It’s high time to celebrate the American workforce. While there are pockets of differentiation by industries, by and large, the average worker is making well-deserved gains. First, many have survived the existential threat of the pandemic, which unfortunately continues to affect where and how we work. But the American worker remains in the driver’s seat. In early August the government reported payrolls rose at the highest pace in a year. For hourly workers, companies like Kroger and Starbucks are offering signing bonuses and pay raises. Even in the hard-hit hospitality business, wages are up 6.6% over the past two years. READ MORE
Manufacturers plan to boost wages at record 3.5% rate
Employers making final decisions about pay levels for 2022 confront big challenges in hiring and retention from one of the tightest labor markets in decades.
The number of U.S. job openings rose to a record high of 10.9 million at the end of July, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Sept. 8, as the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 discouraged many workers from employment. BLS has tracked information dating back to 2000. READ MORE
Why Is 4-Year Stock Option Vesting Getting An Overhaul?
Companies like Coinbase, Lyft and Stripe are turning over a new leaf when it comes to how they handle equity grants and vesting schedules: Instead of the standard four-year vesting equity grant for new hires, these companies are now offering one-year vesting.
This could be the first step toward the four-year vesting cycle going the way of the dinosaur. READ MORE
Salaries for College Graduates Climb Amid Labor Shortages
Starting salaries for new college graduates in the U.S. rose as business growth resumed this year, despite the continuing pandemic, and as employers confronted labor shortages.
Overall, the average starting salary for the college Class of 2020 was $55,260, according to a recent report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
The Summer 2021 NACE Salary Survey report shows that the average starting pay for Class of 2020 graduates was 2.5 percent above the average starting salary of $53,889 for the Class of 2019 and up 8.5 percent from the Class of 2018's final average starting salary of $50,944. READ MORE
Zillow Is Abandoning The Antiquated Location-Based Pay System
Dan Spaulding, the chief people officer of Zillow, the large online real estate site, made a bold, progressive, forward-looking statement championing the case for losing the antiquated location-based salary system. Spaulding said, “When you work for Zillow, your long-term earning potential is determined by how you perform, and will not be limited by where you live.” READ MORE
'Tax the rich?' Sorry, AOC, but we already do
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a photo of her unmasked self wearing a white dress marked with “TAX THE RICH” in blood-red letters, she at least made sure to praise the help — her dressmaker, who of course was there with her in the photo, wearing a mask.
Ocasio-Cortez then wore her dress that night to an event with millionaires and billionaires at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum — again, not wearing a mask, because as every good Democrat knows, masks are for the help. READ MORE
Wall Street Influencers Are Making $500,000, Topping Even Bankers
At first no one could explain why business was picking up at Betterment, a robo adviser aimed at newbie investors. There were about 10,000 signups in one day.
Then came the answer: A 25-year-old TikToker from Tennessee was posting videos describing how to retire a millionaire by using the platform. READ MORE
Democrats' tax plan could push combined rates up to 60% for wealthy New Yorkers, Californians
Wealthy Americans living in New York, New Jersey and California could face one of the steepest tax rates in decades if the legislation released Monday by House Democrats becomes law.
The proposal would roll back key parts of Republicans' 2017 tax law, including restoring the top individual income rate to 39.6%. READ MORE
More Than Half of Organizations Paying Minimum Wage Affected by Regulations
Organizations that pay in minimum-wage range were affected by statutory changes at the local, state or federal level in 2021.
This is according to WorldatWork’s 2021 “Compensation Programs & Practices Survey,” which found that 41% of the 920 organizations surveyed have jobs in the minimum-wage range, with 56% of those organizations reporting they’ve been affected by changes in minimum-wage laws. READ MORE
Utilizing Appropriate Counteroffers Amid a Hot Labor Market
The economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has created a fervent job market that’s led to a great departure of talent, fueled by employees who feel undervalued by their current employer. Thus, some organizations are acting in a reactive manner to retain their existing talent by shelling out counteroffers at an unusual rate.
Shelly Holt, chief human resources officer of Payscale, said employers can avoid this pickle by enhancing their transparency around compensation. READ MORE
Department of Labor Confirms Effective Date of Lifetime Income Disclosure Rules
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) includes a requirement that benefit statements issued by ERISA-governed defined contributions plans include lifetime income illustrations and explanations. We previously discussed these rules, both generally and when the Department of Labor issued Interim Final Rules to implement the disclosure requirements. READ MORE
Inside the Nation's Largest Guaranteed Income Experiment
One evening in early June, Leo and his family were able to enjoy a treat they hadn’t experienced in months: a sit-down meal at a restaurant.
