Minimum wage hike among new laws taking effect Jan. 1 in Illinois

Minimum wage workers in Illinois will see a boost in their hourly pay to $12 per hour starting Jan. 1, while tenants in affordable housing units will be allowed to keep pets.

Those are just some of the more than 300 new laws that take effect in the new year.

The minimum wage increase is actually the result of a 2019 law that phases in a state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. This year, it will increase by $1 to $12 an hour. READ MORE

The “Wages Are Skyrocketing” Narrative Is False

“We are paying the guy cutting up fruit $19 an hour,” complained the CFO of a major agricultural producer I recently spoke with. Almost on a daily basis I speak with an executive who tells me how one of their team members received a tremendous pay increase to jump ship. The problem with such stories is that everyone likes to talk about that one example that catches everyone else’s attention. And if all you hear is such stories for a while, you end up believing that such wage increases are the norm, not the exception. READ MORE

New York City Council Passes Bill Requiring Minimum and Maximum Salaries in Job Postings

On December 15, 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill that would require New York City employers with four or more employees (including independent contractors) to disclose minimum and maximum salary information in job postings. The bill, which has not yet been signed by the mayor, would amend the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) and go into effect 120 days after it is signed into law. It remains to be seen whether Mayor-elect Eric Adams will choose to sign the bill, should Mayor Bill de Blasio fail to do so before he leaves office in the coming days. READ MORE

Hourly vs. Salary Employees: What's Better for Your Business?

Before hiring the right person for the job, you need to decide how you'll pay them. Two of the most common ways to pay employees is with a salary or an hourly wage.

You're probably wondering which option is better: the flexibility of an hourly employee or the stability of a salaried one. Of course, the answer is never as straightforward as we'd like.

Let's compare the pros and cons of hourly vs. salary workers, the different laws for each, and what to look for when determining the right fit for your business. READ MORE

SEC Comment Period Ends for Controversial Proposal Regarding Clawbacks of Executive Incentive Compensation

On October 14, Chairman Gensler announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would reopen the comment period for the controversial compensation clawback rule that it had initially proposed in 2015 in response to requirements of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "proposed clawback rule"). The proposed clawback rule would direct stock exchanges to require listed companies to implement a clawback policy for incentive-based compensation paid to executive officers when a company has to restate its financials in a wide range of circumstances, including instances where financials were merely found to contain errors due to human or other error. READ MORE

SEC Proposes to Increase Reporting of Executive Compensation Votes

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a new rule that would require an institutional investment manager to report annually on Form N-PX how it voted proxies relating to executive compensation matters (i.e., "say-on-pay"). The proposal also includes amendments to Form N-PX that would enhance the information that registered closed-end investment companies, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are required to report annually on Form N-PX. READ MORE

SEC Proposes Enhanced Disclosure Rules for Stock Repurchases

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments to its rules regarding disclosure about issuer repurchases of its equity securities, often referred to as buybacks, including a new proposed Form SR to be filed with the SEC. As proposed, these new rules prescribe considerably greater disclosure relating to buybacks and, as with the proposed rules on 10b5-1 plans, have been met with strong statements of dissent by certain SEC Commissioners. READ MORE

SEC Proposes Amendments to Rule 10b5-1 Plans and Increased Disclosure About Insider Trading Policies

Major changes may be on the horizon for "Rule 10b5-1" plans, which allow (1) company insiders to sell their company's stock (often an important piece of an employee's compensation package) or (2) an issuer to repurchase its shares, each at times when it otherwise might be prevented from doing so under the insider trading laws designed to prohibit trading by those who possess material non-public information (as is often the case for a company's officers, directors and management) or because of issuer-imposed blackout periods. READ MORE

Jimmy John’s founder predicts inflation will match fast food bill to minimum wage

The U.S. economy has been recently rocked by rising inflation and Jimmy John’s founder Jimmy John Liautaud predicted pricing will hit a new milestone in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

At Turning Point USA's AmericaFest, the sub shop dynamo pressed his confidence that inflation will spike the price of Americans' fast food bills to equal the minimum wage.  READ MORE

5 tips for adjusting wages to high inflation, labor shortages

CFOs blindsided this year by the Great Resignation of workers are responding with a Great Recalibration of wages. 

Private sector hourly wages rose 4.8% in November compared with 12 months before, according to the Labor Department. CFOs will crack open company cash boxes even more in 2022, according to business surveys, with pay increases ranging from 3.9% (Conference Board), to 5% (Grant Thornton), to 5.2% (Deloitte). READ MORE

Hot inflation erasing Americans' wage gains

The hottest inflation in nearly four decades is eroding wage gains for a majority of Americans working at the largest and most profitable companies in the country, according to a new analysis.

The findings from the Brookings Institute, a centrist think tank, found that soaring inflation has erased at least half of the average wage gains for frontline workers employed by 13 of the largest and most profitable retail, grocery and fast-food companies in the U.S.  READ MORE

Projected Needs in 2022 Drive Increases to Previously Planned Salary Budgets

WorldatWork’s “Salary Budget Quick Poll” confirms that organizations have evaluated the environment and are increasing their previously planned salary budgets to address the competitive labor market and inflation. This increased spending is still falling short of what the majority of responding compensation professionals say they feel is needed to stay competitive in the talent wars. READ MORE

Pay Compression Concerns Linger Heading into 2022

As the year winds down and organizations finalize their budgeting and forecasting for 2022, salary budgets are of utmost concern this year.

While the tight labor market proved profitable for many employees who switched jobs at fervent levels during the “Great Departure,” it’s put employers in a particular pickle for 2022 and beyond. New hires in the past year came aboard many organizations with the perks of salaries well above the usual market rate. READ MORE