Executive Compensation and Clawbacks

Clawback compensation has been a longstanding tool for both public and private companies to recoup excesses paid to employees after the occurrence of certain untoward events. For example, it is not uncommon to find clawback clauses in separation agreements of public and private companies that operate to take back severance if the former employee breaches nondisclosure, non-solicitation, or non-compete agreements. Various executive compensation plans can likewise incorporate clawback provisions entered contractually by private companies. READ MORE

12 US Cities with High Salaries and Low Living Costs

As an avid researcher and data enthusiast, I recently embarked on a fascinating journey to uncover the cities in the U.S. where your dollar stretches the furthest.

My curiosity led me to pore over the United States Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey, where I meticulously analyzed and ranked 100 cities. The criteria? They had to boast both a median household income and a mean household income above the national average. READ MORE

3 compensation issues topping HR’s priority list

HR leaders are increasingly facing sleepless nights over rapid changes in the world of compensation—as pay transparency laws sweep the country, illuminating pay equity issues and their own need to develop data-crunching skills and savvy.

These three issues—pay transparency, pay equity and data analytics skills—were cited as top concerns among HR leaders at the WorldatWork conference last week in San Diego. READ MORE

Fourth Circuit affirms Tax Court’s denial of reasonable compensation deduction

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the Tax Court’s application of the multifactor test in its denial of bonus deductions for a closely held company’s CEO. In the case, the Tax Court held that a portion of compensation paid by a C corporation to its CEO and sole shareholder was unreasonable compensation under Section 162(a)(1).

 The reasonable compensation issue is critical for C corporations for determining whether payments are deductible as compensation and incur only one layer of tax as compensation at the individual level, or should be considered distributions that are not deductible against corporate tax and are taxed as dividends again at the individual level. READ MORE

What are some considerations for companies as ESG continues to find its way into incentive compensation plans?

“An incentive compensation program should drive behavior, engagement and results that a company wants its employees, customers and investors to know are important to it. Incorporate ESG incrementally and with that broader goal in mind. Set targets that are meaningful to the core of the business and make sense in the industry, that can be communicated clearly, and that are measurable. Then support those targets with robust data collection processes and reporting frameworks to ensure integrity and credibility and to facilitate clear and effective reporting out to key stakeholders.” READ MORE

Voters Across Party Lines Support Clawing Back Compensation from Failed Bank Executives

This March, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed after gross risk management — making it the largest bank to fail since the Great Recession of 2008. The failure resulted in growing economic instability and prompted another major bank, Signature Bank, to fail as well. 

Silicon Valley Bank failed because of executives’ mismanagement of interest rate risk. However, due to weaknesses in our current federal law, SVB’s executives were able to get and keep their bonuses. Greg Becker, SVB’s CEO, received $9.9 million in total compensation in 2022 with a $1.5 million cash bonus. He also sold nearly $30 million in stock, including $3.6 million days before the bank’s failure. READ MORE

Dueling Bipartisan Proposals to Seize Pay From Failed Bank Executives

Today, the Senate Banking Committee meets for a relatively rare event: a legislative markup. It’s actually the first legislative markup under committee chair Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who took over the gavel in 2021. (There have been several dozen nomination markups, but nothing for legislation.)

Senate committees in general reserve markups for legislation that can pass, and the Recovering Executive Compensation Obtained from Unaccountable Practices (RECOUP) Act, a joint measure from Brown and the committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), is that kind of bill. It seeks to hold executives who bankrupt their companies more accountable, empowering the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to claw back compensation, remove executives from their positions and the industry at large, and impose civil penalties. The legislation follows the collapse this spring of Silicon Valley Bank and other large regionals that failed to manage interest-rate risk. READ MORE

Senate bill on bank exec pay clawbacks faces first test

The Senate Banking Committee is set to vote Wednesday morning on a bipartisan bill that would allow the FDIC to claw back some compensation from senior executives at failed banks.

Why it matters: The bill has the backing of two key senators on both sides of the aisle and looks to be lawmakers' main response to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which set off a mini-banking crisis this spring. READ MORE

A Job With a Fair Salary? What Pay Transparency Laws Are Revealing.

Last December, Yun Yati Naing began searching for the job she would begin after graduating from Baruch College in New York City. It was one month after a law passed by the city went into effect requiring employers with four or more employees to post salary ranges on all new job advertisements.

“All my friends were talking about it,” Ms. Naing said. “It really made a difference going into the work force as a fresh graduate. We had no idea what the wages of these entry-level jobs were.” READ MORE

The American public gets it: We can’t achieve racial equity without paying all workers a living wage

In response to the Black Lives Matter movement that gained traction following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, companies in the U.S. have committed $340 billion to address racial inequity. Three years later, corporate leaders are facing headwinds that could challenge those commitments.

Now, there are concerns that an anticipated Supreme Court ruling could strike down affirmative action in college admissions. The potential impacts of the decision could extend beyond college campuses and reach into corporate America. Companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts could face an even greater backlash and corporate leaders may be pressed to make the case for why this work matters. READ MORE

The Racial Wage Gap Is Shrinking

In the early 2000s, the wage gap between Black and white workers in the U.S. was as large as it had been in 1950.

That is a shocking statistic and a sign of the country’s deep racial inequality. Over the past five years, however, the story has changed somewhat: The wage gap, though still enormous, has shrunk. “It’s a pretty meaningful reversal,” Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told me. READ MORE

Top 5 unusual jobs with good salaries, according to Indeed

Whatever career you choose, your job becomes a big part of your life. It may even form part of your identity, letting others know about your values, your skills and your interests. If you think a work path that’s a bit more unusual may suit you, you have plenty of options. You can pick a nontraditional job with a salary that allows you to live comfortably.

Earlier this year, the job site Indeed came out with a list of 15 of these jobs. READ MORE

Here's the Median Salary At Big Tech Companies Like Amazon and Google

Given rising layoffs and a stubbornly high inflation rate, you’d think companies would be pinching pennies on worker salaries these days.

Yet the opposite is happening, according to a new study.

In general, annual compensation (i.e., salary, bonuses, and benefits) rose higher in 2022 than in 2021 at 278 S&P 500 Index companies according to data collected by MyLogIQ and analyzed by The Wall Street Journal. The review of each company’s security filings tracked 453 S&P mainstay U.S. companies. READ MORE