Surprising inequities in compensation The gender pay gap is consistently in the news, but there are other groups in the United States’ working world who are less likely to see stories about their lower pay rates. Most people know women and nonbinary individuals overall earn less than their white male colleagues, but mothers earn even less than women without children. Other reasons some groups see fewer dollars in their bank accounts include age and disability, or they are part of racial minority groups or the LGBTQ+ community. The differential between pay awarded to white males versus other workers is getting smaller in some instances, but the gap between wages paid to white men and both Black men and women has actually worsened in the past two decades, according to one reportfrom the Economic Policy Institute.Assemble compiled data from government agencies, human resources organizations, news outlets, and advocates for equal pay to create this list of individuals and groups still struggling to achieve pay equity. Continue reading to learn why these inequities exist, and ways that employers, human resource professionals, and advocates are trying to eliminate the differences via policy reform, litigation, and other tools.Visit thestacker.com for similar lists and stories. READ MORE
CEO Compensation Blows Away Average Worker's Salary
If one of your fantasies is having a semi-tractor-trailer back up to your house and dump a giant mountain of cash on your front lawn, you should consider becoming the CEO of a large corporation. Recent data published by the AFL-CIO covered CEO pay rates from 2020 to 2021 and compared them to the median salary of employees working in the same company—and the differences are staggering. READ MORE
Goldman Sachs hikes junior banker pay to $110,000 as salary battle sweeps Wall Street
Goldman Sachs is raising salaries for junior bankers, following the vast majority of its main rivals as Wall Street’s focus on burnout among younger employees continues.
The bank is set to raise first-year analyst pay to $110,000, second-year analyst pay to $125,000, and first-year associate pay set to $150,000, according to people familiar with the matter. READ MORE
Do the New IRS Nonqualified Plan Audit Guidelines Mean Section 409A Audits are Coming?
The IRS updated its Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide (the “2021 Guide”) in June 2021. The 2021 Guide replaces a similar guide that was published in June 2015. READ MORE
CEO diversity: does it explain CEO-to-employee pay ratio?
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the CEO-to-employee pay ratio increased by 1000% in the past 40 years.
US public firms were mandated to report on this gap by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, with the first gap data becoming available in 2017.
A recent report examines the effect of CEO gender and minority status on the size of the compensation gap between a firm’s CEO and its average worker. READ MORE
Are you in the global middle class?
The COVID-19 pandemic has rewound the clock on a decade-long progressive trend of people around the world moving out of poverty and into the middle class. At the end of 2020, there were an estimated 54 million fewer people in the middle class than had been projected at the start of the year, and 131 million more in poverty. READ MORE
Consumer spending and incomes rose while a key measure of inflation dipped in June
A key measure of inflation showed price increases slowing down in June, while Americans' incomes and spending rose — signaling better-than-expected momentum in the economic recovery.
Even though prices continued to climb, albeit at a slower pace than expected, it didn't weigh on American spending, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. READ MORE
Higher wages are fantastic for workers. But small businesses are struggling to keep up
Wages are going up. That's great news for workers. But some smaller companies may struggle to absorb higher labor costs.
The Russell 2000 (RUT), an index of small cap American firms, has fallen about 2.5% in the past month while the Dow and S&P 500, home to giants such as Apple (AAPL), Nike (NKE) and Walmart (WMT), are each up more than 2%. READ MORE
When Nonprofit CEOs Are Not in the Room During Board Votes on Their Pay
Keeping nonprofit chief executive officers out of meetings when members of their boards discuss or vote on compensation can lead to these CEOs making less money and working harder.
This is a key finding from a study of nonprofit pay I recently completed with two fellow finance scholars, Benjamin Bennett and Rik Sen. We reached this conclusion after reviewing data for more than 14,700 nonprofits across the country from paperwork most nonprofits must file with the Internal Revenue Service every year, known as Form 990, and the associated Schedule J, which includes compensation. READ MORE
DEI is now a factor in executive pay. But there's one big disconnect.
