Microsoft has announced a raft of beneficial new employment policies. The biggest change is it will begin divulging salary ranges for open positions. Microsoft isn’t being benevolent — this will be required by Washington state law starting in 2023. However, the company has also announced three other changes to its employment policies. Given the competitive nature of the tech market, it might just spur other companies to do likewise. READ MORE
Recruiter Mocked for Anger at Prospect's Current Salary
The internet is roaring with laughter over a Reddit post telling the story of a job recruiter who was angry at what a potential prospect was currently making.
The original poster (OP), u/Main-Yogurtcloset-82, shared their story to the popular r/antiwork subreddit, and earned over 18,200 upvotes and 900 comments in four hours. READ MORE
Five Ways a Tight Labor Market Could Affect Equal Pay Claims
A tightening labor market has given employees more power in negotiating salary and benefits, explains Christopher T. Wall, a partner at Stoel Rives in Seattle. He discusses the ways this trend, combined with a high turnover rate, will impact equal pay litigation and offers ways to stave off lawsuits. READ MORE
Huge Pay Gap for Women Lawyers: What Firms Can Do
Female lawyers’ median weekly pay is 26.5% less than male lawyers, and the gap is larger for partners, says Christine Hendrickson, vice president at Syndio, a tech company that helps employers analyze pay data. She discusses flaws in law firm data and suggests ways firms can fix pay practices that contribute to the compensation gap. READ MORE
Executive compensation, earnings best practices, corporate access and IR salary & career research findings revealed
Turning to executive compensation in North America, IR Magazine’s spokesperson said a higher proportion of North American companies, compared with companies in other regions, report that no one from the board speaks to investors about executive compensation. ‘But 52 percent of global investors say they expect the board to discuss this with them,’ the spokesperson said. READ MORE
A Job Applicant Is Not An Employee For Compensation Purposes
The Ninth Circuit recently concluded that job applicants are not entitled to compensation for time devoted to pre-employment drug tests because an employment relationship has not yet been formed. The Ninth Circuit held that the “control test” does not apply to job applicants, and that, under California contract law, the applicants had no contract for employment until they passed the pre-hire drug tests. Johnson v. WinCo Foods. READ MORE
Texas city council considers $22 minimum wage
Austin’s City Council is considering raising the minimum wage for full-time employees from $15 to $22 an hour.
The proposal, first brought forth by District 2 City Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes, comes amid a general increase in the cost of living in Austin. That, in turn, has created high vacancy rates for city jobs lost to workers attracted by better pay in the private sector. READ MORE
Examining the Potential of New Executive Compensation Structures
The core responsibility of designing compensation plans that attract, retain and motivate the right CEO and his/her executive team requires new levels of creativity and flexibility — more customization to each organization’s unique circumstances than ever before.
We’ve all heard the expression “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” But even if something isn’t broken, it may not be functioning optimally. This certainly applies to executive compensation plans, which overall have become relatively stagnant. READ MORE
How Serial Acquirers Reward and Incentivize Corporate Development Teams
For most companies, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) play an important role in their growth strategy, and corporate development (Corp Dev) teams play a key part in driving corporate M&A activities. READ MORE
Washington to Require Salary Ranges in Job Postings Starting 2023
Effective January 1, 2023, Washington employers with at least 15 employees must affirmatively disclose the wage scale or salary range and a general description of all benefits and other compensation being offered when posting job openings, regardless of whether such information is requested by the applicant.
Washington joins the growing number of states requiring employers to include salary ranges and benefits offerings on job postings. READ MORE
Woman Discovers Salary Is $30K Less Than Co-Workers: 'Lost All Motivation'
A woman who discovered she is being paid four times less than her co-workers has taken to the internet to share her despair this week.
On the work discussion forum r/antiwork on Reddit, user u/Harley-the-Harlot posted the story which has since received more than 40,000 upvotes and thousands of replies. READ MORE
Engineering Candidates Most Often Decline Job Offers Due to Low Base Salary
Despite signs of an economic slowdown in tech, high-growth companies are still looking to fill crucial technical roles this year while conserving spend in a volatile market. According to new research from compensation intelligence provider OpenComp, engineering candidates most often decline job offers due to low base salary, which means hiring managers will need best-in-class data to ensure offers are competitive in the market without spending beyond tightened budgets. READ MORE
The Maximum Salary Most Americans Would Be Happy With Is Lower Than You Think
How much money do you need to make to be happy? According to a recent study, the ideal income for life satisfaction in North America is $105,000. However, many Americans say they would be happy making much less.
Salary, Flexibility, A Winning Culture: What The Class Of 2022 Is Looking For In A Job
The past two years haven’t been easy as the class of 2022 navigated through a global pandemic. Yet they made it, and now they are in demand—likely in higher demand than most college graduates, as evidenced by the number of employers who said they would hire new college graduates. READ MORE
CEO pay jumps more than 15% as post-pandemic bonuses surge
Compensation for chief executives jumped 15.7% last year — driven mainly by huge bonus payouts as corporations recovered from the pandemic, according to a new study.
The survey from advisory firm Willis Towers Watson found CEO salaries increased 2% in 2021, but bonuses were on average 39.5% higher for top executives than the year before, when CEO bonuses actually slumped 6.1%. READ MORE
New York State Passes Bill Requiring Compensation Ranges in Job Postings
On June 1, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed Senate Bill S9427A, which would amend the New York Labor Law (NYLL) by requiring that employers disclose compensation ranges in job, promotion, and transfer advertisements. This bill comes on the heels of New York City’s recent enactment of a similar law. While New York City’s salary disclosure law is set to take effect on November 1, 2022, the statewide law would go into effect 270 days after being signed into law. Eyes are now on Governor Kathy Hochul as we await her action on the bill. READ MORE
SEC Reopens Clawback Comment Period…Again
On June 8, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a release (“New Reopening Release“), reopening the comment period on the clawback listing standard rules that it proposed in 2015 (“2015 Proposal“). At the same time, the SEC made available a memorandum prepared by the staff of the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (“Staff Memorandum“) that discusses the increase in voluntary adoption of compensation recovery policies by issuers and provides estimates of the number of additional restatements that would trigger a compensation recovery analysis if the rules were extended to include all required restatements made to correct an error in previously issued financial statements, including “little r” restatements. The Staff Memorandum also addresses some potential costs and benefits of the proposed rules. The SEC reopened the comment period to allow interested persons to consider and comment on the analyses and data set forth in the Staff Memorandum. READ MORE
CEO compensation rises at fastest rate since 2014
Total compensation for chief executive officers in the US jumped 15.7% last year, marking the largest increase in eight years, according to a report by WTW (Willis Towers Watson).
2021’s increase is also a big step up from the 3.2% median increase in 2020. The last time CEOs had seen total compensation rise by this much was in 2014, when it increased approximately 16%. READ MORE
Inflation is so high, even Snoop Dogg's blunt roller got a raise
Inflation is hitting everyone hard -- even Snoop Dogg.
On Tuesday, the rapper tweeted that even his professional blunt roller got a raise. READ MORE
Can salary transparency laws fix the pay gap?
Question: Are you for or against pay or salary transparency laws or anti-secrecy laws?
On the one hand, companies that offer salary transparency might attract more potential candidates. If people know the salary range for a position and still apply, they’re less likely to bail during the interviewing process. And it could close the pay gap between genders and races. READ MORE