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Stock incentives are seen positively by the market "as higher stock prices directly boost such incentives," she said. Sony, which introduced stock incentives years ago for some management levels, recently changed its framework to make the incentives more attractive, a spokesperson said. "The stock incentives are aimed at beefing up engagement with employees and promoting their interest in raising corporate value." Today, employee stock incentives are also a way for companies to replace cross-shareholdings, a common practice where companies take stakes in partners to cement relationships and avoid activist investors. Despite its increasing popularity, just a quarter of top 100 Japanese companies have employee stock incentives compared to more than 80% in the United States or Germany, data by consulting firm Human Resources Governance Leaders shows.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Motomi Hashimoto, Hitoshi Tanimura, Shintaro Takano, Shinzo Abe, Shinji Ishikawa, Makiko Yamazaki, Ritsuko Shimizu, Miral Organizations: Nikkei, REUTERS, Rights, ANA Holdings, ANA, Sony Group, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nomura Securities, Reuters, Sony, Human Resources, Leaders, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Omron, United States, Germany

☆ Sweetgreen sued by workers alleging racial discrimination — including regular use of the N-word — and sexual harassment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ten former and current Sweetgreen employees are accusing store managers of racial discrimination. The plaintiffs allege managers used and tolerated the use of racial slurs toward Black workers. Managers are also accused of sexual harassment in the lawsuit. We take these accusations seriously and do not tolerate any form of harassment, discrimination, or unsafe working conditions," a spokesperson said to CNBC in a statement. In 2020, another New York-based employee sued Sweetgreen for gender discrimination and sexual harassment.

Persons: —, Kiana Alvarado, Sweetgreen didn't, Sweetgreen Organizations: Service, New York Supreme, New, Financial, CNBC Locations: Wall, Silicon, Bronx, New York City, Greenwich Village, Midtown East, Meatpacking District, New York

☆ Sweetgreen sued by workers at 7 New York restaurants for alleged racial discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ten Sweetgreen employees are suing the salad chain, alleging racial discrimination at seven of its New York City restaurants. The complaint also alleges that managers failed to hire or promote qualified Black employees and gave preferential treatment to Hispanic workers. The plaintiffs allege that store managers said Hispanic people work harder than African Americans and called Black employees lazy. The lawsuit claims managers sexually harassed female workers, making sexual comments and touching them inappropriately. We take these accusations seriously and do not tolerate any form of harassment, discrimination, or unsafe working conditions," a Sweetgreen spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

Organizations: New York Supreme, CNBC, Financial, Side . Companies, New York Locations: New York City, New York, Manhattan, Meatpacking District, Greenwich Village, Midtown East, Side, New

☆ Pilots at Australia's national airline made sexist, misogynistic remarks about female colleagues and the company's CEO in an online forum, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some Qantas Airways pilots made sexist remarks about female colleagues in an online chatroom. Pilots at Australian national airline Qantas made disparaging, sexist comments about female colleagues and the company's CEO Vanessa Hudson in an online forum, the Herald Sun reported Tuesday. The forum hosted misogynistic comments and remarks dating back as far as 2018, the outlet reported. In a statement to Insider Qantas' chief pilot Dick Tobiano said: "These comments are completely unacceptable. He added: "We have many talented female pilots at Qantas and we want to encourage a lot more of them.

Persons: Vanessa Hudson, Hudson, Dick Tobiano, Aviation hasn't, Davida Foreshaw, Foreshaw Organizations: Qantas Airways, Qantas, Australian, Pilots, Herald Sun, Aviation

☆ Jobs Sit Empty in the Public Sector, So Unions Pitch In to Recruit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At the same time, the federal infrastructure bill is supercharging demand for people to manage construction projects. That’s a victory for labor unions, which typically push for more hiring, higher wages and better benefits. In Minnesota, the vacancy rate for state government jobs rose to 11.5 percent in the 2023 fiscal year from 7.5 percent in 2019. “They understand that services are not being provided at the level that they should be provided. It’s a team effort as far as bringing fresh blood into the public service.”That was the point of the hiring fair in Minneapolis.