There's been an uptick in companies tying their executives' compensation packages with diversity goals — with a recent Mercer analysis putting the percentage of S&P 500 firms embracing the idea at 27%, which was more than double the rate from before 2020.
But experts say companies are often taking a short-term approach to the issue – a disconnect that could limit the effectiveness of the idea, given that successful diversity, equity and inclusion strategies require long-term efforts. READ MORE
Amazon boosting wages and hiring incentives to keep up in competitive labor market
Amazon is finding it necessary to boost wages and increase its use of incentives to fill some of its open positions, resulting in higher costs in its fulfillment network.
“We certainly see stronger demand for workers,” said Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s chief financial officer, on a conference call with reporters. “So far, we’ve had good success in hiring them with our wage and benefit package that’s pretty competitive. So we’re watching it carefully. But it’s probably one of the bigger elements of inflation in our business right now.” READ MORE
The best vaccine incentive might be paid time off
Free doughnuts. Tickets to see the Los Angeles Lakers. Video visits with loved ones for people in prison. The chance to win a million-dollar lottery.
States, cities, and private companies are dangling anything they can think of to convince Americans to get a covid-19 vaccine. The idea is to nudge people who are open to a vaccine but just need an extra push—but so far, there’s little evidence these programs have had the impact some had hoped. READ MORE
2022 Salary Increases Look to Trail Inflation
Pay raises in the U.S. are returning to pre-pandemic levels but rising prices mean higher salaries aren't likely to keep pace with inflation, new research shows.
The median total U.S. salary increase budgets for 2021 are 3 percent, on par with the previous 10 years, and projections for 2022 are also 3 percent, the Conference Board reported in June. READ MORE
4 Ways Biden’s Proposed Tax Laws Could Impact Stock Compensation
Tax increases may be looming. If you have stock options, restricted stock units, or company shares, now’s the time to analyze whether President Biden’s proposed tax changes could impact your financial planning, whether directly or indirectly. Some of the potential tax increases, such as a major hike in the top rate of capital gains tax, may require you to take action before any new tax legislation is adopted. READ MORE
Inequality Has Soared During the Pandemic—and So Has C.E.O. Compensation
What would it take to arouse a sense of financial restraint among America’s top corporate executives and the people who set their pay? More than a global pandemic, it turns out. READ MORE
Persisting pay gap: Why people analytics is more important than ever
Organizations around the world are strategizing for the post-pandemic workplace by pressing the reset button—revamping hiring practices, approaches to flex work, organizational culture and more for a new world. It’s also a prime opportunity to examine inequities in pay, experts say. READ MORE
Put The Salary In The Job Post, You Cowards!
Once, at the end of a long job interview, after discussing everything else under the sun, I asked the interviewer what the pay range was for the position. Her lips thinned; she was clearly offended. She said it wasn't something the company was comfortable sharing. READ MORE
Activision Blizzard employees sign petition denouncing company's 'abhorrent' response to lawsuit
Pressure on Activision Blizzard is mounting as more than 2,000 current and former employees signed a petition slamming what they see as the video game company's "abhorrent and insulting" response to a California lawsuit.
The petition, which was circulated Monday and seen by CNN Business, criticized the company's statements following a lawsuit filed last week by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleged that multiple female employees were subjected to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and unequal pay. READ MORE
DOL Proposes Rule to Enforce Federal Contractor Wage Increase
Many federal contractors would have to pay workers at least $15 an hour by 2022 under a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that would implement and enforce a recent executive order.
In April, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14026, which aims to promote "economy and efficiency in federal procurement by increasing the hourly minimum wage paid by the parties that contract with the federal government to $15.00 for those workers working on or in connection with a federal government contract," according to the White House. READ MORE
It’s Been 12 Years Since Congress Raised The Minimum Wage
Congress will pass an embarrassing milestone on Saturday: a dozen years without so much as a penny increase to the federal minimum wage.
The wage floor set by the federal government remains just $7.25 per hour, well below a living wage everywhere in the country. A worker earning that pay with a full-time schedule would bring home an annual salary of only $15,000, hardly enough to cover basic living expenses for a single person, let alone a family. READ MORE