As Workers Struggled, Boardrooms Found Ways To Reward CEOs During Pandemic

A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies found that low-wage companies tweaked compensation rules to boost executive pay.

As the coronavirus pandemic upended the restaurant industry in March 2020, fast-casual burrito chain Chipotle instituted a 10% “appreciation pay” bonus for employees willing to risk their health to keep working during the crisis. For frontline workers earning around $12 or $13 an hour, that amounted to a pay boost of a dollar and change. Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol got a raise, too ― from $33.5 million to $38 million ― after the company’s board waived performance rules that would have dragged down his compensation for the year. Niccol ended up reaping nearly 3,000 times the annual $13,127 pay of Chipotle’s median worker. The haul for Niccol is one of several CEO pay packages highlighted in a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank, showing how companies tweaked their compensation rules during the pandemic to keep executive pay high as regular workers struggled. The report analyzed pay data from Carnival Cruise Line, fast-food giant Yum Brands, Coca-Cola and Olive Garden parent company Darden Restaurants, among others.