Corey Rosen
The Small Business Administration (SBA) formally updated its rules for valuation in ESOP transactions, incorporating prior guidance that it no longer requires a separate SBA valuation.
Corey Rosen
The nomination of Daniel Aronowitz to head the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in the Department of Labor (DOL) has been confirmed by the US Senate. Aronowitz was until recently the president of Encore Fiduciary (formerly Euclid Fiduciary). The company provides fiduciary insurance, fidelity bonds, cybersecurity insurance, and fiduciary insurance consulting. He is the author of the Fiduciary Liability Insurance Handbook. The book’s only mention of ESOPs is to say that this kind of fiduciary insurance is more costly than that needed for other retirement plans.
Corey Rosen
On September 17, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce unanimously approved H.R. 5169, the Retire through Ownership Act, sponsored by Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.), who is chair of the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP). The bill was amended in committee to more closely parallel the version of the same bill that passed the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions earlier this year.
Corey Rosen
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed H.R. 2958, the Balance the Scales Act, which would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require that the Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) submit an annual report to Congress on so-called “common interest agreements.” The issue first came to the forefront in Harrison v. Envision Management, No. 21–cv–00304–CNS–MD (D.C. Colo. Jan. 13, 2025), a case in which the plaintiff’s law firm received information from the DOL under a common interest agreement, even though the DOL was not a party to the suit. The attorneys for the defendants discovered the information-sharing only the night before an important deposition. The court ruled decisively against the DOL, and several members of Congress expressed concern about the practice.
Corey Rosen
The new regulatory agenda for the Department of Labor (DOL) indicates that new regulations for ESOP valuations could come as soon as January 2026. The regulations were required by Section 346 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The release notes that “[t]o inform this action, the Department established a pre-rule outreach plan to broaden public participation and community engagement in the regulatory process. This includes meeting with a range of stakeholders (including ESOP sponsors, appraisers, labor organizations and academics) to hear about issues they believe should be addressed in the Department’s guidance. The goal of the outreach plan is to inform this regulatory action through meaningful and equitable opportunities for public input by a range of interested or affected parties, including underserved communities.”
Corey Rosen
Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors, have introduced the Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025 (PDF). This is a companion bill to H.R. 3105, introduced by Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). The bill has four components:
Corey Rosen
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee unanimously voted to advance two pieces of proposed pro-ESOP legislation, making them eligible for full Senate consideration. It also incorporated the text of a third bill on ESOPs, while deferring action on two others.
Corey Rosen
The US House of Representatives Education and Workforce Subcommittee held a hearing on July 22, 2025, on transparency and oversight at the Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). The hearing, titled “Restoring Trust: Enhancing Transparency and Oversight at EBSA,” focused on alleged EBSA overreach in enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). EBSA's enforcement includes audits, investigations, and litigation to ensure that companies comply with ERISA's requirements.
Corey Rosen
Emprise, a 100% ESOP-owned holding company that acquires and invests in middle-market consumer product companies, has acquired Nice-Pak Products through its portfolio company Vivos Holdings, LLC, creating one of the largest companies in its field. Emprise, which the company says stands for "employee" and "enterprise," includes a number of personal care companies, including Consumer Product Partners, Surefil, UpLift Brands, and Vi-Jon, as well as INSPR Labs, which provides research and analytical services for the personal care industry. Nice-Pak is a manufacturer of sanitizing wipes for personal care, babies and toddlers, homes, hospitals, and other users.
