Time to Consider Option Repricings?

Given recent declines in equity value in a variety of segments of the economy (technology in particular), a number of clients have asked us what levers are available for retaining talent. While they are rare and while we might be too early in the economic cycle for them, stock option repricings remain a possible tool in the toolkit for both public and private company issuers. READ MORE

California Break Premium Pay Can Trigger Waiting Time and Wage Statement Penalties

In its latest decision on meal and rest period issues, the California Supreme Court unanimously held that premium pay owed employees for meal and rest break violations can be a basis for imposing waiting time and wage statement penalties on employers. The decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc. resolves confusion on the issue, after the Supreme Court’s s earlier decision holding such amounts are not “wages” – at least for purposes of awarding attorney’s fees to a prevailing party. READ MORE

Salary transparency laws strive to fix damaging pay gaps — but what are they missing?

Could salary transparency be the key to closing the gender pay gap, reducing pay discrimination and creating a more equitable workforce for all? Well...not so fast.

“We should look at laws like pay transparency as a tool in the toolbox to get to pay equity,” says Rocki Howard, chief people and equity officer at The Mom Project, a digital community and talent marketplace for women. “The challenge is doing it in the right way. That takes quite a bit of work and I’m not sure that people understand the work that sits underneath it.” READ MORE

IT Gender Pay Gap Keeps Growing

Are women in IT paid the same or less than men in IT are paid in terms of salary? While individual situations may vary, overall men continue to make more than women in IT, according to the InformationWeek Salary Survey 2022 [available for free PDF download with site registration].

In fact, the gender wage gap in this year’s survey hit $23,000 a year, marking the largest wage gap InformationWeek has seen in its salary survey since we began to track the wage gap. The gap was at its narrowest in 2019 when it was $15,000. READ MORE

'Lunchflation' is real. Returning to the office is costing us a fortune

Millions of employees started working remotely after the pandemic first took hold in 2020. But now, more people are returning to the office -- and they're being greeted by much higher prices for just about everything.

Food. Commuting. Daycare. Rising gas prices and soaring inflation have made going back to the office more expensive. And that is eating into workers' incomes, especially if their pay increases aren't keeping up. READ MORE

Don’t Just Pay Interns, Help Them Build Networks

Summer internships are a proven gateway to jobs. But that gateway is not equally open to students from different backgrounds. Low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students’ internship participation rates lag behind those of their wealthier, white peers. Moreover, access to paid internships, which are associated with long-term wage premiums, remains uneven along lines of race and class. READ MORE

Prices are rising. How much should your salary increase?

When it comes to salary negotiations, job candidates have a lot of leverage these days.

"There are a number of economic factors that are relevant for thinking about salary negotiations right now," said Linda Babcock, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Along with rising inflation, the nationwide labor shortage -- there are now almost two jobs available for every job seeker -- has given workers "a lot more bargaining power than they have traditionally had in softer labor markets," she said. READ MORE

N.Y. Will Soon Require Businesses to Post Salaries in Job Listings. Here's What Happened When Colorado Did It

Job hunting can be exhausting and full of unknowns. Over the past year, Alaina, a 31-year-old biotech sales associate in Denver, Colo., started looking at job listings online, but she was able to scratch out at least one unknown: salary. In Jan. 2021, Colorado took the unusual move of instituting a law, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (sponsored by four female Democrats in the General Assembly), that requires online job listings to include compensation information, right there on the post. It is the only state in the U.S. that mandates this type of transparency, but on Nov. 1, 2022, New York City plans to follow in its footsteps with its own pay disclosure law, requiring companies with more than four employees to post salary ranges. READ MORE

Top 15 Cities for Technical Architect Salaries and Compensation

The technical architect (also known as the IT systems architect) has one of the biggest tech jobs within a given organization. They must plan and implement the tech stack, which isn’t just a technical feat—they must also use their “soft skills” such as communication and empathy to secure buy-in from a wide range of stakeholders, from C-suite executives to software engineers. READ MORE

Examining the Rise in Salary Increase Budgets

Companies face unique challenges with their salary increase budgets this year. For the past decade, merit budgets have hovered around 3%, but current trends suggest that salary increase budgets are rising to levels not seen in more than 20 years. As a result, companies are assessing how they can meet strategic objectives amid rising inflation and tough competition for talent. READ MORE

Microsoft to Nearly Double Salary Budgets, Expand Stock Compensation

Microsoft Corp. said it plans to "nearly double" its budget for employee salary increases and boost the amount of stock compensation it gives some workers by at least 25 percent, in an effort to retain staff and help people cope with inflation.

The move, effective in the fiscal year beginning July 1, will mainly affect "early to mid-career employees," the software firm said in a May 16 statement to employees, obtained by Bloomberg News. READ MORE