Persons: ”, Lee Saunders, “, It’s Organizations: American Federation of State, Municipal Employees Locations: Minnesota, American Federation of State , County, Minneapolis

☆ What a ‘Human-Centered’ Approach Can Do for Workers With Disabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Wendy Lu | More About Wendy Lu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the summer of 2015, Katherine Macfarlane was preparing to teach at the University of Idaho’s law school. It was her first teaching job on a tenure track, and she wanted to make sure she had everything she needed. So she submitted a request for a keyboard tray and a few other office items. It wasn’t enough: Her request was denied because the documents were deemed outdated, she recalled. “So I pleaded with a rheumatologist I’d seen in the past and desperately asked for a letter.”

Persons: Katherine Macfarlane, Macfarlane, Ms, ” Organizations: University of Locations: Spokane

☆ My Boss Made Me Post This
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Roxane Gay | More About Roxane Gay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

As the weeks passed, I never received an official offer letter or had a discussion about a raise. Nearly two months later, I received my official offer, with no increase in salary, bonus or deferred structure. I still haven’t signed the offer letter. Do you like your job enough to sign the offer letter and see what happens? If your employer can afford to pay everyone else in your organization a full-time salary for working 30 hours a week, they can afford to pay you a full-time salary for working 30 hours a week.

Persons: haven’t, I’m Locations: New York

☆ Essence Magazine was meant to be a place for 'Black girl magic.' Internally, some employees say it was more like 'Black girl tragic.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Yoonji Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +34 min

"Essence is the most deceptive Black media company in America. Essence Magazine was first published in 1970 at a time when Black business and civil rights leaders called for greater self-determination and empowerment. The magazine was the brainchild of a group of four Black businessmen who identified a lack of publications for Black women in America. "And that is to serve Black women deeply, to serve women of color in a way that no one else has thought about." Essence CEO Michelle Ebanks, Richelieu Dennis, and Essence chief content & creative officer Moana Luu at the 2020 13th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood luncheon.

Persons: Richelieu Dennis, Dennis, Susan Taylor, Taylor, —, Jason Kempin, wasn't, Essence Communications Michelle Ebanks, Rich Dennis, Arturo Holmes, Margarita Corporan, Forbes, let's, Black, didn't, Sandra Okerulu, Michelle Ebanks, Luu, Moana, Rich Polk, Wears, Danielle Young, Julee Wilson, Candace Montgomery, Wilson, Montgomery, Martha, Martha Dennis, Rechelle, Sophia, Richelyna, Alan Lescht, bristled, Ebanks, Joy Collins Profet, Readers, Essence's, Collins Profet, Caroline Wanga, — it's, Wanga, unappreciated, Travis Montaque, cofounders, Lionel Hahn, Yesha Callahan, Rich, That's what's, Yoonji Han Organizations: Black, Essence Magazine, Time Inc, Vogue, Sports, Essence Communications, Entertainment, New York Times, Meredith Corporation, Brands, Ventures, Upfronts, Babson College, The, Depot, PepsiCo, Accenture, Unilever, Inc, Magazine, Magazine's, Penske Media, Getty, Essence Ventures, Afropunk, Vice Media, Black Entertainment Television, Digital, Sports Illustrated, Media, Fortress Investment, NASDAQ, Trace Media, texturism, Hamptons, Readers, Employees, Staff, BET, Culture, Democracy, Inkwell, Essence Locations: America, Black, Liberia, Queens, shea, Moana Luu, Martinique, France, Paris, Philippines, Hollywood, Industry City, Brooklyn, Cannes

☆ Obesity drug Wegovy's popularity has US employers rethinking insurance coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] A selection of injector pens for the Saxenda weight loss drug are shown in this photo illustration in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 31, 2023. A new and more expensive version of the drug specifically for weight loss, called Wegovy, had been approved in 2021 by U.S. health regulators. Employers that cover weight-loss drugs have required medical practices to document patients’ need for Wegovy since it was approved. The federal Medicare healthcare program for Americans aged 65 and older cannot cover weight loss treatments by law. Only 16 states – the most populous being California, Pennsylvania and Michigan – cover Wegovy and other obesity drugs under their Medicaid plans for low-income patients.

