Wages are still rising. Because employers are still feeling the pressure to pay more.

The new starting pay for hourly workers at Apple is $22 an hour — at least — after the company increased its compensation budget, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Target made a similar announcement back in February. This all tracks, of course, because wages are still rising in this economy as employers across the board feel pressure to pay more. How long that pressure might last, however, is an open question. READ MORE

The Fast Food Industry Runs on Wage Theft

Let us now praise fast food workers.

At a time when the media paints heroic depictions of well-salaried office employees quitting their jobs to pursue their passions, some 2.6 million people still toil at White Castle, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., and the outlets of other fast food chains in the United States alone. They work late nights and early mornings (sometimes in succession) and face a greater risk of being murdered on the job than cab drivers or liquor store employees. What’s more, they often work for free. READ MORE

Female CEO’s pay rose 26% in 2021, but ranks remain small

Pay packages for the women who run S&P 500 companies jumped in 2021 as the economy recovered and stock prices and profits soared.

Median pay for the women occupying the corner office rose to nearly $16 million, according to the annual survey done by Equilar for The Associated Press. Still, experts say there’s much more to be done to improve gender diversity in the corporate ranks and close the pay gap between men and women. READ MORE

Salaries at the Big Four in New York

The woes of Big Four employees are well known. Last year, a consultant at one firm told eFinancialCareers, “we work front office hours for a back office salary.” Then, when the Big Four hiked wages in the wake of rising investment bank pay, employees found they still earned considerably less than their counterparts at banks. Now, a junior auditor in London is facing a £50k ($63k) fine for his role in Carillion’s accounting scandal. Looking at 2022 H1B Visa Data for Big Four employees in New York – which show the base salaries for workers requiring visa sponsorship, i.e. foreigners – the monetary sorrows don’t appear to be going away. READ MORE

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