NYC business groups say salary transparency would make it harder to hire diverse candidates

New York City businesses are pushing back on a law that would require them to publish salary ranges on job ads, intended to close the racial and gender wage gaps, with some citing concerns that it will hinder their diversity efforts in hiring.

The legislation was approved by New York City Council in December 2021, became a law when Mayor Eric Adams declined to veto it by January 2022 and is set to go into effect May 15. READ MORE

Four Exec Comp Considerations High-Growth Companies (Literally) Can’t Afford To Ignore

How can a founder or CEO all but ensure success? While there’s a case to be made for company vision, product, time-to-market and even luck, many serial founders say nothing is more critical than a solid executive team. About 900 leading venture capitalists agree (registration required), citing company leadership as the most important determinant of portfolio companies’ triumphs and failures—“by far.READ MORE

Cryptocurrency As Compensation: Beware Of The Risks

A small but growing number of employees are asking for cryptocurrency as a form of compensation. Whether a substitute for wages or as part of an incentive package, offering cryptocurrency as compensation has become a way for some companies to differentiate themselves from others. In a competitive labor market, this desire to provide innovative forms of compensation is understandable. But any company thinking about cryptocurrency needs to be aware of the risks involved, including regulatory uncertainties and market volatility. READ MORE

Worries about wage inflation ‘overdone’, think tank says

Worries about wage inflation have been ‘overdone’, a think tank has said, arguing that headline figures fail to take into account the end of the furlough scheme.

Since restrictions began to lift at the beginning of this year, employers have faced warnings of record wage inflation, with official figures showing nominal pay grew 4.1 per cent in the year to January 2022, compared to an average of just 2 per cent in the decade before the pandemic. READ MORE

Wage-price spiral alarm risks prolonging real income funk

Fear of a 1970s-style wage-price spiral is being used by central banks to stiffen monetary policy - but by slowing economies now they may just exaggerate an overarching long-term ill of falling real incomes.

For decades, policymakers used anxiety about wage growth chasing inflation higher, thereby pushing up prices further in a self-reinforcing loop, as reason to pre-emptively slow economic activity and quickly snuff out periodic pops in inflation. READ MORE

Salary discrepancies between new hires and more tenured staff concern employers

A survey by Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) found employers have concerns over pay equity between newly hired employees and staff members that have been around for a while.

The company said 56% of C-suite executives have seen salary discrepancies between new hires and more tenured staff in the past year indicating pay compression. And 62% are regularly reviewing compensation plans and increasing salaries for existing employees to align with current market rates. READ MORE

IRS Proposes Rule Changes To 403(b) Retirement Accounts

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is proposing rule changes to Section 403(b) retirement plans that might change required minimum distributions (RMD), how to start accessing the funds, and the accounting methods for plan administrators. The adjustments are due to changes in various laws updated in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). Among the adjustments made by sections of the SECURE Act apply to an employee who dies on or after Jan. 1, 2020, with a later effective date for certain collectively bargained plans or governmental plans. READ MORE

Washington State to Require Employers to Provide Salary Ranges and Other Compensation Information in Job Postings

On March 30, 2022, Washington Governor Inslee signed into law a bill that will require employers to include a salary or pay range, as well as information about other compensation and benefits, in each job posting. The bill revises the existing state law that requires only that employers provide the minimum wage or salary for a position to an applicant after an offer of employment has been made. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2023. READ MORE

Cost of Labor, Not Living, Driving Wage Increases

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell revealed that inflation reached a new 40-year peak in February, buoyed by supply problems and strong consumer demand in the United States. 

Powell’s revelation that the personal-consumption-expenditure (PCE) price index climbed 6.4% in February from a year ago further stokes ongoing speculation around the economy and what it means for employee wages, which have mostly grown alongside inflation.  READ MORE