection rates) and those with fever or other flu-like symptoms to remain at home for 14 days, while others are instructing half or more, up to their entire workforce, to work remotely until further notice. Whatever the form, employers enacting WFH policies need to make sure they are appropriately compensating their workers and are otherwise complying with all applicable federal, state, and local wage and hour laws. READ MORE
Most companies taking 'wait-and-see' approach to coronavirus
"Companies are increasingly expecting that the coronavirus will adversely affect their businesses. Yet, because the exact impact of the virus is uncertain, compensation committees and executives are not making immediate changes to their organizations’ pay programs — at least for now," the research quotes Adrienne Altman, managing director of rewards at Willis Towers Watson, as saying. READ MORE
5 things to know about the payroll tax
As Washington tries to figure out ways to mitigate the threats the coronavirus poses to the US economy, President Donald Trump has said he might back a payroll tax cut for workers. READ MORE
Salaries Set Based on Past Pay History Can Violate Equal Pay Laws
As previously reported in EmployNews, a number of states and municipalities have tried to address gender-based pay gaps by adopting legislation that prohibits employers from asking about pay history or setting starting salaries based on pay at former jobs. Even for employers outside these jurisdictions, using pay history to set current compensation may run afoul of the Equal Pay Act’s sex discrimination prohibitions. On February 27, in an en banc decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized that such practices can constitute sex discrimination. READ MORE
U.S. consumer watchdog charges Fifth Third Bank on opening phony accounts
It also alleged that the program “created incentives for employees to engage in misconduct in order to meet goals or earn additional compensation” at least until 2016. READ MORE