CEO pay at big Ohio companies is often 200 times that of a typical worker
Posted September 06, 2018 in Press Releases
First-time reports show wide disparity in pay
Data covering 44 of Ohio’s 100 largest employers show their CEOs usually make more than 200 times what their companies’ typical workers earn in a year. The information is contained in reports to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission required for the first time this year and described in a Policy Matters Ohio report released today.
The federal Dodd-Frank Act mandated companies to provide the ratio of CEO pay to that of their median worker—the one whose pay falls in the middle of all employees. While caution is needed comparing companies, particularly between different industries, the data show the disparity is huge. Policy Matters Ohio reviewed the filings of companies that rank among the top 100 Ohio employers, according to the Ohio Development Services Agency. Altogether, 44 have filed reports with the SEC. A majority of the top 100 employers do not have to file such reports either because they are nonprofits, government employers, privately owned or foreign companies; a few others have yet to report.
At an overwhelming majority of the companies—39 of the 44—CEOs make 100 or more times as much as typical employees. Overall, 28 CEOs made more than 200 times the typical worker, based on the reports to the SEC; 21 made more than 300 times as much. Thirty-nine of the 44 CEOs at the top employers made more than $5 million, and 28 made more than $10 million. Only one made less than $1 million, while five made more than $20 million. Meanwhile, 17 companies among the major employers reported median pay of less than $25,000. A majority, 24 of the 44, reported median pay of more than $50,000. The pattern is similar at the 19 Ohio-based companies that are members of this year's Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. companies and have reported pay ratios so far.
“CEO pay has skyrocketed over the past 40 years, while worker pay has barely budged,” said Zach Schiller, research director of Policy Matters Ohio and co-author of the report. “This has contributed to growing inequality. CEO pay has also outpaced profits and stock prices. Ohio needs to take steps to narrow the disparity between CEO and worker pay.” Recommendations to do so are included in the report, along with links to each of the companies’ pay-ratio reports.