Strengthening pay practices

2023 marked the first time in four years S&P 500-listed issuers awarded compensation packages based on a down market. In 2022, the S&P 500 index’s total return was -19.4% and companies generally responded as investors would expect, with average granted compensation for companies in the index decreasing to $15.7 million in 2022, down from $17.5 million in 2021.

Despite these tough market conditions, investors responded positively to more modest CEO payouts. 2023 marked the first proxy season in five years where support for advisory “say on pay” proposals at S&P 500 companies increased in comparison to the previous year. Proposals of this kind received 92.1% support on average in 2017, bottoming out at 87.7% average support in 2022. 2023, however, bucked the trend, with “say on pay” resolutions winning 88.9% average support, according to Diligent Market Intelligence’s (DMI) Voting module. READ MORE

Linking executive compensation to D&I metrics in the wake of SFFA: Action steps for public companies to consider

Anti-ESG sentiment has been on the rise – shareholder proposals questioning the wisdom of ESG initiatives, including those designed to foster diversity and inclusion (D&I), have more than doubled within the past three years. Additionally, some stakeholders are bringing litigation aiming to curtail corporate D&I initiatives, including shareholder derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty, classic assertions of reverse discrimination, securities fraud claims, and claims that specific corporate policies violate state and federal anti-discrimination statutes. READ MORE

Show Me The Money! Trends in Executive Compensation

As the calendar inches closer to 2024, a pivotal concern looms large in the minds of most employees: cash bonuses.

However, for executives, especially those who work for private companies that may be involved in a potential sale or merger, their calculus is different. Rather than fixating solely on traditional year-end bonuses, executives are focused on creative and tax-efficient ways to maximize compensation, both now and at other inflection points throughout the year. READ MORE

3 questions to empower top talent through nonqualified deferred compensation plans

We know offering a robust retirement plan helps attract and retain in-demand executives, reduce turnover expenses, and boost the bottom line. But far from being table stakes, your retirement offering gives you an opportunity to differentiate yourself amongst the competition and attract top talent. As part of that package, you may consider including a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan offering for your leadership staff. READ MORE

Jobs where salaries are rising the fastest

Wage growth is slowing after reaching a recent peak but, with increases still “solid”, this could add pressure on the Reserve Bank (RBA) to raise interest rates at least one more time.

Advertised salaries rose by 4.6 per cent over the year to October 2023, SEEK’s latest Advertised Salary Index found, slowing from the 4.8 per cent recorded in both September and August and below the peak of 5 per cent seen in December 2022. READ MORE

6 in 10 Americans say money can buy happiness—here’s how much it would cost

It’s no secret that having enough money in the bank can help keep your stress low and improve your overall happiness.

Studies have shown that higher incomes are correlated with higher levels of life satisfaction, and Americans themselves tend to agree — 6 in 10 say money can buy happiness, according to a recent survey from Empower, a financial services company. READ MORE

CEO Performance Pay Is One of Capitalism’s Great Myths

As an abstract value at least, equality is generally seen as a good thing in most liberal democratic societies. Outside certain fringes of the Right, in fact, it’s exceptionally rare to see people defend inequality as an end itself. This is why most arguments for the unequal distribution of wealth or power rhetorically adopt an egalitarian guise or try to make the case that inequality actually benefits the least well-off. Advocates of so-called trickle-down economics, for example, might in practice support economic policies that have greatly exacerbated the gap between rich and poor, but they nonetheless like to insist that there’s some wider populist benefit to those policies (the wealth, after all, is ultimately supposed to “trickle down”). READ MORE

Switching Industries May Mean Lower Pay For Executives. Here’s Why

There may be many solid reasons for top executives to quit their jobs and change industries: the challenge of putting well-honed leadership skills to use in a different context and learning new competencies. An entirely new network of people. The chance to be part of a high-profile sector or company.

Executives who value salary above all else, however, may want to think twice before they take the leap into a new industry. Here’s why. READ MORE

Adidas, Home Depot Sued in Test Cases on Job Ad Pay Transparency

A batch of proposed class actions filed in Washington state against major companies such as adidas AG, Home Depot Inc., and Marriott International Inc., will help employers gauge the litigation risk they face under a recent nationwide wave of pay transparency laws requiring salary ranges in job ads.

A handful of job applicants have sued companies in roughly 40 lawsuits alleging they failed to advertise the pay ranges and benefits information that Washington’s law began requiring Jan. 1. Each case could cover “potentially hundreds” of job applicants, according to the complaints. READ MORE

Pay hikes in 2024: What do employers have on the horizon?

After years of employers hiking salaries to keep talent in a tough labor market, a new study suggests across-the-board pay raises may not be in the cards at many organizations in 2024.

A report out this week from ResumeBuilder.com found that 18% of companies surveyed had not yet decided if they were going to give raises next year, and 8% won’t. While three-quarters plan to raise some salaries, at half of those companies, the raises will go to 50% or less of employees, according to a survey of 600 business leaders. READ MORE

Issues Facing Compensation Committees in 2024

The current economic environment and geopolitical unrest have created substantial uncertainty as companies prepare annual budgets and long-term forecasts for 2024 and beyond. At the same time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s unprecedented release of new regulations and guidance has many companies scrambling to adopt new policies and comply with new disclosure requirements, and the onslaught of new rules does not appear to be abating anytime soon. Further, the number of proxy proposals this past year reached an all-time high as the SEC changed its rules, making it more difficult for companies to exclude such proposals. READ MORE

Here’s how rising pay transparency is causing an employer compensation information ‘arms race’

Rising pay transparency is causing a new kind of competition among employers — and it’s not necessarily for talent.

Instead, the shift in employers opting to share salaries on job listings has sparked an “arms race” for better starting pay and other benefits, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNBC. And more employers are also including a range of non-cash benefits, perks and flexibility options in their job postings, according to a recent ZipRecruiter survey on pay transparency. READ MORE

Universal basic income is working

In the spring of 2022, Tydricka Lewis finally bought a car that started every time she asked it to and no longer left her stranded.

Her 2020 Nissan Rogue was essential to her new job as a peer-support specialist — helping people in mental-health crises required her to be able to get places reliably and fast. And it was essential to her new life outside prison, where she'd spent six years and four months for chasing fraudulent checks. READ MORE

Here’s how rising pay transparency is causing an employer compensation information ‘arms race’

Rising pay transparency is causing a new kind of competition among employers — and it’s not necessarily for talent.

Instead, the shift in employers opting to share salaries on job listings has sparked an “arms race” for better starting pay and other benefits, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNBC. And more employers are also including a range of non-cash benefits, perks and flexibility options in their job postings, according to a recent ZipRecruiter survey on pay transparency. READ MORE

These mistakes can sabotage your salary negotiations before they even start

With only two months left in 2023, many people have set their sights on getting a new job in the new year. The stress of finding and interviewing for a new job can be daunting, but there’s another element of the job search that can be equally challenging: negotiation. 

While negotiation can be scary, economists say that choosing not to do it leaves $1 million to $1.5 million in lifetime earnings on the table, and yet almost 20% of people have said they never negotiate. But it’s hard to know what to ask for. Is $20k more too much? Do I deserve extra days off? Will they renege my job offer if I ask for additional benefits?  READ MORE

Some companies lower salaries in job postings as pay transparency laws take effect, new report finds

State and local pay transparency laws enacted over the last few years have more employers disclosing salary ranges in job descriptions.

Yet, wages aren’t growing as expected. The growth of advertised wages for new hires is slowing, according to a report from job posting service ZipRecruiter — and in some cases, it’s reversing, with companies now posting lower pay ranges. READ MORE