Fifty-Four Percent of 100 Best Places to Work Have Broad-Based Employee Ownership Plans

Of the 72 employers on the 2011 Fortune magazine 100 Best Companies to Work For list that are for-profit, U.S.-based, and not legal or accounting partnerships, 39 (54%) have some form of broad-based employee ownership. That percentage has stayed remarkably consistent year after year. Thirteen of the 39 have only an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), eight have an ESPP and either broad-based options or restricted stock (we define broad-based as available to most or all employees), six have broad-based options or restricted stock but not an ESPP, one provides phantom stock to most employees, four have ESOPs (two of these also have stock purchase arrangements), four have nonqualified stock or partnership purchase arrangements, and one has a trust for employee ownership. Four are majority employee-owned.

The complete list will appear in the NCEO newsletter to be mailed in April.