CEOs of Major US Companies Who Are Paid 1000 Times More Than Their Employees

CEOs of companies listed on the S&P 500 earned an average of $18.8 million last year, up about 21% from the previous year, Times recently reported. This jump in executive pay came despite an 18% drop in the market index in 2022.

Many of these CEOs were gifted generous stock options by their boards as a reward for steering their companies through the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. But the ratio of CEO pay to the typical earnings of company employees has been trending upwards for decades, due largely to an increase in the use of stock-based compensation. READ MORE

Mandatory Executive Compensation Clawback Policies: The Time Is...Soon

On April 24, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) designated Sunday, June 11, 2023, as the date by which it would either approve or disapprove the executive compensation recovery — or clawback — rules proposed by the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) and the Nasdaq Stock Market (the Nasdaq). If that date holds, and the SEC acts to approve the proposed rules, they will take effect on August 8, 2023 (the Anticipated Effective Date), and public companies will need to adopt a compliant compensation recovery policy by that date. Our previous client alert discusses 10D-1 in detail. READ MORE

Popular bachelor's degrees and high-paying jobs don't always align

A recent study found that some of the most popular college bachelor’s degrees don’t always lead to high-paying jobs and the author of the study is challenging prospective college students to make an informed decision about their career choice. 

"We hope our data remains helpful for those considering college," Michael Itzkowitz, a former Education Department official under the Obama administration wrote in a Twitter post. "It’s important that wherever students attend—and whatever field of study they choose to pursue—they leave knowing it was worth it." READ MORE

How to Close Your Wage Gap and Open Equity at Work

The wage gap might seem like old news, but things aren't improving. For some populations, the wage gap has even widened since the pandemic.

Women and people of color were disproportionately impacted by unemployment and more likely to experience an "earnings penalty" when returning to work. According to Payscale's 2023 State of the Gender Pay Gap Report, women of color in particular experience the widest pay gap. For every dollar white men earn, American Indian women make 72 cents, Hispanic women make 79 cents, and Black women make 80 cents. READ MORE

The Making Of A Millionaire, And Why $100K Is No Longer The Benchmark Salary For Wealth In America

There are over 24.4 million people in the United States with wealth greater than $1 million, according to the Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse.

Possessing a net worth—the value of all of your holdings minus your liabilities—of $1 million will not automatically place you in the gilded top 1%. To enter this high-end club, you must have a minimum net worth of around $11.1 million. READ MORE

Found out you’re paid less than your colleagues? Here’s what you can do about ‘wage compression’

Pay transparency laws — which mandate that employers have to disclose salary ranges — have several benefits, including pay equity and more successful negotiations during the hiring process.

But it can lead to more dissatisfaction and resignations, as employees “detect inequities” among themselves, according to people analytics firm Visier.  READ MORE

IT Salary Outlook Positive; Work-Life Balance and Base Pay Top Priorities for Technology Professionals Finds InformationWeek’s U.S. IT Salary Survey

InformationWeek, the world’s most trusted business technology resource, today unveiled the InformationWeek 2023 U.S. IT Salary Report: Rising Salaries and Closing the Gender Pay Gap. Despite rising labor costs, economic inflation, and companies making an effort to cut back, the salary outlook for IT professionals is positive. Work-life balance and base pay top the list as what matters most to IT professionals when it comes to their jobs. READ MORE

Average Salary By Age In 2023

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’1 research on American earnings across various age groups, the median salary in the United States reaches its zenith within the 45 to 54 age range. We took a closer look at the data for average salary by age in the United States and found and broke down the insights we found. READ MORE

Amazon's stock isn't enough to keep workers loyal, high forfeiture rates show

It was through an internal leak that Monique found out she was among the group of employees being laid off from Amazon in April. Having had time to go through some of the stages of grief, like anger, denial, and depression, Monique, who works in human resources, said she was in the acceptance phase when the company emailed her at 7:00a.m. one day that her role was eliminated.

Monique joined the 27,000 workers Amazon announced it would cut earlier this year.

Monique, who asked for Insider not to use her real name for fear of retaliation, said she hadn't planned to stay with Amazon for much longer anyway. READ MORE

Has Total Rewards Totally Changed?