Persons: Jim Vondruska, Shawnte, Aon, Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, Eli Lilly, Jeff Levin, Levin, Scherz, Michael Manolakis, William Yancy, Manolakis, Patrick Wingrove, Michele Gershberg, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: REUTERS, New, Warner Bros, Warner Bros Discovery Inc, Reuters, Marsh & McLennan, Employers, Barclays Research, Novo Nordisk, Duke University, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, New York, Marsh, Wegovy, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan

☆ Google distances itself from planned drag performance after employee petition
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Google is distancing itself from a drag performance it planned as the closing event for Pride month after a group of employees circulated an internal petition opposing it, claiming religious discrimination. Each year, Google sponsors a series of Pride events in San Francisco and other locations for employees and the public. A few hundred employees signed the petition opposing the drag performance, claiming it sexualizes and disrespects Christian co-workers, and accused Google of religious discrimination, according to the petition viewed by CNBC. That includes a flurry of legislative proposals backed by GOP governors taking aim at drag events. San Francisco venues host Pride events every June, which is recognized as Pride month, and those events commonly include drag shows of various stage acts.

Persons: Chris Pappas, Pappas Organizations: Google, CNBC, Operations, GOP, Employees Locations: New York City, San Francisco, Francisco

☆ Gay male couples face more challenges, higher costs to start a family
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Courtney Reagan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

watch nowWhy gay male couples face higher costsAlon Rivel, left, with his family. Gay male couples typically face a more expensive journey, as surrogacy or adoption are their primary choices. Employer fertility benefits offer limited helpMore employers are starting to offer fertility benefits, often through a specialized fertility benefits manager like Kindbody, Carrot, Progyny or Maven. But while more companies are offering fertility benefits, many of these packages are limited when it comes to covering what's needed to build families with non-traditional methods. At Rivel's insistence, he asked his human resources department to look into including surrogacy benefits.

Persons: Alon Rivel, Alon Rivel Alon Rivel, Rivel, Betsy Campbell, Maven, Will Porteous, Doug, Walter ., Porteous, Progyny's, Pete Anevski, Tammy Sun, Taryn Branca, they'll, Anevski, it's, Resolve's Campbell, Hanna, Stephen Hanna, Bret Shuford, Maverick Organizations: International Foundation of Employee, Equality, Mercer, Maven, Beam Therapeutics, Child Welfare Locations: Arlington , Massachusetts, U.S, Wynnewood , Pennsylvania, West, Massachusetts

☆ How to Find a Real Estate Agent
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Aly J. Yale | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +15 min

According to the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials, more than three million people hold active real estate licenses in the U.S. That’s a lot of people with a range of experience and expertise. That’d be “knowledge,” says Philip Hordijk, founder of real-estate brokerage Leven Real Estate. A note of caution: Think hard before choosing a friend or family member to help with a real estate transaction. Search online directories—with careThere are plenty of third-party real estate sites that offer agent directories, too, including Realtor.com and Zillow. Real-estate broker vs. agentThere is also a differentiation between a real-estate agent and a real-estate broker.