At a fried chicken chain in a Compton, California strip mall, they splurged on a few plates of fried rice, each costing under $13.99. The money Leo, 39, makes as a mechanic never seems to satisfy the deluge of bills that pile up on his kitchen counter each month, so the modest meal felt like a luxury. “It made me very happy,” Leo says in Spanish through an interpreter. READ MORE
American household income fell in 2020, its first decline since 2011, Census says
American household income fell last year amid the economic hit of the pandemic, reflecting the first decline in median household income since the Great Recession in 2011, according to new data from the Census Bureau.
The median household income decreased 2.9% to $67,500 between 2019 and 2020, the Census said. READ MORE
History shows Democrats' tax proposals will hurt hiring, wages and economy
Investors finally got a glimpse of how Democrats intend to pay for their $3.5 trillion spending spree. It did not go well; the Dow sank almost 300 points, despite a slightly better than expected inflation reading.
Who can be surprised? When you snatch more than $2 trillion away from job creators and investors for the purpose of income redistribution, as Democrats propose to do via huge tax hikes, the country will suffer. READ MORE
Most Americans Will Get an Average of a 5.8% Raise by Changing Jobs
If you're not happy with your current salary and are considering a job change, you're not alone. The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on a lot of American workers' personal finances. Millions were left out of work. Others who fell ill with the virus saw an increase in healthcare costs. And parents of school-age children were left feeding and entertaining them largely at home, leading to increased childcare costs. Not to mention that inflation has risen to a level not seen in 13 years, meaning that it simply costs more to do everyday things like shopping for groceries and filling up your gas tank. READ MORE
CEO on why giving all employees minimum salary of $70,000 still "works" six years later: "Our turnover rate was cut in half"
It was six years ago when CEO Dan Price raised the salary of everyone at his Seattle-based credit card processing company Gravity Payments to at least $70,000 a year.
Price slashed his own salary by $1 million to be able to give his employees a pay raise. He was hailed a hero by some and met with predictions of bankruptcy from his critics.
But that has not happened; instead, the company is thriving. READ MORE
Compensation Levels Mostly Unchanged Year-Over-Year, but Cash Compensation Lower and Partially Offset by Equity Opportunities
In 2020, amid the vast economic uncertainty from COVID-19, median total compensation for CEOs (excluding change in pension value) in the S&P 500 rose 2.3 percent and remained roughly flat for CEOs in the Russell 3000, according to a new report.
The Conference Board analysis also reveals that both indices saw decreases in median CEO base salary and annual bonuses. Median base salary declined 4.2 percent for the S&P 500 and 6.4 percent for the Russell 3000. While median annual bonuses generally increased across most business sectors, in aggregate, median bonuses declined by 5 percent for the S&P 500 and 4.1 percent for the Russell 3000, driven by a larger proportion of companies in sectors that saw decreases in bonuses. Equity opportunities (stock awards and stock options) were roughly flat for the S&P 500 and saw a slight 1 percent increase for the Russell 3000. READ MORE
81% Of Employers Have No Post-Pandemic Compensation Strategy For Remote Workers
Remote work, or some amount of workplace flexibility, is going to be expected by the workforce when the pandemic ends — at least among office workers, according to research released today by Payscale. But while 43% of workers overall expect remote work options to increase after the pandemic, only 50% of organizations say they will have a flexible or hybrid office after the pandemic.
In addition, 81% of employers do not have a compensation strategy that encompasses remote workers, although they are concerned about the impact. READ MORE
5 Equity Compensation Considerations For Your Company's IPO Journey
1. Your Equity Compensation Philosophy Will Be A Core Part Of Your Plan
Despite its lofty name, a compensation philosophy is a down-to-earth document that formally outlines a framework for employee compensation as well as the rationale. Yours should address attracting new talent as well as retaining and motivating current employees. And for most pre-IPO companies, the use of equity in the compensation philosophy is critical. READ MORE
FedEx Faces Labor Union Challenge Over Billionaire CEO's Pay
FedEx Corp shareholders should reject founder and CEO Fred Smith's $54 million pay package because the logistics company gave him stock options after scrapping a cash bonus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to reinstate it later, the Teamsters labor union said on Friday.
Smith, whose net worth is pegged by Forbes at $5.8 billion, was given a special option award "for motivation and retention purposes" in June 2020 after FedEx canceled a $3.4 million cash bonus for him, citing uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic. READ MORE