Should Employers Tie Executive Compensation to DE&I Goals?

It is now widely accepted that achieving high levels of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) can create a competitive advantage and drive individual and organizational performance. However, organizations seeking to advance in these areas face a strategic alignment challenge: how to embed DE&I priorities into the heart of a company’s business strategy. READ MORE

For Public Companies, The Time To Update Executive Compensation Practices Is Now

At long last, the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service published final regulations to explain how changes to Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) affect the deductibility (or lack thereof) of compensation in excess of $1 million paid to covered employees. We have blogged about these changes and made recommendations to public companies in the past about how to manage these changes. For the most part, the final regulations did not change any prior guidance. We will not repeat these prior summaries here. Instead, we will highlight the items that we expect will result in the biggest changes or challenges to public companies and the administration of their executive compensation plans. READ MORE

SEC proposes new rule mandating funds disclose votes on executive pay

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted Wednesday to propose several new rules related to institutional investment funds’ votes on proxy proposals, including whether they support companies’ compensation packages for their top executives.

The Dodd-Frank financial reform law, passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, required public companies to hold non-binding shareholder proxy votes on the compensation of their most highly paid executives. It also required companies to disclose so-called “golden parachute” agreements, or compensation arrangements for executives in the event of a merger, acquisition or other transaction. READ MORE

What To Know About Compensation Practice At Amazon?

Regardless of how clear your principles of leadership and annual plan may seem, they are soft in contrast with cash incentives. Money speaks - if your principles of leadership, your annual plan, and your financial incentives are not aligned, you will not achieve the appropriate outcomes.

There is a view at Amazon that performance pay must be based on total business success, i.e. on shareholders' best interests, which in turn are ideally aligned with consumers' best interests. Therefore, the remuneration of all top executives for the equities gained over a period of many years is highly weighted. The maximum wage itself is considerably below that of the US industry counterparts. READ MORE

Higher salaries and signing bonuses make it a good time to be a new employee

Early last year, Nate Tharp’s boss asked him to sit in on interviews with some job candidates.  

Tharp, who is based in Los Angeles, had been the only web designer on his team for five years. The entertainment company where he was working was in the market for another him.

“They were going to report to the same person that I report to, the same manager. Same title as me, and going to be expected to perform more or less the same work,” Tharp said. READ MORE

ESG Targets Gain Foothold in Exec Comp Plans

If stakeholders judge companies based on meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, it’s natural to tie executive compensation to those goals. After all, environmentally friendly companies may one day attract more and cheaper capital and achieve higher valuations.

But there’s a long way to go before most compensation committees find the optimal way to incorporate ESG into pay packages. Nevertheless, a March study by the London Business School and Pricewaterhouse Coopers found that 45% of large U.K. companies have introduced ESG metrics into executive compensation plans. Not only that, but one-in-four U.K. companies have added ESG metrics to long-term incentive programs. READ MORE

34% of restaurant workers experienced more wage theft in 2021, OFW reports

Jessica Looman, acting administrator of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, said during the webinar, the DOL finds more wage and hours violations in food service than in any other industry. According to OFW's data, 46% of restaurant workers reported their employers did not pay time-and-a-half when working overtime. More than a third of surveyed workers said their tips did not bring their wages up to the minimum wage. READ MORE

The Rise of ESG’s Importance in Executive Compensation Programs

ESG is everywhere. In the past 12 months, environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics have popped up in more and more proxy statements, compensation programs, and investor presentations. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking notice; they may propose new rules for the disclosure of ESG information. ESG seems ubiquitous, but some of the more pointed discussions on the matter are happening in compensation committees right now.

With our own clients, we see that ESG is a topic at nearly every compensation committee meeting. Companies that are not yet using ESG in pay programs want to (or wonder if they should), and those already with ESG want to update and refine. In either case, committees are actively working on it. READ MORE

Junior bankers at Lazard now the highest-paid on Wall Street, pulling in $200K

Junior bankers at boutique firm Lazard are now the highest paid on Wall Street, after Lazard raised salaries for all associates by $50,000, according to a report.

Base pay for Lazard associates will jump to $200,000 from $150,000 for first-year associates, to $225,000 from $175,000 for second-year associates and to $250,000 from $200,000 for third-year associates, according to Insider. READ MORE

How to answer “What’s your desired salary?”

“What is your desired salary? What is your target compensation?” These are common questions job candidates and seekers likely have or will encounter on a job application or in an interview question when speaking with a hiring manager. 

How do you respond? What if you share a salary that is too high? Or too low? How do you even come up with a number in the first place? READ MORE

The master’s degrees that give the biggest salary boost

In September 2020, the National Student Clearinghouse estimated that while enrollment in undergraduate programs for associate’s and bachelor’s degrees fell by 9.7% compared to 2019, enrollment in master’s programs increased 6%. Most recent tallies for the Spring 2021 term found that while undergraduate enrollment has decreased by 4.9% since 2020, graduate enrollment has increased by 4.6%. 

But even as master’s degree enrollment has boomed, borrowers, activists and journalists have called attention to the student debt crisis — and the role that master’s degrees play in the country’s $1.7 trillion student debt total. READ MORE

Fitness teachers, plumbers among highest-paying jobs with no work history

Looking for a new job during the pandemic? Although plenty of careers require their workers to have a college degree or years of special training, that’s not the case for every line of work. A new study finds Americans can actually apply for many high-paying jobs which require little to no work experience at the start.

A report by The Interview Guys finds recreation and fitness studies teachers and plumbers are among the best-paying careers where you don’t need anything on your resume to get the job. Pipefitters, steamfitters, and insurance sales agents also need little to no experience, yet pay very well. READ MORE

Biden backs tax on billionaires' unrealized investment gains

President Biden said Friday he supports a Democratic proposal to tax billionaires annually on their unrealized investment gains.

Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has pushed for years to enact the proposal, which is one of several under consideration as part of Democratic efforts to cover the costs of Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.

"Yes, I do," Biden said during a press conference. "Look, I support a lot of these proposals. We don’t need all the things I support to pay for this, but I do support that." READ MORE

DOL expands fines for employers that keep workers' tips

Thursday’s announcement represents the latest in a series of changes to regulations affecting worker gratuities.

Under the Obama administration, DOL shifted tip rules to favor employees. The agency then changed course under the Trump administration, addressing tip pools, the 80/20 rule and civil penalties, as described above. The Biden administration is now working to reverse some — although not all — of those updates. READ MORE

Why raising minimum wage is no longer enough to draw in retail workers

It's no secret that U.S. retailers have struggled immensely to fill employment gaps and maintain staffing levels as store traffic has returned in recent months. According to recent U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, after significant growth in June — up by 67,000 — retail hiring flattened, then decreased in July (down 6,000) and August (down 29,000). READ MORE

Taxable wage base projected to increase for 2022

You can expect to pay more Social Security tax in 2022. Same goes for employees on your payroll. That’s because the federal taxable wage base is going up.

The 2022 Social Security taxable wage base estimate is $146,700, an increase from the number in use this year: $142,800. That’s $3,900 more of each employee’s wages that’ll be subject to the tax, based on the projections. READ MORE

The Average Starting Salaries for 10 Popular College Degrees

The most popular majors aren’t always the most lucrative. This doesn’t mean they’re not worth pursuing, but it might be a surprise to some how much the starting salaries are for the fields students are most likely to choose.

Here are the most popular bachelor’s degrees, according to Niche, and how much someone just starting out can expect to bring home on average. READ MORE