Maximizing Business Growth Through Strategic Sales Compensation

Many companies struggle with ineffective sales compensation plans, with only 21% demonstrating plan effectiveness and expressing satisfaction with their approach, according to Alexander Group’s recent Sales Compensation Hot Topics ResearchOpen in a new tab. So, what sets these successful companies apart?

Sales compensation is more than just a reward system; it is a strategic tool that can address business challenges, highlight priorities and drive growth. This article explores how you may leverage sales compensation to overcome obstacles and foster business expansion. READ MORE

Companies express ‘cautious optimism’ about executive compensation for 2025

Looking ahead to 2025, company leaders voiced “cautious optimism” about corporate performance and executive pay, indicating a steadier approach than in recent years, according to a Nov. 19 report from Pearl Meyer, an executive compensation and leadership consultancy.

About half said they expect moderate (36%) or significant (10.5%) improvements in their overall financial results, while 17% anticipate a modest decline. READ MORE

Ohio State reverses hundreds of workers’ raises after DOL’s overtime rule overturned

Attorneys have previously told HR Dive employers should proceed with caution when considering making changes to worker salaries after the overtime rule was vacated. 

While DOL has appealed the ruling, the 2024 overtime rule is likely dead, the attorneys said. But still, employers that made classification or wage changes to comply with the July threshold adjustment should think twice before reversing wages or reclassifications, Chuck McDonald, co-chair of wage and hour practice at Ogletree Deakins, and Brett Coburn, partner at Alston & Bird, told HR Dive. READ MORE

Pay Bump for Disabled Workers Has Chance of Survival Under Trump

The Biden administration’s latest move to cement long-sought raises for workers with disabilities won’t necessarily be tossed aside once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Earlier this week, the US Labor Department announced a new rulemaking effort to phase out the Fair Labor Standards Act’s Section 14(c) program, which allows employers to apply for certificates to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. READ MORE

What’s Happening With Taxes on Overtime Pay?

Tax cuts are in the news again. Former president Donald Trump grabbed headlines when he floated the idea of making all overtime hours tax-free for workers who exceed 40 hours per week. During a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona, the announcement became another hot tax topic, like no tax on tips, during the 2024 presidential race.

"We will end all taxes on overtime,” Trump told supporters during the election campaign. READ MORE

What 'No Salary' Jobs Could Mean for the Future of Work

We've seen jobs with no pay in the form of internships to gain work experience. But what would you do if you had to pay to work at a company?

Sounds unreasonable but the idea was proposed last week by the CEO of Zomato, the Indian food delivery company, who said he was looking for a "hungry" worker with "a learning mindset" to fill the role of chief of staff for himself in a post on X, formerly Twitter, shared on November 20. The post noted that there is "no salary for the role for the first year" and you would have to "pay 20 lacs for this opportunity," which would be donated to a charity. READ MORE

Jobs That Offer Workers Potential to Triple Their Salaries

Some jobs offering low starting salaries can lead to the tripling of income in 20 years, according to a new Launchpad Jobs report from the American Student Assistance and Burning Glass Institute.

The report tracked jobs where workers were able to triple their salaries in the span of 20 years. This includes workers who started as restaurant hosts, coffee shop employees, motion picture projectionists, amusement attendants, door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, pharmacy aides and telemarketers. READ MORE

Overtime Rewind: Texas Court Ruling Unravels FLSA Salary Level Increases

As we previously reported, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule in April 2024 (the “2024 Rule”), raising the salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees and the total annual compensation level for the highly compensated employee exemption. The 2024 Rule also provides for periodic, automatic increases going forward. The 2024 Rule went into effect in July 2024.

On November 15, 2024, however, a Texas federal court struck down the 2024 Rule on a nationwide basis. READ MORE

Trump plan to ‘end all taxes’ on overtime pay would benefit millions of Americans, but it’s going to be uphill battle

The millions of Americans who work overtime have a little more reason to hope for tax relief. 

