Cybersecurity Enters Conversation About Executive Pay

Companies are starting to tie bonuses for their chief executives and other top leaders to cybersecurity metrics, a move that governance experts say could make them more secure against hackers.

The practice is inching up among the biggest U.S. companies, with nine of the Fortune 100 companies linking a portion of short-term bonuses for named executive officers to a cyber goal in 2022, according to new research from accounting and consulting firm EY. That is up from zero in 2018, EY said. READ MORE

DOL Proposes $55K for New Overtime Rule Threshold

After several delays, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Wednesday proposed an increase of the minimum salary threshold for overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act to $55,068 per year, which would guarantee overtime pay for most salaried workers earning less than $1,059 per week.  

In its releaseOpen in a new tab, the DOL announced in a notice of proposed rulemaking that the new threshold would restore and extend overtime protections to an estimated 3.6 million salaried workers.  READ MORE

Employers have had enough and are starting to cut salary offers by as much as 47%

After a few years of hefty pay increases for new hires, the trend is reversing, potentially spelling the end to a brief golden age of wage growth for job seekers.

That's according to data collected by online job board ZipRecruiter, which analyzed year-over-year changes in pay posted for more than 20,000 online job ads. It found that the average posted pay for more job titles declined more than increased so far this year. Last year, the opposite was true: Three-quarters of job posts offered higher pay compared to 2021. Additionally, 48% of companies surveyed by ZipRecruiter in July said they had reduced pay for certain roles this year. READ MORE

Google and Meta are the best-paying Big Tech companies for engineers

Google and Meta tend to pay their software engineers more than their peers in Big Tech, according to new data from Blind, an anonymous forum for tech employees.

Apple and Microsoft, meanwhile, pay the least for entry-level engineers on average, though compensation tends to become more comparable across Big Tech for senior talent. Amazon’s promotions can take longer than its peers, and its pay ranges for engineers are the widest. READ MORE

When Market Value Isn’t Enough: The Pitfalls of Objectively Measured Just Compensation

When we take on an eminent domain case, our primary goal is to put our client in the best position possible.  In some cases, that means fighting the taking itself, as my dad (and boss) did in the well-known Wayne County v. Hathcock case, which established a new precedent for what constitutes a “public use” for which the government may condemn private land in Michigan.  In other cases, our primary objective is to maximize the compensation available to our clients. READ MORE

Minimum Wage is ‘Increasingly Meaningless’ in Today’s Economy — These States Pay 50% More Hourly Than Required

Since July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. This is the longest period without an increase since the nationwide minimum was established in 1938, according to The New York Times. Individual states can raise the minimum wage for their residents and many do.

But in the aftermath of essential workers, early retirement, rage quitting, quiet quitting, loud quitting and plain old quitting the U.S. saw a labor market in which there were 5 million more job openings than unemployed people. This created a space for workers to negotiate higher wages and has essentially “rendered the minimum wage increasingly meaningless,” according to the New York Times. READ MORE

The White House annual staff report reignites debate on the gender pay gap

The White House recently released its annual report to Congress on White House Office staff which included their yearly salaries. An analysis of the report conducted by Mark Perry, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, revealed that women working for the White House earned 80 cents for every $1 paid to men on average, and escalated the conversation around the concept of the gender pay gap around the U.S.

The gender wage gap, as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor, is a calculation based on “earnings data for women and men who work full-time, year-round in order to control for differences in work hours and experience”. However, some describe the phenomenon as a more nuanced subject. READ MORE

Which states will increase their minimum wage in 2024?

In the United States, the federal minimum wage has been $7.50 an hour for about 14 years, marking the longest period without an increase since the base salary was created in 1938.

However, 30 states, including California, Florida, and New York, as well as the District of Columbia, have adopted wages above the federal minimum.

Some of these states have legislation that establishes automatic increases at the beginning of the year, while others link the increases to salaries in relation to changes in the cost of living and inflation. READ MORE

CEOs of top 100 ‘low-wage’ US firms earn $601 for every $1 by worker, report finds

The CEOs of the top 100 companies paying the lowest wages made an average of $601 for every $1 earned by the average worker last year as executive compensation continued to climb to record highs.

A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies singles out which 100 companies in the S&P 500 pay their workers the least, companies the report dubs the “low-wage 100”. These companies paid their employees – including workers outside the US and part-time workers – a median wage of $31,672 in 2022, while their CEOs took home an average $15.3m. READ MORE

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans Play Vital Role In Helping Companies Retain Top Talent

NFP, a leading benefits consultant, property and casualty broker, wealth manager and retirement plan advisor, reported findings today from its inaugural Executive Benefits Trends Study. In a notable show of effectiveness, 92% of the study's respondents said offering a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan helps them retain their top executive talent, with 93% ranking executive retention as important or critical to their company's success.

The survey also revealed employers have opportunities to improve their NQDC plans, including driving higher usage and better long-term outcomes. Respondents reported their NQDC plan eligibility rates have increased by 45% since 2020, a favorable trend, but have only seen a 32% increase in participation rates over the same period. Most respondents seem content with the status quo of their NQDC plans, as only a limited number (25%) intend to make adjustments in the near-term that could increase their appeal. READ MORE

Executives, Beware: Your Salary Could Be On the Line - 5 Steps You Should Take To Address New Clawback Rules

Executives at public and private companies will soon run the risk of having their compensation subject to forfeiture for financial misstatements and corporate criminal misconduct under their watch thanks to new “clawback” rules from the federal government. The new public company clawback standards– proposed in January and expected to take effect this December – are being issued by the NYSE and NASDAQ as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission with a complimentary program in effect for both public and private companies behind the full weight and force of the U.S. Department of Justice. At one time solely the province of public company executives, the DOJ program will work to scoop money out of the pockets of private company leaders. What are the five steps you should take to address these new clawback rules? READ MORE

Why location matters in compensation lawsuits

The location where a former employee filed a lawsuit had little relationship to his compensation arrangement with the employer, the contract’s formation, its performance, or its breach, the Texas Court of Appeals said in a recent case.

The plaintiff was employed as an associate at Domingo Garcia’s law office in Dallas County, which was the principal office from which the firm operated. He worked there for almost 10 years and mostly handled cases valued between $30,000 and $50,000. READ MORE