Company's Plan To Pay Every Employee At Least $70,000 Per Year Backfiring

Three months ago, Dan Price, CEO of Gravity, had a novel idea: set a minimum salary for everyone in his company at $70,000.

It would be funded, in part, by Price taking a pay cut of his CEO salary. Employee morale would be up, he would get a higher quality of work and the conversation on wage inequality would have a new talking point.

Fool proof, right? Not so fast.

The New York Times published an extensive article on Friday about the credit card processing company in the months since, and it isn’t exactly all roses.

The toll so far?

Some clients cut ties, either in protest of what they saw as a political statement, or over fears of increasing fees, despite Gravity’s assurances that wouldn’t happen.

And, per the Times, even two employees have quit so far over concerns that experienced employees aren’t getting the compensation they deserve compared to the newer ones.

“He gave raises to people who have the least skills and are the least equipped to do the job, and the ones who were taking on the most didn’t get much of a bump,” Maisey McMaster, one of the employees who quit, told the Times.

“I was kind of uncomfortable and didn’t like having my wage advertised so publicly and so blatantly,” the other employee, Grant Moran, said. “It changed perspectives and expectations of you, whether it’s the amount you tip on a cup of coffee that day or family and friends now calling you for a loan.”

Still, Price doesn’t have any plans to go back.

“There’s no perfect way to do this and no way to handle complex workplace issues that doesn’t have any downsides or trade-offs,” Price told the Times. “I came up with the best solution I could.”

Read the full New York Times story here.