US wages are going up, and those who don’t adapt to the new reality will fail

There is a significant shortage of labor across the United States. Yes, federal unemployment Covid payments ran out after Labor Day. But still, many workers are reluctant to return to work, wary of their health and safety as the Delta variant continues to rage. Many are looking to switch jobs amid reports of the “great resignation” and employers are desperate to do whatever they can to retain workers as demand continues to remain strong. READ MORE

U.S. Tech Salaries Grow, But Not For Everyone

The median income for tech professionals hit US $154,443 in 2020, up from $148,500 in 2019. Adjusted to constant 2020 dollars, that's about a 2.8 percent increase. These numbers exclude overtime, profit sharing, and side hustles. That's particularly good news for engineers this year, considering that inflation-adjusted salaries were basically flat in 2019 compared with 2018. READ MORE

Stock Options & RSUs From Startup To IPO Or Acquisition

Fast-growing private companies rely heavily on equity compensation to recruit, motivate, and retain the best employees. Grants are typically stock options, restricted stock, or restricted stock units (RSUs). However, stock comp in private companies is surprisingly more complex and varied than what’s commonly used in mature public companies. The many challenges range from the inability to sell stock at exercise to fund the exercise costs to lockup restrictions on shares after the IPO. READ MORE

Don’t Let Stock Options Keep You From Leaving a Job

As millions of Americans change jobs, some in the finance and tech sectors may be sitting tight, feeling locked in by equity-based awards. Those industries often pay a hefty portion of compensation in stock options, where employees can buy company stock at a set price, or restricted stock units, where workers are awarded shares outright. To reap the benefits of either, you typically have to wait a set period of time. READ MORE

The myths of ‘income inequality’

It is an article of faith among progressives that income inequality is getting worse in California. In fact, claims of a widening gap between rich and poor are used nationally to justify raising taxes and accelerate the redistribution of wealth.

But like other urban myths, such as how Prop. 13 supposedly starved local governments, it is easily debunked by critical analysis of the data. As it turns out, while the rich are in fact getting richer, so are the poor. READ MORE

SEC Proposes to Amend Form N-PX

The SEC also proposed a new rule (Rule 14Ad-1) and form amendments under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) that would require an institutional investment manager subject to Section 13(f) of the Exchange Act to report annually on Form N-PX how it voted proxies relating to executive compensation matters (i.e., “say-on-pay”), as required by Section 14A of the Exchange Act. READ MORE

HR Executive and Staff Pay Rose During the Pandemic

New studies highlight changes to compensation for HR executives and staff, as well as the ways in which the pandemic has changed how HR professionals work and the challenges they face.

HR Executive Pay Trends, published in October by Equilar, a research firm that tracks data on corporate leaders, analyzes compensation for HR executives at the 500 largest (by revenue) publicly traded U.S. companies. READ MORE

Here’s what would happen if Americans could look up everyone’s salary

What would you do if you knew how much money your colleagues made?

Imagine being able to look up anyone’s salary the same way you’d search for how much your neighbor paid for their house on Zillow. A tap, a click — that’s all it would take to find out how your salary stacks up with your co-workers, how much you could be making if you’re promoted, and even what your boss’s boss makes. READ MORE

Flexible Working Now More Important Than Salary

Flexible working has overtaken salary as the top benefit for U.S.-based employees, with 65% ranking flexibility as more important than compensation, according to a new report from Jabra that analyzes employee sentiments about hybrid work. The finding is included in the Jabra Hybrid Ways of Working: 2021 Global Report, which surveyed 5,000 knowledge workers in five countries worldwide, including the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan.

In the U.S., nearly three-quarters of respondents (70%) believe that in the future, having an office space will be considered an employee benefit as opposed to a mandatory way of working. The U.S. workforce also sees the office as a social amenity (65%) and place to collaborate (63%), with independent working happening better off-site. This shift in attitude towards flexible working and office space suggests that employers need to rethink their benefits packages and ensure that they are appropriate for post-pandemic working life. READ MORE

Why Salary Transparency Matters When Attracting New Hires

Salary is the No. 1 factor workers use to determine which jobs to apply for, a recent CareerBuilder survey found. Yet despite the fact that 54% of workers said they use salary to determine whether or not to apply for a job, many job postings do not include salary information. And those that do sometimes use false numbers to lure in candidates — but this can backfire. The survey found that the top deal-breaker when interviewing for a job is learning the starting salary is lower than what is posted on the job description, with 48% citing this as a deal-breaker.

With these stats in mind, it’s clear that salary transparency is a major factor in attracting candidates, and it may be of even more importance given the current job climate. READ MORE

Enhanced Authority Could Strengthen Oversight of Executive Bonuses Awarded Before a Bankruptcy Filing

Some companies made headlines in 2020 for paying their executives large bonuses while undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While the Bankruptcy Code restricts executive retention bonuses during bankruptcy, our review of FY 2020 data showed that some debtors may be working around the Code's restrictions by paying these bonuses prior to filing.

We recommended that Congress amend the Code to bring pre-bankruptcy bonuses under court oversight and specify factors the court should consider before approving them. READ MORE

The Benefits of Separation Agreements

Separation agreements help companies and employees avoid disputes and achieve an amicable separation of their affairs at the end of the employment relationship. Some of the most common and important provisions are discussed below. 

Severance Pay
One of the chief provisions of any separation agreement is severance pay. Without it, the employee has little incentive to sign the separation agreement. The amount of severance depends on many factors such as industry practice, the executive's compensation at the time of separation, how long the executive worked for the company, whether the executive or the company have any potential claims, and other provisions of the separation agreement. READ MORE

CEO pay ratio tax bill may gain new life in Congress as revenue stream

Corporate executive compensation, in particular the pay ratio compared with rank-and-file employees, has resurfaced as a U.S. Senate Democratic revenue initiative.

A group of progressive Democratic senators, led by Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, introduced the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act in March. A similar proposal has been submitted in the U.S. House. READ MORE

Unvested partnership interests as compensation

This may be a good time to revisit the use of unvested partnership interests as compensation because these situations can come up and the applicable authority is perhaps not widely known. The author recently reviewed two matters of this kind. The present discussion focuses on a company's hiring of a new CEO, where the consultations with the tax adviser about the executive's compensation package addressed a number of issues concerning the use of an unvested capital interest in a limited liability company (LLC) taxed as a partnership. READ MORE

UK companies have to disclose gender pay gaps. It's not enough

Large UK companies are required to reveal their gender pay gaps. But the rules are failing to address inequality, according to a new report.

The research, by the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London and the Fawcett Society, concludes that the UK's mandatory gender pay gap reporting, which came into effect in 2017, "has no teeth" and is less effective than other global reporting systems which require a commitment to change. READ MORE

5 things you should always negotiate in a job offer

When you think of negotiating a job offer, most people immediately think of salary and getting the most money. Unfortunately, money only goes so far, and corporations are limited by the amount they can pay you. 

Because of this, understanding some of the less asked for but extremely valuable benefits that can be included in a job offer is essential to getting the most out of your next contract. READ MORE