In the past year or so, even as the world seemed to be climbing out of the worst of the pandemic, the total rewards conversation has shifted to become focused on the total person.

Our employee communications agency first noticed this change in the benefits conversation when working with a major healthcare organization located in a Covid-19 hot spot. Their physicians, clinicians and other employees were exhausted and overwhelmed, fighting depression, anxiety and burnout. READ MORE

Incorporating your EDI Strategy into your Total Rewards Program

Incorporating your EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) strategy into a total rewards program can be an effective way to ensure that an organization’s commitment to EDI is reflected in all aspects of its employee experience, including compensation and benefits.

Many traditional total rewards programs can unintentionally be inequitable in how they meet the needs of employees. Most legacy programs were developed when workforces were less diverse and wanted similar and mostly consistent things from their organization’s total rewards offerings. READ MORE

Americans' Views of Federal Income Taxes Worsen

Americans’ opinions of federal income taxes are the worst Gallup has measured in about two decades.

  • Six in 10 Americans say the amount of federal income tax they pay is “too high,” a level last seen in 2001.

  • Forty-six percent believe the income tax they pay is fair, essentially tying 1999’s 45% as the lowest in Gallup’s trend. A new high of 51% say their income taxes are not fair.

  • More Americans say federal income tax is the worst -- or least fair -- tax, edging out local property tax.

These results are based on Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey, conducted April 3-25. READ MORE

College majors have a big impact on income. Here are the highest and lowest earning fields.

Getting a college degree is a financial commitment with a big impact on future earnings. New research finds that a student's major, along with their alma mater, can make a huge difference in their average salary four years after graduating. 

The college majors that lead to top-paying jobs tend to be focused in so-called STEM fields, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics, according to a new analysis from the HEA Group. Founded by Michael Itzkowitz, the former director of the Department of Education's College Scorecard, HEA provides data on college costs and other topics. READ MORE

Nike could be fined over $530m for misclassifying thousands of workers

Nike may have misclassified thousands of temporary office workers and faces potential tax fines of more than $530m, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.

The sporting goods company employs more than 79,000 people worldwide, and, like many large corporations, relies on an army of independent contractors to do much of the work, including business consulting, T-shirt graphics, photography and event planning. READ MORE

Employee Reaches The Cap Of His Salary After 10 Years, Quits And Finds A Much Better Job

Bosses expect hard work, great results, and loyalty. But those don’t come for free. Staying at the company has to make sense for the employee. And if management puts a hard limit on how much you can grow professionally and how many raises you can have, then it’s only logical to look for greener pastures once you’ve hit that ceiling. Imagine how shocked some bosses must be when that actually happens. READ MORE

Getting Your First Job After College? 3 Signs Your Starting Salary Is Too Low

A big reason many people are willing to take on the expense of college is that having a degree tends to lead to higher wages. Workers with a bachelor's degree earn a median $2.8 million over the course of their careers, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. By contrast, workers with only a high school diploma earn a median $1.6 million.

If you've recently graduated college, you may be aware that you're probably not going to manage to command the most impressive salary. After all, your experience may be minimal to nonexistent, and if you didn't study in a specialized field, you may not have a six-figure paycheck hitting your bank account right away. READ MORE

Heads of failed banks questioned on executive pay, how they handled risk at Senate hearing

Executives from two large U.S. banks that failed dramatically in March appeared in front of the Senate Banking Committee to respond to questions about why their banks went under and what regulators could have done to avoid the calamities.

Along with questions about how these banks failed, senators used the hearing to also address executive pay and whether senior executives in the U.S. are being rewarded more for short-term gains — like rising stock prices — than for ensuring their companies’ long-term health. READ MORE

How do you align executive pay with long-term value creation?

Executive pay is a hot topic in the corporate world, especially in times of crisis, disruption, and stakeholder scrutiny. How can you design a compensation package that motivates your top leaders to drive long-term value creation for your organization and its stakeholders, while avoiding excessive risk-taking, short-termism, and misalignment with your strategy and culture? In this article, we will explore some key principles and practices for aligning executive pay with long-term value creation. READ MORE