Persons: Aly J, ”, Jonathan Rundlett, “, Philip Hordijk, Kimberly Jay, I’m, ” Jay, Jeremy Kamm, ” Kamm, —, Jesse Sheldon, don’t, ” Hordijk, Christian Ross, Völkers, Desiree Avila, Charles Rutenberg, Johnny, you’re, ” Ross, Bret Weinstein, ” You’ll, you’ve, Sellers, Hordijk Organizations: Yale, Association of Real, License, National Association of Realtors, Compass, Real, Engel, Exxon Mobil, Houston Association of Realtors, NAR, News Corp, Street, Realtors Locations: U.S, Leven Real Estate, New York, New York City, Seattle, Fort Lauderdale, Avila, Houston, Denver, In Texas

"I believe it was a series of unprecedented events that all came together in the fastest bank run in history," Becker told the Senate Banking Committee. "I was the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, I take responsibility for what ultimately happened," Becker said. Executives from Signature Bank also testified alongside Becker on Tuesday, pushing back on assertions from lawmakers that the bank had weak corporate governance. "I don't believe that there was mismanagement at the bank," said Eric Howell, the former president of Signature Bank. The bank tried to cover the loss by raising capital, but in announcing the transaction helped fuel a bank run.

☆ ATF broke the law by paying agents millions in wrongful benefits, watchdog tells Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives police officers are seen in Uvalde, Texas, May 25, 2022. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which disclosed the mismanagement, said it had alerted President Joe Biden and Congress of "substantial waste, mismanagement, and unlawful employment practices" involving high-level jobs at ATF. The Office of Special Counsel said that during a five-year period that officials investigated, 108 ATF employees who worked in non-law-enforcement jobs "were improperly provided Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) and enhanced retirement benefits." In its official response to OSC, ATF contested claims about the designation of some of the positions being misclassified. OPM later concluded that the ATF's leadership "demonstrated disregard for the rule of law and regulations" governing federal management policies and practices.

☆ Increasing Law Department Diversity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Michelle Graham | Practical Law | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +17 min

Create a law department DEI committee consisting of diverse law department employees to:evaluate the law department’s DEI status; develop a plan and a budget to increase or maintain law department diversity; and monitor and promote the success of the law department’s DEI initiatives. Incentivize law department employees to refer diverse candidates for job openings by paying them a referral bonus if the law department hires those candidates. Retaining Diverse Law Department EmployeesWhile recruiting and hiring diverse employees for the law department requires continuous effort, retaining them once hired presents another challenge. Discuss initiatives the law department has taken to increase and maintain DEI in the law department, such as creating a DEI hiring committee. (For more on how law departments can improve DEI at their outside law firms, see Increasing Law Firm Diversity and Increasing Law Firm Diversity: Presentation Materials on Practical Law; for general guidance on working with outside counsel, see Working Effectively with Outside Counsel Checklist on Practical Law.)

☆ CFOs Carefully Consider How to Bring Generative AI Into the Finance Function
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Ben Ashwell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Technology company HP Inc. is digging into how generative AI could drive greater productivity across the whole company. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesWhile generative AI has yet to have an impact on corporate finance functions, it could soon be contributing to some investor relations, pricing and corporate strategy decisions, according to panelists at a Wall Street Journal CFO Network online event. Generative AI is already making its way into marketing, IT and human resources departments and some finance executives—who tend to be more risk-averse when it comes to adopting new technologies—are also exploring the potential use cases. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create text, images or other media based on user text prompts.

☆ SVB collapse is double-whammy for tech startups already navigating brutal market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

He'd started the process six months earlier during a brutal period for tech stocks and a plunge in venture funding. Investors were just pulling in their horns, the SPAC market had fallen apart, valuations for tech companies were collapsing." In the absence of venture funding, money-losing startups have had to cut their burn rates in order to extend their cash runway. Since the beginning of 2022, roughly 1,500 tech companies have laid off a total of close to 300,000 people, according to the website Layoffs.fyi. Kruze Consulting provides accounting and other back-end services to hundreds of tech startups.

☆ Meet the woman who wrote a shocking account of her life on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Jamie Fiore Higgins interviewed on TV on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. And so in the book "Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs," published last summer, she chronicled them. A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said the company "strongly disagrees" with the characterization of its culture described in the book, and what it called "anonymized allegations." "For those 18 years, I cared more about Goldman Sachs than I did my husband, my kids, my parents," she told CNBC. Fiore Higgins' account represents one person's experiences over a set period of time.

