NEW YORK AP – The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services continues a two-day hearing Thursday on a proposed law that would give shareholders the opportunity to cast a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation packages.

An academic study has shown that in 2003, top executives received about 500 times the average worker’s compensation – up from 140 times an average worker in 1991 – and some investors and advocacy groups have increasingly voiced objections to the disparity.