The San Francisco Bay Area had the highest average salaries for tech workers in 2022, followed by Seattle and New York, with engineering management roles seeing the highest compensation. READ MORE
More employers are sharing how much jobs pay. Will it close the wage gap?
With new laws from Colorado to Rhode Island, employers are under growing pressure to publicly share how much a job pays.
Last week, California became the largest state to join the push for salary transparency when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure, which takes effect next year. READ MORE
Addressing Underwater Stock Options
Given the significant decline in the stock prices of many companies over the past several months of 2022, a number of companies are reassessing their equity programs and considering repricing outstanding employee stock options.1 Companies are concerned that significantly "underwater" options no longer provide the incentives to employees that were intended when they were originally granted. They also fear they may lose employees to other companies where these employees can receive new options at today's lower exercise prices. READ MORE
As Fed Pushes to 'Get Wages Down,' Study Shows CEO Pay Has Soared by 1,460% Since 1978
An analysis published Tuesday shows that the top executives of the largest corporations in the United States have seen their pay soar by nearly 1,500% over the past 43 years, helping to fuel a massive surge in inequality as workers' wages lag. READ MORE
Attracting and Retaining Key Executives through Deferred Compensation Plans
Deferred compensation plans offer highly compensated and key employees an opportunity to earn performance awards, defer compensation and taxes until a later date, reduce certain payroll taxes, informally find executive life insurance agreements, and help facilitate buy-in for business succession plans. READ MORE
The 25 big companies with the best compensation
Workplace review site Comparably just published its annual ranking of places with the best compensation, and Adobe ranked number one on the list focused on companies with over 500 employees, or large companies. READ MORE
These executives are asking their staff to work less for the same money. Will it pay off?
It wasn’t hard for Samantha Losey, managing director of Unity, a public relations firm in London, to convince her team to work fewer hours for the same paycheck.
But it was an uphill battle to persuade her own board to join the world’s biggest pilot of the four-day work week. READ MORE
Restricted Stock Units - “Vest Day is the Best Day!”
Restricted Stock Units (or “RSUs”) continue to gain traction as part of company compensation plans. Not only are they a great way to incentivize employees with shares of company stock at future dates, but they are also a tremendous tool to help retain top talent from the employer perspective. The present value of your RSU grant is known up front, while the future value is highly uncertain as it’s tied directly to your company’s stock price – and your tenure around vesting schedules. READ MORE
The How and When of Separations from Service Under Section 409A
Readers who regularly work with deferred compensation plans will know that Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 409A”) prescribes six events or times at which deferred compensation may be distributed to participants in a deferred compensation arrangement. READ MORE
A General Tax Overview of Corporate Equity Arrangements
While there are possible variations on each type of arrangement, there are, in general, six types of equity compensation plans that can be offered to employees: READ MORE
Salary Transparency Can Be A Big Victory For Workers—And A Huge Headache For Employers
If New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs a new law mandating the inclusion of salary or compensation ranges on job descriptions, the state will follow the path of Colorado and Washington state where pay transparency laws are currently in effect. The new law will become effective on November 1 in New York City, and statewide next year. READ MORE
New California law will require most employers to list salary range on job postings
On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that would require most employers in California to provide salary ranges for open positions to applicants and workers.
The bill would affect all employers in the state with at least 15 workers to include the hourly rate or salary range on job listings, according to CNBC. READ MORE
The Remote (Worker) is Broken! Workers’ Compensation and Stay-at-Home Employees
In a post-pandemic world, work-from-home and hybrid work arrangements have become the norm in many industries. While employers and employees have become adept at hosting Zoom and Teams meetings, this significant uptick in remote work begs the question: What if an employee gets injured while at home? Is this covered by workers’ compensation? If so, when? The answer, as it so often is, is it depends. READ MORE
Sales Compensation: Solving Today’s Market Disruptors
High turnover, recession, rising pay packages, talent shortages, inflation, supply chain delays, excess inventory, virtual selling — these are just a few of the disruptions facing sales compensation stakeholders today. These same disruptors might also upend your well-functioning sales compensation program. READ MORE
For the first time since the Great Recession, the super-rich did not get richer this year.
After a roaring 2021, the 400 richest people in the U.S.–along with many Americans–have been hit by rising inflation and falling markets. As a group, this year’s Forbes 400 is $500 billion poorer than they were a year ago. Their total net worth stands at $4 trillion, down 11% from last year. READ MORE
Salary Setbacks Might Be A Reality For Some Remote Workers
Same job. Same experience. Same pay? Not necessarily. What you earn will likely depend on two things: where you live and whether you work from home.
While most workers in today’s job market have the upper hand, thanks in large part to a labor shortage, remote workers might be at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating wages. READ MORE
Salary Negotiation Strategies for HR Professionals
The largest raises you'll ever get in your career typically come from quitting a job and joining a new employer, though not everyone wants to jump ship. Learning how to negotiate for a pay raise—whether you are job hunting or staying put—is critical if you hope to earn what you're worth in the market. READ MORE
Tech salaries continue to increase as firms search for talent
Tech salaries are still on the rise, according to research by job marketplace Hired, but despite the small talent pool, many think the power will soon lie with hiring firms rather than candidates. READ MORE
SEC Showing Its Claws with Increased Focus on Recouping Executive Comp
The government's focus on clawbacks is at a fever pitch. At the Practicing Law Institute's SEC Speaks conference earlier this month, senior officials within the SEC's Division of Enforcement emphasized the agency's increasing use of the executive compensation clawback provision under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). This comes on the heels of the SEC – once again – reopening comment on a proposed rule for securities exchanges to require listed companies to adopt clawback policies and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco's recent comments around compensation clawbacks. In response, we want to provide an overview of the compensation clawback provision within SOX (Section 304), a brief history of the SEC's use of the provision and key applicability considerations. READ MORE
To cut a firm's emissions, peg its CEO's pay to climate goals
Companies that want to reduce their carbon footprint should pay their executives more to make that happen, according to a new working paper (pdf) by economists in California and Europe. READ MORE