Republicans this week eked out a slim majority in the House, winning 218 seats, with a few races still uncalled. This means a Republican trifecta and more chance of passing proposals floated by President-elect Trump on the campaign trail, including one that would scrap taxes on overtime. READ MORE

Federal Court Strikes Down Rule Raising Salary Threshold for White Collar Overtime Exemptions

On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated and set aside the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s final regulation increasing the salary threshold for the “white collar” overtime exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on a nationwide basis.

The court held that each of the three components of the rule exceeded the DOL’s statutory authority under the FLSA. And given the nationwide scope of the rule, it concluded that the rule is struck down on a nationwide basis. The court had previously enjoined enforcement of the rule against the State of Texas in its capacity as an employer of state employees; its final decision now vacates the rule for all employers nationwide. READ MORE

The next NAR scandal is here — and it’s about extravagant executive perks

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has spent much of the past few years having its dirty laundry aired across public domain and in courtrooms. Now a new report is taking aim at compensation for NAR executives.

On Monday, The New York Times published an expose about the lavish perks enjoyed by NAR’s executives. Chief among them is the salary of former CEO Bob Goldberg, who earned $1.2 million per year that later ballooned to $2.6 million. READ MORE

Shining A Light On Executive Pay Linked To Sustainability Targets

Remember all those ambitious sustainability targets large corporations announced to great fanfare not so long ago? Net zero emissions by 2050, significant increases in diversity among senior leadership and boards, and commitments to nature preservation and supply chain transparency were a few of the most popular pronouncements. Now, however, as the reality of what it takes to achieve those goals comes into focus, many companies have started to realize that they need to start delivering against their promises. For many of them, there is a real possibility that they may not be able to do so. READ MORE

Musk asks ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ to work for no pay on new Trump project

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are asking Americans who are “high-IQ small-government revolutionaries” and willing to work over 80 hours a week to join their new Department of Government Efficiency – at zero pay.

In a new X post on Thursday that doubled as a job announcement and another one of Musk’s trolling attempts, the account for the newly formed Doge wrote: “We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.” READ MORE

These Countries Have the Highest Minimum Wage on Earth

In 2009, Congress increased the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour, but it has not increased it since. Most states pay more than the federal minimum, of course, and the effective minimum wage (the average wage for all minimum-wage workers in the country) was $11.80 in 2019.

If the minimum wage of $7.25 passed in 2009 had been indexed to inflation, it would actually be $21.45 per hour today. So, if you earn less than this per hour, you are actually comparatively earning less per hour than a minimum-wage worker made in 2009. READ MORE

Wage growth continues to outpace inflation

We got the latest inflation numbers — the Consumer Price Index — for October this morning. CPI increased 0.2% month over month, and prices were 2.6% higher in October than they were a year ago. For the most part, the pace of price gains has been gradually slowing since inflation hit a pandemic-era peak of 9% in June 2022. 

But wages have also been increasing at a pretty steady pace. Average hourly earnings growth surpassed the rate of price growth back in May 2023, which means Americans’ real earnings have been improving.  READ MORE

Department of Labor’s Salary-Threshold Increase Faces New Legal and Political Challenges

The United States Department of Labor issued a final rule on April 23, 2024 that increases the minimum salary threshold for the FLSA’s familiar white-collar overtime exemptions. Effective, July 1, 2024, the salary threshold for exempt workers increased from the previous rate of $684 per week (i.e., $35,568 annually) to $844 per week (i.e., $43,888 annually). The changes don’t end there. Under the DOL’s final rule, the salary threshold will again increase on January 1, 2025, up to $1,128 per week (i.e., $58,656 annually). The rule also provides for automatic increases every three years based on up-to-date wage data. READ MORE

More states now have pay transparency laws. Here’s the effect they’re having

In the past few years, a growing number of states have put laws on their books requiring employers to disclose pay ranges for open positions — either in their job postings or during the hiring process.

Today, Washington, DC, and 13 states have pay transparency laws in place: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Most are already in effect, but the laws in four of those states (Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Vermont) won’t take effect until next year. READ MORE