Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted long anticipated final rules requiring registrants to disclose information regarding the relationship between the actual compensation paid to their executives and the registrant’s financial performance (the “Pay v. Performance Rules”). The Commission believes that these disclosures will “allow investors to assess a registrant’s executive compensation actually paid relative to its financial performance more readily and at a lower cost than under the existing executive compensation disclosure regime.” READ MORE
CFO pay saw record 17% increase in 2021
Median CFO compensation — buoyed by strong company and stock performance — made the largest year over year gains in ten years, a Sept. 30 study by consultancy Compensation Advisory Partners (CAP) found. READ MORE
The executive-worker pay gap keeps getting bigger
Money might seem tight, but CEOs are doing just fine.
Top executives earned 399 times that of the typical worker in 2021, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The left-leaning think tank projected that CEO realized compensation at the top 350 companies in the U.S. increased by 11.1% to $27.8 million from 2020 to 2021. That includes vested stock awards and cashed in stock options—essentially, the actual worth of the stocks that (largely) account for a CEO’s pay. READ MORE
SEC Finalizes “Pay-Versus-Performance” Rules Under Dodd-Frank Act
On August 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted the final rules that require a public company to disclose the relationship between the compensation of its top executives and the company’s financial performance. 87 Fed. Reg. 55134 (Sept. 8, 2022). The “pay-versus-performance” rule is the most recent set of rules issued by the SEC under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), enacted in 2010. READ MORE
The 8 Biggest Considerations When Deciding Your Work-From-Home Compensation Strategy
Like many employers, you may have shifted to a remote work or hybrid model allowing employees to work from home full time or split their time between home and the office. But have you decided how you will pay remote workers, and have you communicated a consistent policy to your employees? While there is certainly no one-size-fits-all policy, there are eight key considerations your organization should keep in mind when going down this path to ensure you remain legally compliant and provide the best atmosphere for your operations to thrive. READ MORE
Americans face ‘most severe’ impact to wages in 25 years
A new report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas states that American workers' wage growth is lagging behind inflation at a rate causing problems unseen in a quarter-century. READ MORE
Salary History & Pay Transparency Laws by State and Locality
As pay equity gains traction nationwide, state and localities are enacting laws aimed at reducing the informational imbalances around pay that can ingrain existing pay disparities.
These laws, known as salary history and pay transparency laws, vary from state to state and locality to locality, creating a contradictory and rapidly changing landscape that you and other employers must try and navigate when recruiting and hiring. READ MORE
Final Two Dodd-Frank Provisions Could Hinder Boards’ Discretion
Over the past decade, the implementation of Dodd-Frank provisions such as say on pay, the advisor independence rules and CEO pay ratio disclosure has significantly influenced the evolution of executive compensation practices and disclosures as well as the role of the board. Now, the SEC has turned its attention to finalizing the open compensation-related Dodd-Frank provisions that remain: clawbacks and pay vs. performance disclosure. Both rules were proposed in 2015. READ MORE
Organizations Should Move Past Skirting Pay Transparency Legislation
Pay transparency is becoming increasingly important for today’s employees and job candidates. In fact, most (60%) employees say they’d switch jobs for more pay transparency. However, many employers are still hesitant about revealing information about their organization’s pay practices. READ MORE
Pay equity: Who should be in charge?
As organizations seek to rightsize their compensation packages, especially given the pressures of the so-called Great Resignation and trends like quiet quitting, the focus on pay equity is becoming ever sharper. While fair pay practices are increasingly viewed as a must for a strong recruitment and retention strategy, ideas about who should actually be setting those policies are less clear. READ MORE
Inflation, Great Resignation but no raises? Time to ‘leverage data’
More than one-third of employees report they haven’t received a pay increase in the past year, according to a survey of 1,000 employees by HR software firm BambooHR. The data also reveals some stark differences among genders. Fewer women (62%) are receiving raises than their male counterparts (66%), and those women who are getting salary increases are getting smaller raises than their male colleagues, 5.24% increases for women compared to 6.39% for men. READ MORE
US employer salary projection 2023 to lag inflation
The good news is that salaries in US companies are going up. The bad news is that despite the increase, 2023 compensation budgets and salary projects for US employers are unlikely to meet employee expectations amid rising high inflation. READ MORE
Tech Salaries Stayed Strong Through Mid-2022
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