Wall Street pay practices have improved somewhat since the global financial crisis of 2008, but banks still aren’t tying compensation to long-term gains in performance, a whitepaper commissioned by the Council of Institutional Investors says. Little or no Wall Street compensation was linked to long-term future performance measures, according to the report, “Wall Street Pay: […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inFrom the Archive
Repeal of 1099 Reporting Expansion Fails Again
Efforts to repeal the expansion of a tax reporting requirement that’s expected to create a paperwork nightmare for businesses have again fallen flat. Two amendments that would have repealed a controversial reporting requirement that’s expected to affect as many as 40 million businesses failed to get the required votes in the Senate. The votes this […]
Posted inUncategorized
Deadline Nears for Red Flags Rule; Companies Struggling
It’s almost 2011. Do you know where your Red Flags Rule compliance program is? The Dec. 31 deadline is looming for Federal Trade Commission enforcement of the Red Flags Rule, which requires businesses and organizations to establish a program—complete with written policies and procedures—to detect identity theft. The rule itself, which stems from the Fair […]
Posted inUncategorized
SEC Unveils Proposals on Investment Advisers, Swaps
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest round of rule proposals mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act is out, pointing squarely at an overhaul of the investment adviser business and at transparency (or the lack thereof) in the derivatives market. At a Nov. 19 open meeting, the Commission voted to publish four rulemaking proposals for comment, aiming […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
False Claims Recoveries Top $3 Billion in 2010
The Obama Administration is making good on its promise to crackdown on fraud against the government generally, and public healthcare programs in particular, according to the latest False Claims Act recovery statistics. The Department of Justice collected $3 billion in civil settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud against the government in fiscal 2010, marking […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
DOL SeekS Comment on ERISA Fiduciary Definition
The U.S. Department of Labor wants input on a proposal that would significantly broaden the Employee Retirement Income Security Act definition of “fiduciary,” subjecting more people to ERISA’s stringent standards of fiduciary conduct. The proposal, out for comment until Jan. 20, would update a 1975 rule that defines when a person providing investment advice becomes […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
CalPERS Drops Annual Focus List
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has dropped it public “name-and-shame” Focus List in favor of engaging the underperforming companies in its portfolio through private contacts and proxy actions. For the 2011 proxy season, CalPERS says it will use a new screening process, the “Shareowner/Corporate Engagement Program,” to identify target companies for possible shareowner resolutions […]
Posted inEthics & Culture
Facebook Firing Tests Social Media Policies
Employers struggling with how to handle workplace use of social media have a new worry: Your social media policy may violate federal labor laws. In October, the National Labor Review Board filed a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut alleging that the ambulance service company violated labor laws when it fired an employee for […]
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The SEC’s New Penalty Authority Under Dodd-Frank
The new whistleblower bounty program created by the Dodd-Frank Act may be getting all of the attention these days, but another enforcement change under the law could have a significant impact on the way the Securities and Exchange Commission prosecutes some cases. Section 929P of the Dodd-Frank Act granted the SEC a new power that […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
ISS Releases 2011 Proxy Voting Updates
They’re here: Institutional Shareholder Services has unveiled its 2011 updates to its benchmark proxy voting guidelines. The U.S. policy updates cover new policies to address shareholder votes on say-on-pay frequency and on golden parachute provisions created by the Dodd-Frank Wall-Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as director attendance, shareholder rights and capital requests. […]
