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Deluged by client orders and often working from home, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s workforce generated 15% more revenue per employee during the tumult of 2020. But as the year wound down, the firm had spent an average of just 2% more on each person.
Inside JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investment bank, revenue per employee surged 22%. The figure for pay: up 1%. READ MORE
On Jan. 11, 2021, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations pertaining to the implementation of tax code Section 4960, which imposes an excise tax of 21% on salaries exceeding $1 million paid to covered employees of nonprofit organization. READ MORE
Tax-exempt organizations often provide deferred compensation to their officers, key employees, and most highly compensated employees. Like current compensation payable to such employees, deferred compensation must be reported annually on Form 990, Schedule J. For the most part, Schedule J is straightforward. However, it is not always obvious how to apply the rules for reporting deferred compensation. This blog post describes the rules and gives an illustrative example. READ MORE
Total expected compensation for outside corporate directors continued to rise in 2020, while boards navigated a near-term pandemic response and planned for the longer-term realities.
Willis Towers Watson’s Global Executive Compensation Analysis Team completed its annual year-over-year comparison of S&P 500 director pay program results, contrasting 2020 proxy data against that of 2019. The analysis of nonemployee director compensation looks at an expected level of pay for a median outside director as of fiscal year-end 2019 and 2018, which includes forward-looking pay level adjustments disclosed for 2020 and 2019 but does not include any potential disclosed impact due to COVID-19. READ MORE
The list is growing.
Uber. Wells Fargo. Starbucks. PepsiCo.
These are a handful of the high-profile companies whose CEOs have publicly announced their intention to tie executive compensation to the organization’s advancement toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals. READ MORE
The strength of the American middle class is a common point of focus among politicians and analysts, as it was during this most recent presidential election. For many, this group is important for cultural reasons, signifying “everyday America.” For others, it represents the consumer class that drives the American economy. READ MORE
In its recently filed proxy statement, Apple Inc. announced that beginning in 2021, the Compensation Committee will incorporate an environmental, social and governance modifier into the annual cash incentive program. The Compensation Committee will use the modifier to determine whether to increase or decrease bonus payouts by up to 10% based on the Compensation Committee’s evaluation of executives’ performance with respect to “Apple Values” and other key community initiatives during 2021. READ MORE
Prior to 2020, HR industry observers speculated about the end of a U.S. talent market that had experienced 10 years of increased job gains. In addition to competitive pay, some employers experimented with new and innovative benefits covering areas such as student loan forgiveness, fertility and same-day pay.
The past year's turbulence is likely to disrupt compensation and benefits in several ways. A Gallagher survey published in November, for example, showed that the pandemic disrupted planned 2021 salary increases at 45% of employers surveyed, with 51% saying they expected to reduce salary increases. READ MORE
As COVID-19 vaccines become available to broader groups during winter and spring 2021, employers are considering how they can encourage employees to get vaccinated. While the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has stated that employers may require that employees get vaccinated, as long as they address accommodation issues, (see our alert on that guidance here), most employers have not yet indicated that they will mandate vaccines. Instead, many employers are exploring alternatives – at least at this stage – to encourage vaccination when it becomes available to employees. READ MORE
Pubic companies that sponsor nonqualified deferred compensation plans with grandfathered benefits will want to be aware of helpful payment guidance in the Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) final regulations. The final regulations, which were published in the Federal Register on December 30, 2020, implement amendments made to Section 162(m) by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The regulations adopt the Section 162(m) proposed regulations issued on December 20, 2019, with certain modifications. READ MORE
The country’s very low minimum wage comes at a high cost. And for taxpayers, it adds up to more than $100 billion a year.
That number comes from a new analysis of safety-net usage by Ken Jacobs, Ian Eve Perry, and Jenifer MacGillvary of UC Berkeley’s Labor Center. It identifies working families with at least one member who would get a raise if the federal minimum wage were lifted to $15 an hour, and finds that the government spends about $107 billion a year on Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), cash welfare, food stamps, and the earned-income tax credit for those families. READ MORE
As COVID-19 vaccines become more readily available in coming months, employers are exploring ways to maximize vaccination rates within their workforce. Some employers are considering making vaccination mandatory. READ MORE
On 7 January 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed two new rules designed to clarify the scope of incentives that employers may offer employees as part of a wellness program without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). READ MORE
On Monday, January 11, Treasury and the IRS released final regulations under section 4960. Section 4960, enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), imposes an excise tax on remuneration in excess of $1 million and any excess parachute payment paid by an applicable tax-exempt organization (ATEO) to any covered employee. The excise tax and the final regulations can affect not only ATEOs, but also certain entities that are treated as related to those organizations. READ MORE
Dollar General wants its employees to get Covid-19 vaccines, so it's offering to pay them to do it.
The chain said Wednesday that it will give its workers a one-time payment equivalent to four hours of pay after receiving a completed vaccination. READ MORE
Count performance evaluations among workplace practices changed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and some of those modifications are expected to stick around.
With millions still working remotely, Gartner polls from 2020 found most organizations are tweaking evaluations rather than canceling them entirely amid the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports. Many business leaders are approaching performance reviews with more empathy and flexibility, even as more than half of executives said employee performance was a top concern in 2020. READ MORE
Performance management is a key part of organizational culture and leadership messaging. The way goals are set affects people’s behavior – Key Performance Indicators give employees guidance on how to act and prioritize. READ MORE
Look around an organization in 2021 and you likely see some examples of the shimmering panoply of 21st century technology. You may see more flexible, agile teams, and people working seamlessly across time zones and continents. There is still hierarchy, but it’s less suffocating than in the past. READ MORE
Policy experts expect Gensler will pursue new corporate disclosures on climate change related-risks, political spending, and the composition and treatment of their workforces. Democrats also are keen to reverse new investment advice protections which they say do more harm than good, to restore some shareholder rights, and complete post-crisis executive compensation curbs. READ MORE
As employers adapt to the impacts of COVID-19, wage and hour compliance continues to present unique challenges. To help employers navigate these uncertain times, government enforcement agencies and legislatures have continued to issue new laws, opinion letters, and guidance all employers should understand and act upon. As summarized below, 2020 presented several significant developments regarding wage and hour obligations that all employers should recognize and appreciate as we begin the New Year. READ MORE