On April 30, 2024, Assistant Secretary of Labor Lisa M. Gomez spoke at the NCEO’s annual conference in Tampa, Florida. Assistant Secretary Gomez leads the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). As the head of EBSA, she is at the center of some of the most important decisions affecting ESOPs and employee ownership. 

You can view the video of her presentation below or read a transcript.

In the video, she talks about the meetings she had in Tampa with employee-owners from around the country. They told her about the real-life impact of employee ownership, and she describes what she heard about it with terms like “inspiring,” “life-changing,” and “solutions to many problems the administration is trying to address.” She also notes that conversations between DOL investigators and employee-owners profoundly affect the way those investigators view ESOPs.

The video is from a conversation on the stage in the main conference ballroom with Steve Storkan, the executive director of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX). They discussed her listening tour, her insights into interagency cooperation, the WORK Act, the new division of employee ownership in the DOL, and even a few thoughts on rulemaking for ESOP valuations.

I heard something in that conversation that I think you’ll hear as well—a sincere person, listening intently, who cares about working people and is eager to help ensure that employee ownership plays an increasing role in the economy of the U.S. To my ears, she’s talking about changing the nature of the relationship between EBSA and employee ownership.