Small Business Hiring and Wage Growth Strength Continues

Small businesses continued to add jobs in June and worker wages continued to grow at a strong rate, but the pace of growth moderated slightly from previous month. These insights are according to the latest Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. The Small Business Jobs Index for June was 100.81, up 2.32 percent from over a year ago and -0.06 percent from the previous month. Average hourly earnings growth for the month stood at 5.10 percent, compared to 5.16 percent from May 2022. READ MORE

AI can predict salaries based on the text of online job postings

The job landscape in the United States is dramatically shifting: The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined essential work and moved workers out of the office. New technologies are transforming the nature of many occupations. Globalization continues to push jobs to new locations. And climate change concerns are adding jobs in the alternative energy sector while cutting them from the fossil fuel industry. READ MORE

Worker disappears after he was accidentally paid more than 300 times his salary

A worker in Chile submitted his resignation and could not be found after his job accidentally paid him about 330 times his salary because of a payroll error, according to reports. 

The worker, a dispatch assistant at cold meats manufacturer Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos, received a paycheck of 165,398,851 Chilean pesos, or $180,418, for the month of May. He was only supposed to be paid about 500,000 Chilean pesos, or $545. READ MORE

Hochul scraps Cuomo order that capped not-for-profit executives’ pay at $199K

Gov. Kathy Hochul has scrapped an executive order issued by predecessor Andrew Cuomo that sought to prevent state-funded service providers from paying “excessive” salaries to executives.

Cuomo’s 2012 edict capped executive salaries for thousands of not-for-profit providers at $199,000. Salaries could only get bumped with a waiver or approval from the state budget director. READ MORE

CEO Pay To Be a Big ESG Issue

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing continues to evolve as investors look for better ways to engage with companies. Most of ESG investing has focused on the environmental values of a company, but that is changing. With more focus now being tied to the “S” and “G” in the acronym, many firms are being forced to navigate a different atmosphere with a variety of issues being addressed. One of which hits them right in the corner office. READ MORE

Compensation Planning Trailing Inflation: Retention Strategies

In an ideal world, employers would have nothing stopping them from providing higher salaries to all their workers, and raw passion would be the principal factor motivating employees to do their jobs. But, sadly, we don’t live in that kind of realm.

Money matters and numerous aspects affect whether companies can ensure pay raises. Even if they love their job roles, employees can’t sustain their lives and maintain high well-being levels without a paycheck. READ MORE

Third Time’s the Charm? SEC Re-Reopens Comment Period for Executive Comp Clawback Rules

On June 8, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reopened the comment period for its proposed rule implementing the incentive-based compensation recovery (clawback) provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The SEC had previously reopened the comment period in October 2021, more than six years after the regulations were first proposed in July 2015, making this newest reopening the third opportunity for interested persons to comment on aspects of the proposed rule. READ MORE

Inflation sparks global wave of protests for higher pay

Rising food costs. Soaring fuel bills. Wages that are not keeping pace. Inflation is plundering people’s wallets, sparking a wave of protests and workers’ strikes around the world.

This week alone saw protests by the political opposition in Pakistan, nurses in Zimbabwe, unionized workers in Belgium, railway workers in Britain, Indigenous people in Ecuador, hundreds of U.S. pilots and some European airline workers. Sri Lanka’s prime minister declared an economic collapse Wednesday after weeks of political turmoil. READ MORE

Asking Employees About Salary Expectations Could Lead to Discrimination Claims

In recent years, a number of states have passed laws prohibiting prospective employers from asking applicants about their salaries in their current jobs or overall salary history. However, these laws may not restrict employers from asking applicants about their salary needs or expectations for the advertised position. Asking questions such as these during job interviews could raise questions with regard to compliance with federal equal pay laws. READ MORE

SEC Reminds Public Company Executives That Clawbacks Are A Priority

On June 8, 2022, the SEC issued a release reopening the comment period for the clawback rules initially proposed in July 2015 to implement the provisions of Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The 2015 proposed rules would require securities exchanges to establish listing standards that would require public companies to develop, implement and disclose a clawback policy. This reopening release follows on the heels of the SEC’s October 2021 reopening of the comment period for the proposed rules, which closed on November 22, 2021. Last week’s re-reopening of the comment period is intended to allow interested persons to comment on the additional analysis and data provided in a memo from the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (“DERA”). READ MORE

Employers Need to Look Out for Local Laws on Salary Transparency, in Addition to PERM Regulations

Employers doing PERM cases need to be on the lookout for local laws that require salary transparency in recruitment ads. Pursuant to the Department of Labor’s PERM regulations, recruitment advertisements must include only the name of the employer, the job location, directions on how to apply for the position, and a description of the position specific enough to apprise U.S. workers of the opportunity – not salary information. Local laws may impose additional requirements. READ MORE

October Surprise? DOL Proposal for Exempt Status Minimum Salary Hike Could be Coming

The DOL has made clear that, during the Biden Administration, it will attempt to increase the minimum salary that employers must pay to most of their exempt employees. DOL has conducted several listening sessions with various groups, including employer representatives, over the past few months to gather information and opinions on whether, when, and to what amount the DOL should increase the minimum salary which employers must pay to exempt employees to maintain their status as exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements under the executive, administrative, professional, and computer employee exemptions. READ MORE