ressure to increase wages for the lowest-paid employees, driven by the need to attract workers and to stay ahead of rising local, state and federal minimum wage mandates, is "a red-hot compensation topic right now," according to a panel of pay authorities who spoke at WorldatWork's 2021 Total Rewards Conference, held virtually in October.

Raising minimum pay levels can require revisiting pay ranges throughout the compensation structure, the panelists noted. As a related issue, many benefits costs, such as 401(k) matching contributions and incentive bonuses, are linked to employees' base pay and will become more expensive as wage rates trend higher. READ MORE