Union pushes Morgan Stanley to bar payouts for U.S. government-job takers

By Olivia Oran

(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley shareholders will again vote on an investor proposal from the AFL-CIO union that would prohibit stock awards from vesting for bank executives who resign for government service.

The board said in a proxy it was against the measure. Morgan Stanley and the board defeated the proposal at the annual meeting last year. It received 16 percent of votes cast.

Morgan Stanley, like many other Wall Street firms, allows employees to receive stock that otherwise would have been locked up for years if they depart the bank for Washington.

The practice has received scrutiny in recent months from investors and lawmakers after it was disclosed that former Goldman Sachs Group Inc president Gary Cohn would receive at least $100 million upon taking a job with the Trump administration.

Other banks, including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co, have also voted on similar proposals over the last several years.

Morgan Stanley will hold its annual meeting on May 22 at its wealth management headquarters in Purchase, New York.

(Reporting by Olivia Oran; Editing by David Gregorio)