Christianity Today has commentary on the recent decision by Dan Price of Gravity Payments in Seattle to raise all his employees’ base salary to $70,000:
Earlier this year, Dan Price, a graduate of Seattle Pacific University and CEO of Seattle-based Gravity Payments, made headlines nationwide after announcing plans to raise his employees’ base salary to $70,000 a year.
But not everyone at Gravity Payments agrees with his plans to share the wealth.
Two of his top employees quit in protest. His brother, a co-owner of Gravity Payments, filed suit. Other local companies complained that Price made them look stingy, according to The New York Times (NYT).
It’s as if Jesus’s parable about the workers in the vineyard—where latecomers got the same pay as those who worked all day—has come to life, the NYT points out.
“Early adopters and latecomers may be equally welcomed in the Kingdom of Heaven,” wrote reporter Patricia Cohen, “but not necessarily in the earthly realm, where rewards are generally bestowed in paycheck form.”
Read more here. Do you think overpaying workers ever makes sense? Or is it overpaying? Our sister blog Theology of Work Project wrote about the same issue in February when Walmart announced it was raising its hourly rate to $9 an hour. What do you think? Share with us in the comments.
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