Are teachers overpaid or underpaid?

Whether public employees are overpaid or underpaid relative to their private sector counterparts is a source of lively debate. 

Much of the research on the relative compensation of public and private workers has focused on teachers, the largest segment of the public workforce. Moreover, the issue of teacher compensation has gained currency since the Great Recession, as states and school districts have frequently faced tough budget decisions to cut benefits or halt pay raises. And teacher compensation has important implications for hiring and retaining high-quality teachers and, consequently, for student academic performance.  READ MORE

SEC Votes to Revive Clawback Rule Stripping Executives Of Their Paychecks

The executive compensation clawback rule mandated by Congress in Section 954 of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), is back. In the event of corporate misconduct, it will enable the SEC to recoup executive compensation (i.e., bonuses or other incentive-based pay), regardless of whether the executive was directly involved in or accused of any wrongdoing. READ MORE

Tying exec pay to diversity goals isn’t so straightforward

Video game-maker Activision Blizzard will report its quarterly earnings after the markets close today. The company is facing a lawsuit brought by the state of California, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination and an investigation by the SEC over how it handled complaints.

Last week the CEO said he’d ask the board to drastically cut his salary to $62,500 until the company shows progress meeting gender and diversity goals. It’s a pretty dramatic cut for a guy who made about $150 million last year. But, it fits into a growing trend of tying executive pay to diversity measures. READ MORE

Obama adviser rips Dem plan to cut taxes for blue state millionaires: 'That's obscene'

A former economic adviser to President Obama ripped House Democrats' plan to give a tax cut to millionaires, especially those in high-tax blue states, calling the proposal "obscene."

Jason Furman, president of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) under former President Obama, lambasted the Democrats’ plan to repeal a cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, pointing out that multimillionaires would benefit the most from lifting the SALT cap. READ MORE

Soaring Stock Price Tightens Golden Handcuffs at Morgan Stanley

The recently elevated stock prices of some wirehouses’ parent banks has, in turn, hiked up the ticket price for recruiting many advisors.

Typically, wirehouses pay a portion of advisors’ deferred compensation in stock shares of the parent bank. As those banks’ stock prices have climbed—Morgan Stanley’s has almost tripled in five years and Merrill Lynch parent Bank of America’s has more than doubled—the value of their advisors’ deferred compensation has grown in tandem. READ MORE

Pre-Bankruptcy Executive Pay a New Target for Fairness Advocates

Large companies’ awards of millions in executive bonuses on the eve of bankruptcy are drawing renewed congressional focus.

Bankrupt companies need court approval to award executive bonuses. But there isn’t a similar restriction on pre-bankruptcy bonuses, a loophole that’s been increasingly used by some big-name companies, such as Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. READ MORE

EPLI Often Excludes Wage and Hour Claims

Historically, employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) hasn't covered Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and similar state law claims, so employers shouldn't mistakenly assume they'll be reimbursed by EPLI for their wage and hour claims. Nonetheless, employers may be able to recoup their attorney fees and defense costs, even for wage and hour claims, and perhaps more, depending on the terms of their EPLI policies. READ MORE

S Corporations May Face Tougher Tax Scrutiny

Tax authorities seem to have taken the first steps toward closing a reporting loophole for S corporations.

According to a government report, the Internal Revenue Service is selecting a tiny number of S corporations for examination to make sure they are complying with the payment of employment taxes. When the IRS does examine an S corp, many revenue agents don’t look closely enough at executive compensation, according to the agency that produced the report, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which provides independent oversight of IRS activities. READ MORE

Employer's bonus structure didn't bar use of fluctuating workweek pay method

The 11th Circuit began its analysis by reviewing the fluctuating workweek method. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay nonexempt employees time and a half their regular rate for all hours worked beyond 40. But some workers are paid a fixed salary — as opposed to an hourly rate — and work fluctuating hours. In this circumstance, employers can use the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime pay. READ MORE

Are CEOs Overpaid?

The issue of whether or not CEOs are overpaid has been debated for many years. The professionals in the CEO role are among the most prominent and influential people in any company. They have a huge responsibility, which is to manage and lead their employees to success. But should they be paid so much more than an average employee? The answer depends on who you ask!

Many people argue that CEOs deserve every penny of their salary because of the amount of work and time they put into their position. But, on the other hand, there’s also a large population that believes CEOs get paid far too much money for what they do, especially when compared to how much lower-level employees make. In this blog, we’ll walk through some interesting facts surrounding how we got here. Let’s begin! READ MORE