Democrats are in the middle of a major effort to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help offset the cost of their proposed expansion of the social safety net. “How is it possible for millionaires and billionaires that can pay a lower rate of tax than teachers, firefighters, or law enforcement officers?” President Joe Biden asked during remarks on the economy delivered at the White House last week. “Big corporations and the super wealthy have to start paying their fair share of taxes. It’s long overdue,” he added. READ MORE
Gender Pay Gap Among Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and Data Experts
Among those technologists who work with artificial intelligence (A.I.) and data, a higher percentage of women have advanced degrees than men. However, that doesn’t translate into comparable salaries, according to a new study by O’Reilly: Instead, women who work with A.I. and data make significantly less than their male counterparts. READ MORE
IRS Updates Nonqualified Plan Audit Technique Guide—Is A New Enforcement Initiative On The Horizon?
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated its Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide (NQDC). It released Publication 5528 (NQDC guide) on June 1, 2021. The IRS last updated the NQDC Guide in 2015. Interestingly, the 2015 NQDC Guide was published shortly after the IRS sent information document requests to publicly traded companies to determine how well companies were complying with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 409A. This latest update to the NQDC guide contains much more detailed guidance than the prior version. That is noteworthy because President Joe Biden and many members of Congress have been proposing to increase the IRS's budget in order to provide more resources for audit initiatives. Could a new executive compensation enforcement initiative be on its way?
If so, employers need to be prepared with the following steps: READ MORE
Senate Democrats Have a Big New Corporate Tax Idea
What Amazon’s $18 average hourly wage means for other employers
Amazon is raising its average hourly US wage to $18 an hour for warehouse workers, the company said this week, putting more pressure on other employers in a tight labor market. Just four years ago, the giant retailer increased its starting wage to $15 an hour. READ MORE
Gannett under fire for staffers working overtime without pay
Amazon’s AI Cameras Are Punishing Drivers for Mistakes They Didn’t Make
In early 2021, Amazon installed AI-powered cameras in the delivery vans at one of its depots in Los Angeles. Derek, a delivery driver at the facility, said the camera in his van started to incorrectly penalize him whenever cars cut him off, an everyday occurrence in Los Angeles traffic.
“Maintain safe distance,” the camera installed above his seat would say when a car cut him off. That data would be sent to Amazon, and would be used to evaluate his performance that week and determine whether he got a bonus. READ MORE
Does Your State Prohibit Asking Salary History?
Nevada and Rhode Island will soon join the growing list of state and local governments prohibiting employers from requesting salary history from applicants, the most common form of pay equity legislation. As employers transition to remote workforces and attract applicants from across the country, recruiters should be mindful that requesting or relying upon compensation history from applicants may be off-limits or only available under a narrow set of circumstances. READ MORE
Three Ways To Close The Pay-Benefits Gap And Celebrate Your Workforce
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