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108 Marq. L. Rev. 37 (2024-2025)
Benefits Transparency

handle is hein.journals/marqlr108 and id is 45 raw text is: BENEFITS TRANSPARENCY SAMANTHA J. PRINCE* Recently, several states and cities have enacted equal pay laws in a push for pay transparency in job postings to inform and help reduce wage gaps. Some of these laws also require a description of the employee benefits that the company offers. However, none of these laws require a detailed description of said benefits, even though employee benefits on average make up 24% of an employee's compensation. Businesses can choose how much to disclose with respect to their benefits and they may even engage in what this author calls benefits washing a practice where companies provide vague or misleading information about their employee benefits. This discretion is problematic. Workers make decisions on where to apply and where to work based on information obtained on the internet, such as company websites. But these company disclosures do not divulge enough information to properly value the benefits. For example, many people do not understand that 401(k) plan features differ significantly across employers. Mandatory detailed, succinct disclosure of employee benefits specifically 401(k) plan benefits is a public necessity as these benefits are exceedingly complex. Myriad stakeholders employees, jobseekers, consumers, investors, and companies would find more detailed, understandable disclosure of interest. For example, some consumers and investors including ethical consumers and ESG investors seek to align their purchases and investments with companies that treat their employees fairly. Additionally, people do not have enough savedfor retirement, which not only poses a problemfor them but also for taxpayers. And requiring companies to disclose their vesting schedules * Samantha J. Prince is an Associate Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. She earned her LL.M. (Tax) from Georgetown University Law Center; J.D. from Widener Commonwealth Law; and B.S. in Chemistry from Muhlenberg College. The author has so many people to thank for support and valuable feedback including, colleagues Yonathan Arbel, Stephanie Bomstein, Robert Fisher, Timothy Glynn, Michael Green, Taylor Haberle, Jonathan F. Harris, Andrea Martin, Michael Oswalt, Michelle Travis, Griffin Toronjo Pivateau, Cassidy R. Prince, Elizabeth Tippett, Peter Wiedenbeck, Andrew Ziaja, and conference attendees at COSELL and AALS. The author is deeply thankful for the positive energy, excellent research, and attention to detail exemplified by Alyssa Boob who is likely now an ERISA preemption expert whether she wanted to be or not. The author is also exceedingly grateful to the outstanding editors of this journal, especially Joseph Schimp, Josephine Napolski, Jack Hurst, Taylor Humphrey, and Joe Delia. And last but certainly not least, the author would like to thank Ruth Atomate, Tim Azizkhan, Nicole Cesanek, Ryan Durkee, Brian Emhof, Nikolajs Gaikis, Luke Gorman, Miyah Kureishy, and Ana Maria Matovic for their assistance with research and footnotes.