Facebook announces that remote WFH employees will have salaries decreased to match local COL
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Anonymous
| *there |
Anonymous
| perfect. They save on rent and paying employees. Eff FB. |
Anonymous
| I think this is perfectly reasonable. Federal Government does this (pays additional COL salary to those who work in high-cost areas like DC) so why shouldn't facebook? |
Anonymous
| Yep federal government has always done this. No big deal. You’re benefitting by working in Idaho, why shouldn’t Facebook. But as a fed, I always wondered why West Virginia had the same cola as DC. Even PG having the same cola as Arlington. |
Anonymous
Doesn’t Fed Gov base it on your home office, not the location of your home? |
Anonymous
There was also reference to this being a tax issue. Like consultants, FB can require employees to report where they are working each day on a timesheet. Taxes for each state would be withheld. Since they’ve said they plan to be punitive, they could set your next year’s salary based on the lowest COLA where you worked the prior year. |
Anonymous
Well one could argue that they base it off of where you work. There are basically no federal govt. jobs--in normal times-- where the work is 100% WFH. |
Anonymous
Consultant companies deal with this all the time. If you spend more than a certain amount of time working from another state you are supposed to report it and pay taxes in that state. As for your salary, it’s just based on where you declare your home office. |
Anonymous
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All the people complaining this isn’t fair wouldn’t say that if it was other way around.
“Sorry, the job you make $120,000 in Dallas for is the same job in SF, so if you move here we still pay you $120,000”. Doesn’t sound remotely fair does it? Why would the opposite be unreasonable. FB is being smart and reasonable and ushering in a much greater flexibility for people. Don’t want a lower salary? Stay in SF. Want to live on the beach in rural FL and make half? Go ahead and do it. Everyone wins. Employees self select into what they prefer, company pays prevailing market rates, and those who don’t want to opt in simply don’t. |
Anonymous
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The details matter of course, but I have property in Belize. I’d happily cut my salary in half to go live there. Eat fish every day, swim whenever I want, enjoy sunsets and my weekends would be boating and relaxing. Obviously depends on how they do the calculations, but it’s enormously valuable option for people. I can live on $40K a year down there, and really comfortably on $80K. $150K there would be like $400-$500K here. If you know where to go, lunch is $2 for fresh fish. $3 with a beer.
- Signed, FB tech. |
Anonymous
| This is amazing. And more than fair. It’s going to lower housing demand (and traffic) in over priced cities and boost economies in middle America. |
Anonymous
Are you allowed to work from a foreign country? |
Anonymous
| I would just take my DC salary and move somewhere with a similar COL, but better quality of life. Hawaii and San Diego are a lot better than Fairfax. |
Anonymous
You're kidding right? Hawaii 3X as expensive as the D.C. area and basic necessities cost 2X as much because everything's imported. SFHs in San Diego are the same price for half the square feet and lot size. Have you ever seen a lot of 3,000 sqft lot? You have now - https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/4038-Alder-Dr-92116/home/5270371 The house IS the lot. And its next to a highway to boot. All for $900K. 
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Anonymous
This is false - 3X the cost is outrageous. They're really not that much different and all in the same ballpark on any cost of living calculator. Go see for yourself: https://smartasset.com/mortgage/cost-of-living-calculator GSA 2020 locality bump for each: Hawaii: 19.56% San Diego: 29.77% DC: 30.48% DC Metro is actually the highest COLA according to GSA. |