Loren Rodgers
Since the Main Street Employee Ownership Act (MSEOA) was signed into law in August 2018, the NCEO and others in the field have questioned whether its implementation matched Congress's intent to promote employee ownership. See, for example, our blog post Proposed SBA Regulations Appear to Weaken the Impact of the Main Street Employee Ownership Act.
Loren Rodgers
On June 24, 2021, Meld Studios announced that it was transitioning ownership from its three founders to an employee ownership trust (EOT) that owns shares on behalf of all 22 Meld employees.
Loren Rodgers
The NCEO is excited to announce that the 2021 Fall ESOP Forum will be back in September, this time as a hybrid event! After more than a year of virtual education, the NCEO’s 2021 Forum will take place both onsite and online. This one-of-a-kind gathering will give attendees, speakers, and sponsors the ability to meet and engage with the ESOP community from wherever they are—onsite in San Diego, online via our state-of-the-art virtual platform, or both.
Loren Rodgers
The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (formerly titled the Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260) has now passed the Senate. As it was being considered, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) submitted an amendment that would incorporate a version of the WORK Act (the Worker Ownership, Readiness, and Knowledge Act). The amendment was never acted on, however. The WORK Act, versions of which have been proposed by Sen. Sanders in prior Congresses (see S. 1081 from 2017, for example), would create a $50 million fund to be disbursed over four years for outreach to promote employee ownership through employee ownership centers sponsored or contracted by individual states. An office within the Department of Labor would create an “employee ownership and participation” initiative to coordinate and provide technical assistance for the program. A state, or an organization designated by a state, could receive a maximum grant of $330,000 per year, which would be increased by 5% per year, from 2022 through 2026. The idea of federal support for state-level employee ownership has been promoted by several think tanks, and has roots in an idea raised by the NCEO’s Corey Rosen in 1986 and initially introduced by Senator James Sasser that year.
Loren Rodgers
In the factsheet Budget 2021-2022: Tax Incentives to Support the Economy (PDF, page 10), released on May 11, the Treasury of Australia announced that it would propose reforms to enhance employee ownership. The reforms, if enacted as proposed, would change the time at which taxes are due on income from tax-deferred employee share schemes (ESS), which is currently taxed at the cessation of employment.
Loren Rodgers
On March 31, the European Federation of Employee Share Ownership (EFES) reported on the state of employee ownership in Europe in 2020 in its annual report on employee ownership in European countries. Author Marc Mathieu notes that “the upward trend in the number of employee shareholders continues,” but also that it may be in danger in Europe as it becomes “less and less democratic.”
Loren Rodgers
On April 16, the NCEO’s preconference sessions will give you a chance to dig in and make headway on one single employee ownership issue. You can go into more depth than in a conference sessions without devoting a whole workday. The preconference sessions are 2.5 hours, which is a quick way to get a block of continuing education credit, and each preconference includes an integrated set of presentations to move you from point A to point B, whether you are starting from scratch or are a “regular” at our conferences.
Loren Rodgers
On February 25th, I sat down with Onex, Inc. President Ashleigh Walters, who shared her ESOP story. Onex, Inc. an Erie, Pennsylvania-based manufacturing company, became an ESOP in 2020. Their decision...well, I won’t give it away. Listen to Ashleigh share their decision-making process.
Loren Rodgers
The NCEO is seeking to hire a Director of Finance and Operations. The DFO is a new position, and it reports directly to the Executive Director. The DFO is responsible for the overall financial management of the organization and for managing and budgeting human resources, office management and general business operations. This is a regular, full-time exempt, at-will position. The DFO serves as an analytic partner for the Executive Director for finance, human resources and business operations.
