NJ Companies With Highest-Paid CEOs Also Have Big Pay Gaps: Study

New federal regulations are revealing some large pay gaps between CEOs and workers at some of New Jersey’s most iconic workplaces, reports say (see the list below).

For the first time, public companies are required to disclose pay differences between their CEOs and median employees due to the Obama-era, 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, NJ Spotlight reported.

A recent analysis of the data conducted by the AFL-CIO’s “Executive Paywatch” showed some steep differences between CEOs and workers in New Jersey. At Children’s Place of Secaucus, CEO Jane Elfers earned $15.75 million in 2017 while the median worker earned $8,693… a ratio of 1,813 to 1.

Meanwhile, at the New Brunswick-based Johnson & Johnson, the state’s highest-paid CEO, Alex Gorsky, earned $29.8 million. The median worker at Johnson & Johnson earned $66,000 in 2017, a ratio of 452 to 1.

• See the full list of “Highest-Paid CEOs” here
• See the full list of “Company Pay Ratios” here

The AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch database data is collected by FundVotes LLC from company proxy statements that are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The database includes data for some 3,000 corporations, including most of those listed in the Russell 3000 Index. (Read more about the methodology here)

"This year’s report provides further proof that the greed of corporate CEOs is driving America’s income inequality crisis," AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler said when the recently updated report was first released in May. "Too many working people are struggling to get by, to afford the basics, to save for college, to retire with dignity while CEOs are paying themselves more and more. Our economy works best when consumers have money to spend. That means raising wages for workers and reining in out of control executive pay."

• See related article: Toys R Us Workers Start Severance Pay Petition
• See related article: Murphy Still Wants To Raise New Jersey Minimum Wage (But When?)

However, some political pundits and local leaders have cautioned that boosting worker wages can have negative consequences, too.

According to nonprofit think tank Employment Policies Institute (EPI), New Jersey would lose roughly 32,000 total jobs by 2024 if the minimum wage rises to $15. About 10,000 of those losses would impact young employees between 16 and 19-years-old, the group stated.

Speaking against a proposed wage hike for workers at Hoboken Terminal, Newark Penn Station and Newark Airport last year, New Jersey Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen) said that raising salaries for the workers would increase costs at the already most expensive ports in the nation, hurting business and squeezing customers.

• See related article: New Jersey, New York Airport Workers May Get Raise To $19/Hour

THE HIGHEST-PAID CEOS IN NEW JERSEY

According to NJ Spotlight, here’s where New Jersey’s 10 highest-paid CEOs are located, including a comparison with the company’s median worker, as per Paywatch.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON (NEW BRUNSWICK)

• CEO – Alex Gorsky ($29,802,564 total compensation)
• Pay Ratio (CEO to median worker) – 452 to 1

PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL (NEWARK)

• CEO – John R. Strangfeld ($27,111,399)
• Pay Ratio – 268 to 1

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL (MORRIS PLAINS)

• CEO – David M. Cote ($20,955,539)
• Pay Ratio – 333 to 1

MERCK & COMPANY (KENILWORTH)

• CEO – Kenneth C. Frazier ($17,643,087)
• Pay Ratio – 215 to 1

BED BATH AND BEYOND (UNION)

• CEO – Steven H. Temares ($16,946,399 * in 2016)
• Pay Ratio – 438 to 1

CHILDREN’S PLACE (SECAUCUS)

• CEO – Jane Elfers ($15,757,167)
• Pay Ratio: 1,813 to 1

NEWELL BRANDS (HOBOKEN)

• CEO – Michael B. Polk ($15,257,808)
• Pay Ratio – 395 to 1

WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE CORP. (PARSIPPANY)

• CEO – Stephen P. Holmes ($15,080,145)
• Pay Ratio – 398 to 1

CELGENE (SUMMIT)

• CEO – Mark J. Alles ($13,115,985)
• Pay Ratio – 62 to 1

BECTON, DICKINSON AND CO. (FRANKLIN LAKES)

• CEO – Vincent A. Forlenza ($13,058,840)
• Pay Ratio – 338 to 1

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