☆ Elon Musk apologizes after calling disabled Twitter employee who was laid off 'the worst'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk on Tuesday backed down from his attacks on a disabled Twitter employee who was laid off by the company and apologized for what he called a "misunderstanding." "I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation," Musk tweeted late Tuesday. "He is considering remaining at Twitter," Musk added. Musk, an avid user of Twitter, replied by asking Thorleifsson, "What work have you been doing?" Following the back and forth with Musk, Thorleifsson said he was informed by Twitter's head of human resources that he had been sacked.

☆ Don't miss these approaching deadlines if you have a health care flexible spending account
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The most common deadline for this is March 31, she said, although some companies may give you six or 10 months. Some offer a grace period or carryover amountMeanwhile, some employers also provide a grace period to spend any remaining 2022 FSA money — meaning qualifying 2023 health care expenses also can be applied against last year's balance. "You can think of it as a two and half-month extension of your 2022 plan," Myers said. For those with a grace period, that share is 37%. Check with your employer about its FSA rulesIt's common for workers to not know what their employer's FSA rules are.

☆ Rollovers from a 401(k) plan to an IRA: Weigh these 7 factors first
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Investment funds in 401(k) plans are generally less costly than their IRA counterparts. That's largely because IRA investors are "retail" investors while 401(k) savers often get access to more favorable "institutional" pricing. watch nowOf course, not all 401(k) plans are created equal. For example, more than 30% of 401(k) plans disallow periodic or partial withdrawals by retirees, and about 36% disallow installment payments, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America, a trade group. Company stockWorkers who own company stock in their 401(k) can get a tax benefit for keeping those holdings in-plan rather than rolling them to an IRA, Jenkin said.

☆ Column: Where to park the 401(k) when you switch jobs or retire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Mark Miller | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

When you change jobs or retire, you have three basic choices: leave your retirement account where it is, roll it over to a new employer or move it to a standalone individual retirement account (IRA). When does it make sense to leave a 401(k) plan behind? A rollover can make sense if you are in a 401(k) plan with poor investment choices or high fees. FOCUS ON THE FEESPew analyzed the difference between average institutional and retail share class expense ratios across all mutual funds that offered at least one institutional share class and one retail share class in 2019. There is also a case to be made for staying in your 401(k) plan - especially if you work for a large employer.

☆ This app lets Silicon Valley workers commiserate about layoffs in secret
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Blind members verify that they work at a particular company by signing up with a work email address. Now, Blind is filled with posts from workers comforting each other about how to get through periods of unemployment. (Some tech workers have also lamented the pay cut they’d have to take by switching industries.) “We just all realized that there’s a need for communication that is kind of independent of company control,” Kim said. While Blind is not exclusively for tech workers, it has become incredibly popular in the industry amid the recent turmoil.

☆ Amazon axes its charity donation program
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Amazon is shutting down its “Smile” charity donation program as the company cuts costs and rethinks its strategy. In total, $500 million has been donated since its 2013 launch, with an average donation of less than $230 per charity, the company said. Charities enrolled in the program will get a one-time donation “equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022,” Amazon (AMZN) said, noting that charities will still be able to accrue donations until the program closes. Amazon recently announced it would lay off roughly 18,000 employees. Amazon and other tech firms significantly ramped up hiring over the past couple of years as the pandemic shifted consumers’ habits toward e-commerce.

☆ Tesla under fire in Germany over union concerns on working hours, contracts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Workers were also increasingly fearful about discussing their working conditions openly because of non-disclosure agreements they were told to sign along with their work contracts, IG Metall said. Over time we are observing that this enthusiasm is withering," Irene Schulz of IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Sachsen said in a statement. "Tesla is not doing enough to improve working conditions and is leaving too little time for leisure, family and recovery." Tesla China has also asked some staff to sign non-disclosure agreements, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Reuters found several people on LinkedIn with the title of "Security Intelligence Investigator" working for Tesla in Austin, San Francisco and Shanghai.

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