Loren Rodgers
DOL Releases Two Proposed Rules on the Valuation of ESOP Shares
January 20 update: The new Trump administration has put all pending regulations on hold, including the proposed rules on ESOP valuation discussed below. The second executive order signed by the President today states that all executive departments and agencies shall "immediately withdraw any rules that have been sent to the OFR [Office of the Federal Register] but not published in the Federal Register." The two proposed rules that affect ESOPs have both been released as public inspection documents but have not been published. The proposed rules could be withdrawn and rewritten, modified, or retained, but the executive order means that they may not advance "until a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President after noon on January 20, 2025, reviews and approves the rule." The executive order does offer an exception from the withdrawal, but only if the head of the Office and Management and Budget "deems [it] necessary to address emergency situations or other urgent circumstances." The NCEO will issue an analysis of the proposal in the coming days.
At 8:45 am Eastern time on January 16, the Federal Register released the public inspection versions of two proposed rules, both of which would affect the determination of the value of shares in ESOP transactions. Both proposed rules are from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) at the Department of Labor (DOL).
