Investors argue that pharma CEO compensation should be tied to global access to COVID-19 vaccine

On Thursday, a group of institutional investors representing $3.5 trillion in assets under management urged pharmaceutical companies to tie executive pay to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. On Thursday, a group of institutional investors representing $3.5 trillion in assets under management urged pharmaceutical companies to tie executive pay to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. While the majority of residents in wealthier countries are vaccinated, and many are now receiving booster injections, vaccination rates on the African continent average approximately 10%. READ MORE

Apple CEO Tim Cook received nearly $100 million in compensation in 2021

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook received almost $100 million in compensation in 2021, a year in which he completed 10 years as the company’s CEO and led the iPhone maker to record profits during a global pandemic.

His $98.7 million pay package rose more than 500% compared with the previous year’s $14.8 million, according to the tech giant’s annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. READ MORE

Walmart among top three companies with largest wage inequality between CEO and employees, study finds

A study conducted at business.org found Nike, Amazon and Walmart have the largest wage inequalities between CEOs and the company’s average worker.

At the Bentonville-based retailer, CEO C. Douglas McMillon reportedly makes $22,105,350 a year, while the average employee salary is $24,960. That means employees would need to work 35,425 hours a week to earn CEO salary. READ MORE

Millions of Businesses Will Be Impacted by NYC's New Salary Law. Here's How to Benefit From It

New York City has a longstanding history as a Mecca for some of the world's brightest minds and most sought -after talent. If it weren't competition enough as it is, NYC just took a seemingly small step, that will prove to greatly extend its lead after passing a new law requiring employers to post salary on job listings. And its effects will be felt amongst companies in all corners of the country come April when it is enacted. READ MORE

How Personalized Compensation Will Affect Companies in 2022

In 2021, personalization has already become a “baseline expectation” for businesses’ customers, and now, human capital is also catching up. While in 2019, 72% of companies have made little to no effort to personalize the benefits they offer their employees, the ongoing Great Resignation⁠—a term for the massive withdrawal of people from their current jobs⁠—has sparked an interesting debate on how to attract and retain talent. Today, many thought leaders have concluded that it’s personalized compensation that turns the tables. READ MORE

The ‘best job in America’ pays up to $125,000 a year — and has 10,000 job openings

Most people want to find a job that keeps up with inflation and provides some level of work-life flexibility, but they also want to be happy. After all, most Americans spend at least eight hours a day working — and often without paid time off.

It’s the $125,000 question in an increasingly unpredictable labor market: How can you have it all? Is there a career that comes with the prospect of a six-figure income, high job satisfaction and has enough job openings to make it a real possibility? READ MORE

ISS to launch new data verification portal

Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) plans to launch a new data verification service ahead of the upcoming proxy season.

ISS said that its new portal for U.S. corporations, which will be operational Jan. 10, marks a major expansion of its data verification program used by companies that are covered by the firm’s research and voting recommendations. READ MORE

SEC’s Proposed Buyback Disclosure Rules: Actions Companies Should Consider Taking Now

In addition to the proposed rules regarding insider trading policies that we wrote about a few weeks ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission has also proposed amendments to its rules regarding disclosure about stock buybacks. The proposed rules would require an issuer to provide a new Form SR before the end of the first business day following the day the issuer executes a share repurchase. The new Form SR would require issuers to identify the class and total amount of securities purchased, the average price paid, and whether the amounts were repurchased in reliance on the safe harbor found in Exchange Act Rule 10b-18 or pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan. READ MORE

Cryptocurrency’s Role in a Total Rewards System

Cryptocurrency is gaining popularity and moving to the mainstream. This digital currency is used to buy goods and services, but it uses an online ledger with solid cryptography to secure online transactions. Some organizations have created their currencies, which can be traded within the company for their services. They are essentially like arcade tokens; one must exchange real currency to access cryptocurrency to retrieve a good or service. READ MORE

Employee Stock Plans: International Reporting Requirements

This White Paper highlights some of the principal annual or quarterly reporting requirements for employee stock plans that multinational companies most commonly encounter when offering these programs to their employees in selected jurisdictions worldwide. A chart summarizing these items appears at the end of this White Paper. Please note that this White Paper does not address routine, year-end tax reporting obligations nor does it cover filings that are required for purposes of relying on a securities law-related exemption tied to the grant of an equity award. READ MORE

New York City Employers Will Soon Be Required to Include Salary Ranges in Job Postings

The New York City Council has approved a bill that will require New York City employers to include salary ranges with any job advertisements. The stated purpose of the amendment is to further the city’s effort to achieve pay equity. Similar efforts previously resulted in the introduction of laws prohibiting New York employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories. READ MORE

Smart Compensation Practices Can Make Wealth Management Hiring Easier. Here’s How.

While many advisors excel at rainmaking, they often lack skills around hiring and compensation. Getting this right is even more important in a tight job market to prevent crippling business mistakes. Barron’s Advisor spoke to several experts who routinely counsel financial advisors about hiring and compensation best practices. Here are their recommendations: READ MORE

New Year, Same Old California Pay Data Reporting Requirements

After many delays, employers nationwide just filed their 2020 EEO-1 reports in November.  But it’s already time for California employers to begin preparing their annual pay data submission to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

The Background

In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 973, which creates massive pay reporting requirements for California employers that also file EEO-1 Reports. Under SB 973 private employers with 100 or more employees and at least one employee in California must report certain pay and related data to DFEH. READ MORE

What counts as pay transparency? Depends on who you ask

Americans have a cultural aversion to discussing personal income. A 2018 survey from Capital Group found “salary or household income” to be Americans’ foremost conversational taboo, ahead of “marriage problems, mental illness, drug addiction, race, sex, politics, and religion.” And when it comes to the corporate world, many companies make it a matter of policy to keep the reality of who makes how much locked in a figurative vault; according to 2021 research from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “nearly half of full-time workers reported they were either discouraged or prohibited from discussing wages or salary” between 2017 and 2018. READ MORE