Employee Ownership Blog

Dallan Guzinski

June 01, 2020

Employee Survey Project: Asking Employee-Owners About the COVID Work Experience

With remote work, socially distanced production, new shift schedules, and virtual meetings, companies are beginning to head toward a new normal in their operations. The NCEO is developing a survey that will help gather your employee-owners' assessment of how well the new way of working is going and what their ideas are for improvements. It will also give you a chance to check in with how they're managing during these times of crisis.

Loren Rodgers

May 15, 2020

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.)

Nancy Wiefek

May 14, 2020

ESOP Companies: Take the ESOP Topics Survey!

Corey Rosen

May 13, 2020

SBA Updates Guidance on Payroll Protection Program Compliance

On May 13, 2020, the SBA, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, updated its Frequently Asked Questions to include a new Question 46 that provides additional guidance about the certification needed to prove that the funds were necessary in order to maintain payroll and thus eligible for forgiveness.

Timothy Garbinsky

May 08, 2020

Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership Officially Opens

The Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) has announced the formation of the Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership (MNCEO). The center was officially incorporated in January of this year and is currently being lead by interim executive director Sue Crockett. The EOX, beyond coordinating the people and financial support to get the center started, will provide resources to the MNCEO going forward to make it a compelling location for Minnesotans to learn about employee ownership. This includes statements for legislators, website and social media templates, and more.

Loren Rodgers

May 01, 2020

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."

Corey Rosen

April 30, 2020

SBA Issues PPP Enforcement Guidance

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has generated considerable controversy concerning its implementation, fairness, and rules. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is maintaining a FAQ document on the PPP program (PDF) that will be regularly updated. The SBA states, "Borrowers and lenders may rely on the guidance provided in this document as SBA’s interpretation of the CARES Act and of the . . . PPP Interim Final Rules . . . The U.S. government will not challenge lender PPP actions that conform to this guidance, and to the PPP Interim Final Rules and any subsequent rulemaking in effect at the time."

Loren Rodgers

April 23, 2020

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."

Corey Rosen

April 22, 2020

Payroll Protection Program Funding Extended

Congress voted to add $310 billion in funding to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). Banks have said the funds are likely to run out quickly. The bill adds one important change to the bill by adding a set aside for “(I) insured depository institutions with consolidated assets of not less than $10,000,000,000 and less than $50,000,000,000;” and “(II) credit unions with consolidated assets of not less than $10,000,000,000 and less than $50,000,000,000.” The bill provides that not less than $30 billion in loans will be made by these community financial institutions. The Senate passed the bill on April 21, and the House on April 23. It now goes to President Trump, who is expected to sign it.

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