The fight over Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky’s $30 million payday is heating up. The state of Illinois, charitable organization OxFam and several religious organizations have filed letters with the Securities and Exchange Commission opposing his pay.
The letters urge shareholders to vote no on a “say on pay” proposal set for consideration at J&J’s annual shareholder meeting on April 22. Officials in Illinois, which owns J&J stock in its municipal retirement fund, take issue with how the company computed Gorsky’s 2020 pay. They said it is unfair to exclude the billions of dollars the pharmaceutical company has paid to settle legal claims related to its role in the opioid epidemic. Illinois is asking J&J to cut Gorsky’s pay by at least $2 million.