Employee Ownership Blog

Corey Rosen

Act to Promote Private Employee Ownership

The Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act (PDF) has been introduced in the House and the Senate. The bill is a revision of a proposal submitted in each chamber to encourage the growth of S corporation ESOPs. Both bills have bipartisan support. The Senate bill’s lead sponsors are Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Steve Daines (R-MT); in the House, the lead sponsors are Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). There are 20 Senate cosponsors and 6 House cosponsors so far, including some of the most liberal and conservative members.

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Timothy Garbinsky

New NCEO Study Finds Increased Retirement Security for Employee-Owners

A new NCEO study commissioned by the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (ESCA) found that workers who own their companies via an ESOP have far greater retirement security than the majority of the American workforce. The recent survey also shows that, even at a time of great upheaval and uncertainty in the labor market, when many companies are contracting and struggling to find and retain workers, employee-owned S corporations also report better employee retention through a corporate culture that fosters worker satisfaction.

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Corey Rosen

Policy Proposal by Leading Republican Thinkers Endorses ESOPs

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, a project of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, has strongly endorsed regulatory changes to make it easier to set up ESOPs. The project, led by the Heritage Foundation, invited over 400 conservative scholars and thinkers to set out detailed policy recommendations for all aspects of the federal government, resulting in an 883-page document.

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Corey Rosen

DOL Creates “Employee Ownership Initiative” to Promote EO

On July 10, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced it is creating the Employee Ownership Initiative within its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). The initiative results from the 2022 Worker Ownership, Readiness, and Knowledge Act (WORK Act), which was enacted as part of the SECURE 2.0 Act in the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The WORK Act requires the DOL to set up a grant program for state employee ownership centers. Funding for that provision will need an appropriation in the 2023 budget. The DOL’s Employment and Training Division will administer the grant program. The WORK Act also requires the DOL to set up an office to provide information to states and other interested parties about employee ownership. That will be under EBSA.

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Corey Rosen

California Employee Ownership Program Lacks Funding

In 2022, the California Employee Ownership Act became law by a unanimous vote. The bill established the California Employee Ownership Hub within the California Office of Small Business. The Hub was directed to “increase awareness and understanding of employee ownership among stakeholders, assist business owners and employees in navigating available resources, and streamline and reduce barriers to employee ownership.” California has a variety of loan support programs for which companies seeking to convert to employee ownership could potentially qualify.

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