Activist shareholders are pressing companies to improve working conditions in retail and other industries, as investors and lawmakers alike seek more insight into corporations’ treatment of what many consider their most valuable asset: employees.
Investors this year have worked to get companies to address workplace safety and health concerns, improve workers’ benefits and disclose their reliance on independent contractors and other part-time employees.
That push comes as the Securities and Exchange Commission considers rule-making on human capital management disclosure. The agency in 2020 started to ask companies to list such resources on their Form 10-K disclosures, although companies could cherry-pick metrics and exclude others, such as workplace safety measures and financial benefits.
