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I recently had a layover at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport on my way to visit my parents in Oregon, so I stopped at McDonald’s for a quick bite. Rather than being greeted by a human cashier, I was met with a hall of self-serve kiosks, where I placed my order and paid for it.
Expect to see a lot more machines and far fewer human workers in states and cities that are artificially driving up the cost of employees through higher minimum wages. READ MORE
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6.5 million people in the U.S. are currently unemployed. But the good news is there are literally millions of competitors with openings for job seekers on the hunt for a new position. Let’s face it, job hunting is stressful. Sometimes the anxiety is so great that the stress of job seeking can lead to an array of mental health issues for applicants. READ MORE
Earlier this week, after Starbucks’ annual shareholders’ meeting, company investors voted on several initiatives, including a new executive compensation package that would omit diversity and sustainability goals from bonus considerations for top leadership at the company. Shareholders voted overwhelmingly (90% yes votes) to approve the new compensation packages, though the vote is technically nonbinding to company policy.
This bonus initiative was first introduced in 2020 as a company-wide effort to support diversity, equity, and inclusion at Starbucks and was quickly emulated by other major foodservice chains nationally, including Chipotle, which increased the percentage of its executive bonus ties to company ESG goals from 10% to 15% in 2022. READ MORE
While some organizations may be planning to rely on the compensation committee to deem executive incentive recoupment costs as “impracticable” so they can avoid enforcing now mandatory clawback regulations, this is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Companies must disclose why recoupment is impracticable, including details about how they calculated the amounts to be recouped. There is an overarching concern that shareholders, proxy advisors and the media will question the calculation that supports not seeking recoupment. We also anticipate that these same audiences will ask why the company did not have a mechanism in place to help ensure that officer-earned compensation is within reach. READ MORE
The share of S&P 500 companies integrating climate-related metrics into their executives’ compensation plans more than doubled over the past two years, according to a new report from The Conference Board based on disclosure data from ESGAUGE.
Executive compensation was tied to climate-related metrics by about 25% of S&P 500 firms in 2021 but rose to 54% in 2023. The percentage also doubled in the Russell 3000 index, going from 16% to 32%. READ MORE
The TSLA board comp case was vastly interesting and even some fun. I learned a lot about Delaware Chancery Court, figured out how to navigate the befuddling File-and-Serve system, and visited Wilmington to argue our objection to the proposed settlement. I had a terrific time talking with Ron Orol at The Deal about the experience.
You’ll recall the proposed settlement provided for TSLA shareholders to vote on director pay. We objected because it arguably did not require directors to abide by the vote result. READ MORE
On 29 January 2024, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that would prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about applicants’ compensation history when hiring or setting pay for individuals working on or in connection with a government contract. On the same day, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP) issued Frequently Asked Questions expressing its view that salary history is not a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for pay disparities.
These actions echo actions by states including California, New York, and Washington that have banned employers from considering salary history when making employment decisions and enacted pay transparency laws requiring inclusion of salary ranges in job postings. READ MORE
Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday its senior employees, whose compensation includes more stock-related awards than cash, may not receive a cash pay raise this year.
"For this year's compensation cycle, we are prioritizing cash base pay increases for employees whose compensation is weighted more heavily in base pay as opposed to stock," an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement. READ MORE
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun could walk away with a $24m compensation package after quitting following a string of incidents that have sparked major safety concerns.
Mr Calhoun announced on Tuesday he would be resigning from his role as CEO at the end of the year following what he described as a “watershed moment” for Boeing after a panel on the side of an Alaska Airlines plane blew out mid-flight. READ MORE
Employers last month added 275,000 jobs, a higher-than-expected increase that veiled a cooling in wage gains and the overall labor market. Average hourly earnings last month increased only 0.1% compared with a 0.5% monthly gain in January.
Also, the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% and the Labor Department revised down the number of payroll gains in January to 229,000 from the earlier reported figure of 353,000. READ MORE
In an increasingly competitive hiring environment, employers are learning that recruiting and retaining talent doesn't simply come down to the benefits they offer — it's also about how much employees are able to personalize their total rewards.
The top request from employees related to improving compensation is having more types of rewards and the opportunity to personalize their rewards packages, according to Mercer's 2024 Global Talent Trends study. READ MORE
Some California fast-food locations are letting go of workers ahead of a new $20 minimum wage law slated to take effect in April that could dramatically impact their bottom lines.
Several eateries, particularly pizza chains, have begun to cut jobs, in an effort to get ahead of the possible financial repercussions, The Wall Street Journal reported. READ MORE
Bosses want their workers back on-site on a more permanent basis. They're willing to pay a premium to do so.
While many jobs still offer hybrid- or remote-working patterns, more bosses are mandating their employees to return to the office on a full-time basis. Boeing, UPS and JPMorgan Chase are among the large corporations that have enforced in-person attendance five days a week. READ MORE
At present, there is no federal pay transparency law in the United States. However, as Archinect frequently reports on, several states and cities across the United States have enacted their own requirements for employers seeking to hire or promote within their organization.
Below, we have listed the details of salary transparency laws across American cities and states as they exist in March 2024. As is noted towards the end of this resource, several more states with no existing requirements are currently in the process of debating or passing legislation to strengthen salary disclosure requirements. READ MORE
Rank-and-file workers are not the only employees that have been impacted by the widespread layoffs and cost-cutting measures that have taken hold since the Great Resignation. In 2023, nearly half of all observed job cuts were manager-level or higher, according to research from Live Data Technologies. Layoffs in leadership made up almost two times the share of total terminations compared to the previous five-year average. READ MORE
The SEC issued its final rule that amends Regulation S-K to require listed companies to disclose the relationship between executive compensation and certain measures of financial performance of the registrant for the five most recent fiscal years (phased in over the first three years and scaled for SRCs). READ MORE
The chief executives of some of the top publicly traded companies in the U.S. are seeing their pay soar. Semiconductor company Broadcom’s chief executive Hock Tan received a $161 million stock award that could reach over a billion dollars based on the company’s surging share price, with underlying shares valued at about $1.3 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. READ MORE
Salaries for new roles are stagnating – and in some cases, falling. Some employers may be looking to cut costs, but the lack of wage growth may be a matter of post-pandemic correction.
The mass US layoffs of the past few years are continuing. In 2024 alone, thousands of workers across many sectors, including media and technology, have lost their jobs and are on the hunt for new ones. But some are finding an unwelcome surprise as they scan listings for open roles. A salary bump is all but impossible; in many cases, wages seem lower than their previous pay – even for the same jobs. READ MORE
Seven former Morgan Stanley brokers have won more than $3 million over allegations that the firm improperly withheld their deferred compensation when they moved to competitors, according to an arbitration award finalized on Friday.
The arbitration award could have broad implications for as many as 150 other ex-Morgan Stanley brokers who are arguing that the firm violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by requiring them to forfeit backpay, according to Alan Rosca, one of the lawyers who represents the seven brokers. READ MORE
Bespoke Partners, the largest retained executive search and leadership advisory service firm for software companies, today released a new report focusing on key leadership trends in private equity backed software and SaaS companies, including compensation averages and exit readiness. READ MORE
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