On December 14, 2018, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) issued updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to its U.S. Compensation Policies effective for shareholder meetings occurring on or after February 1,...more
The duties imposed on compensation committees of publicly traded companies have evolved and grown over time. The fifth edition of the Compensation Committee Handbook, authored by our Executive Compensation and Benefits Group,...more
12/11/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Compensation Committee ,
Director Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Contract ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Mergers ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 16 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Stock Exchange ,
Taxation
In 2017, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) introduced a policy providing for potential adverse vote recommendations for the members of a company’s board responsible for approving/setting nonemployee director (NED) pay...more
On August 21, 2018, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2018-68, which provides eagerly awaited guidance for changes that were made to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code...more
8/23/2018
/ CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Covered Employees ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Contract ,
Executive Compensation ,
Grandfathering Rules ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Vesting
On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), which imposes a new excise tax on certain tax-exempt organizations for compensation paid to their covered employees in excess...more
1/18/2018
/ Covered Employees ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Exceptions ,
Excise Tax ,
Executive Compensation ,
Golden Parachutes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Section 501 ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Vesting
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), which includes significant changes to the executive compensation deduction rules in Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code)...more
1/5/2018
/ CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 16 ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Trump Administration
On December 13, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion, In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, Case No. 169, holding that, except under limited circumstances, the court will not apply the...more
12/20/2017
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Equity Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Reversal ,
Self-Interest ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Standard of Review
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for their 2018 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of key corporate governance, executive compensation and disclosure matters on which...more
12/4/2017
/ Annual Meeting ,
Auditors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
D&O Insurance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Filing Requirements ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently announced updates to its U.S. proxy voting guidelines for the 2018 proxy season. Although the updates are not likely to have a significant impact on 2018...more
11/21/2017
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Director Compensation ,
Diversity ,
Executive Compensation ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Pledges ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On November 16, 2017, the House of Representatives voted to approve its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the bill following the Thanksgiving break, which would require a...more
11/20/2017
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Severance Pay ,
Stock Options ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
The November 6, 2017, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady’s Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (originally proposed November 2, 2017) (the “Chairman’s...more
If enacted, the newly proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would effectively put an end to many of the most widely used forms of executive compensation:
- Deferred compensation and stock options would disappear.
- Use of...more
11/3/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Performance Incentives ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severance Pay ,
Stock Options ,
Tax Cuts ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) released the results of its annual global benchmark voting policy survey on September 25, 2017. In a surprise result, the survey found that nearly 75 percent of the 131 investor...more
On September 21, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an interpretive release on the pay ratio disclosure requirements in Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K, and the staff of the Division of Corporation...more
The Trump administration’s proposed overhaul of the federal income tax system includes a reduction of the maximum federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. If enacted, the proposal — a one-page outline...more
6/20/2017
/ Corporate Taxes ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employer Contributions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Performance Incentives ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Deferral ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
On June 8, 2017, the House of Representatives passed, by a 233-186 vote (with all Democrats and one Republican voting against), the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017, a bill principally designed to reverse many features of the...more
6/12/2017
/ Clawbacks ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial CHOICE Act ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Repeal ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Trump Administration
The so-called “short-swing profit rule” under Securities Exchange Act Section 16(b) generally prohibits officers and directors as well as 10 percent shareholders of a U.S. public company from profiting from any purchase or...more
President Donald Trump’s campaign proposals included changes to tax rates and a promise to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act. If enacted, these proposals could have a significant impact on the way businesses handle executive...more
2/7/2017
/ Corporate Taxes ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Repeal ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
As the 2017 proxy season approaches, companies may be preparing to solicit shareholder approval for a new, or an amendment to an existing, equity incentive plan. In doing so, companies should keep in mind the positions of...more
1/27/2017
/ CEOs ,
Clawbacks ,
Equity Compensation ,
Equity Plan Scorecard (EPSC) ,
Equity Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Vesting
Each company faces important decisions in preparing for its 2017 annual meeting and reporting season. Once again, we have prepared a checklist of essential areas on which we believe companies should focus as they plan for the...more
12/8/2016
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Audit Committee ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Director Nominations ,
Diversity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
FASB ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Resource Extraction ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance on the Conflicts of Interest Rule it released earlier this year. The guidance, issued on October 27, 2016, is in the form of answers to frequently asked questions, which...more
11/8/2016
/ Audits ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Adviser ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan
On October 18, 2016, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued interpretive guidance on the pay ratio disclosure requirements in Item 402(u) of...more
In an unexpected development, on June 21, 2016, the IRS issued proposed regulations that clarify and modify the final regulations issued in 2007 and the proposed income inclusion regulations issued in 2008. In many cases,...more
7/5/2016
/ Beneficiaries ,
Death Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Restricted Stocks ,
Section 409A ,
Severance Agreements ,
Vesting
On June 22, 2016, the IRS published much-anticipated proposed regulations under Internal Revenue Code Section 457 impacting certain plans maintained by state or local governments or other tax-exempt organizations that provide...more
6/27/2016
/ Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Forfeiture ,
IRS ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 409A ,
Section 457(f) ,
Severance Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Exempt Entities
On April 6, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a widely anticipated final regulation that redefines who is a “fiduciary” of certain employee benefit and other plans for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income...more
4/26/2016
/ 401k ,
Administrative Exemption ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan