On January 19, 2021 the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published in the Federal Register Final Regulations (the “Final Regulations”) interpreting the excise tax under Section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code on certain executive compensation paid by tax-exempt organizations. The Final Regulations maintain most of the concepts from the interim guidance (Notice 2019-09 (the “Notice”), discussed here and here, and Proposed Regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”), discussed here), with a few changes. READ MORE
Your Naughty CEO and CFO of the Day
By making false statements and omissions to external auditors, which resulted in the improper recognition of $3.6 million in revenue related to a contract with a large public-sector client, ex-WageWorks CEO Joseph Jackson and former CEO Colm Callan had to pay their way out of the SEC’s doghouse. READ MORE
Staffing Firms Gain Extra FLSA Overtime Protection
Temporary staffing firms may qualify as “retail or service establishments” and therefore may be able to apply the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) “retail sales” overtime exemption to some of their employees, according to a recent opinion letter from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
The new opinion could provide significant benefits to staffing companies with an inside sales force or commissioned recruiters in their business operations. READ MORE
Tax-Exempt Executive Compensation Excise Tax Regulations (Section 4960) Finalized
On January 19, 2021 the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published in the Federal Register Final Regulations (the “Final Regulations”) interpreting the excise tax under Section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code on certain executive compensation paid by tax-exempt organizations. The Final Regulations maintain most of the concepts from the interim guidance (Notice 2019-09 (the “Notice”), discussed here and here, and Proposed Regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”), discussed here), with a few changes. READ MORE
What minimum-wage increases did to McDonald’s restaurants — and their employees
President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers are making a push to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from the current $7.25. Some lawmakers and business owners who are against the idea say it would create harmful effects, including business closures, job loss and an acceleration of the shift toward automation.
But those effects didn’t materialize in a five-year analysis of the impacts of minimum-wage increases at state and local levels as evidenced at more than 10,000 McDonald’s locations in the U.S. READ MORE
Biden, Democrats hit gas on push for $15 minimum wage
The Democratic push to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour has emerged as an early flashpoint in the fight for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, testing President Joe Biden's ability to bridge Washington's partisan divides as he pursues his first major legislative victory.
Biden called for a $15 hourly minimum wage during his campaign and has followed through by hitching it to a measure that, among other things, calls for $1,400 stimulus checks and $130 billion to help schools reopen. Biden argues that anyone who holds a full-time job shouldn't live in poverty, echoing progressives in the Democratic Party who are fully on board with the effort. READ MORE
Survey: Vaccine policies divide workers, though most welcome incentives
The survey results indicate the challenges HR departments face in counseling executives on planning for workforce vaccination campaigns, but they may also show that a strategy centered around providing incentives for vaccination could connect with employees more broadly than a vaccination mandate. READ MORE
Lowe's announces $80M in worker bonuses, to hire more than 50,000 workers
America's billionaires have grown $1.1 trillion richer during the pandemic
Billionaires are minting money during the pandemic, even as millions of Americans join the ranks of the poor.
US billionaires have collectively become $1.1 trillion -- nearly 40% -- richer since mid-March, according to a report published Tuesday by progressive groups Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness. READ MORE
Study Highlights Differences in Federal and Private STEM Employee Compensation
In a detailed report that compares the compensation and benefits for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) employees in the both the Federal and private sectors, it was found Federal employees have more advanced degrees, but make less money annually. READ MORE
Olive Garden parent company to offer paid time off for employees to get COVID-19 vaccine
Some restaurant workers will receive sick pay to prevent themselves from getting sick.
Darden Restaurants, the parent company of brands including Olive Garden, announced on Tuesday that it will incentivizing employees to get their COVID-19 vaccines by offering paid time off — up to four hours — so workers "do not have to choose between earning income and getting vaccinated," Darden CEO Gene Lee said in a letter shared with Fox News. READ MORE
Dems unveil $15 minimum wage bill, say they may use reconciliation to pass legislation
A group of Democratic lawmakers reintroduced legislation on Tuesday to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 — and indicated they may use a powerful procedural tool to pass the bill using their slimmest-possible Senate majority.
“Let’s be clear: The $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a starvation wage,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said during a call with reporters. "No person in America can make it on $8, $10 or $12 an hour." READ MORE
Dr. Fauci is the highest paid employee in the federal government
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top disease expert in the U.S., is the highest-paid federal government employee in the U.S.—surpassing even the president—according to a Freedom of Information Act request by OpenTheBooks.com.
Fauci pulled in $417,608.00 in 2019—his largest haul ever—and in the previous two years earned $384,625.00. Forbes reported that from 2010 to 2019, Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, earned $3.6 million. READ MORE
Goldman CEO David Solomon takes $10M pay cut for Malaysian investment scandal
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. slashed Chief Executive David Solomon’s 2020 pay by 36%, punishment for the bank’s admission last year that it broke U.S. laws in its dealings with an investment fund at the heart of a global corruption ring.
Mr. Solomon received a $17.5 million compensation package for 2020, down from the $27.5 million he got for 2019, according to a securities filing on Tuesday. READ MORE
Biden campaigned on making gig workers employees. Now he has to convince Democrats.
The future of gig workers — Uber drivers, DoorDash couriers and other app workers — is likely to emerge as the most explosive labor issue the incoming Biden administration will face, threatening to aggravate the tensions between the centrist and more corporate-friendly wing of the Democratic Party and fired-up liberals on the left.
Although President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign platform called for gig workers to be classified as employees, narrow Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate and those intraparty philosophical rifts could block Democrats from reaching agreement on gig-worker rights. READ MORE
There's no cap on income affecting happiness
It turns out mo’ money may actually mean mo’ smiles.
While traditional wisdom tells us that money can’t buy happiness, a new study suggests that the opposite may in fact be true. The research also indicates that previous studies, which indicated some sort of limit to the amount of money that impacts happiness, may have been wrong. READ MORE
IRS postpones date for companies to repay deferred payroll taxes
President Trump's executive action in August deferred, rather than reduced, tax obligations for employees earning up to $4,000 every two weeks.
Many private-sector companies decided not to postpone tax payments because of the administrative complexity and potential confusion among employees about a sudden increase in 2021 withholding to pay the deferred tax. READ MORE
The History of the Gender Wage Gap in America
The wage gap, also known as the “gender wage gap” or “gender pay gap,” refers to the disparity between what men and women earn for doing the same work. It is sometimes used to describe pay disparities between white workers and workers of color, as well as between workers in the United States and other countries. This article focuses on the wage gap as it relates to gender and race. READ MORE
Maximizing The After-Tax Value Of Incentive Stock Options
Incentive stock options (ISOs) are often part of executive and key employee compensation packages. But these incentives have to be handled carefully to get the most out of them.
“Rules for reporting ISO transactions, and for all types of stock options, are fairly complicated,” said Robbin E. Caruso, a CPA, partner and co-leader of the national tax controversy department at Prager Metis in Cranbury, N.J.
ISOs are issued at a “strike” price per share set by the company; employees typically must complete a vesting period with the company before they can buy shares in an ISO. Employees can then sell the shares later for the their current price, which could be much higher than the strike price. READ MORE
Upcoming Incentive Stock Options and Employee Stock Purchase Plan Reporting and Disclosure Requirements
At the beginning of each year, Section 6039 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code requires companies to comply with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting and disclosure requirements relating to the exercise of incentive stock options (ISOs) and the transfer of stock purchased at a discount under a tax-qualified employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). READ MORE