Loren Rodgers
The Temporary Federal ESOP Grant Program Act: An Overview
Update on Sept 10, 2020: This bill was not included in the Senate Republicans' most recent coronavirus relief bill.
Employee Ownership Blog
Loren Rodgers
Loren Rodgers
June 26: Employee Ownership Day in the United Kingdom
On June 26, the United Kingdom observed Employee Ownership Day with celebrations in hundreds of companies across the country.
Loren Rodgers
The Pandemic Will Change the Ownership of American Companies
Two prominent writers, Timothy Wu and Robert Reich, have articles in the New York Times about COVID-19’s effect on ownership patterns among U.S. corporations.
Loren Rodgers
The NCEO Captive Insurance Initiative: ESOP Companies Working Together to Reduce Costs
Here are three things I believe: ESOP companies are well-managed, they tend toward being open with information, and they are generous about sharing best practices with each other. If I’m right, then any group of ESOP companies is likely to have better-than-average risk profiles. And if that’s true, it should be possible to translate these characteristics into better insurance opportunities for ESOP companies.
Loren Rodgers
Thank You, from the NCEO
Thank you.
Loren Rodgers
Mark Cuban: "Give Employees Stock"
LinkedIn's Daniel Roth interviewed billionaire investor Mark Cuban and posted the online interview. In it, Cuban makes it clear that he is not talking just about a sense of ownership—he’s been quoted for decades as a supporter of employee ownership: “When we sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo, 20 years ago give or take, out of 330 employees, 300 became millionaires. And those 30 weren't only because they started too late. But they got paid as well." (Also see our June 17, 2019, blog post.)
Loren Rodgers
Wilmington Trust and DOL Reach $88M Settlement
In a press release issued on April 30, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it had reached an agreement with Wilmington Trust "to pay a combined $80 million to 21 employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) for which it served as trustee and $8 million to the government, and to reimburse plan sponsors of ESOPs for legal costs and expenses advanced in connection with the Secretary’s investigations and litigation."
Loren Rodgers
EBSA Head Preston Rutledge to Step Down
Pension & Investments is reporting that Preston Rutledge, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), will be stepping down from his post in May. EBSA is the unit that oversees enforcement of employee benefit plans, including ESOPs. P&I's article notes "[a]n official Labor Department announcement has not yet been made and the reason for his departure or his next move could not immediately be learned."
Loren Rodgers
PPP Funds Exhausted
Update April 22: Congressional leaders and the White House announced an agreement yesterday which would, among other things, nearly double the amount available through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by adding $320 billion in funding. The Senate passed the bill late yesterday by voice vote, although two senators (Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah) voiced opposition. The bill now goes to the House, which is expected to vote on Thursday. The text of the House bill is here.