Employee Ownership Blog

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.

Loren Rodgers

April 16, 2020

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.

Loren Rodgers

April 16, 2020

ESOP Trucking Company Praised in White House Ceremony

In recognition of their increased and successful efforts amid the coronavirus outbreak, President Trump praised a number of shipping and trucking companies, including Tennessee-based ESOP Big G Express. Big G Express driver Steven Richardson was invited to make some remarks, in which he spoke about Big G's ESOP and his experience as an essential worker during the pandemic.

Loren Rodgers

April 15, 2020

In Response to COVID-19: What Employee-Owners Are Doing

We're hearing stories from our members and the extraordinary things employee-owned companies around the nation are doing during this COVID-19 outbreak.

Nathan Nicholson

April 13, 2020

ESOP Companies and the Paycheck Protection Program

Update: On April 16, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it has stopped accepting new applications for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) thanks to a lapse in appropriations. The PPP is a component of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March to address the economic damage caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak. The $350 billion appropriated for the PPP has been exhausted, and lawmakers are currently negotiating possible additional appropriations to continue the program.

NCEO

April 03, 2020

Understanding the PPP: Application Date, ESOP Eligibility, Required Signatures, and More

Updated April 14, 7:12 am PT

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the CARES Act stimulus package appears to be starting this morning, with some banks accepting applications. Some ESOP experts feared that the PPP may have been drafted in a way that would effectively have delayed ESOP companies’ participation, but some ESOP companies are reporting success. On April 13, we began reporting results from our survey of ESOP companies, which show, for example, that among companies that had filed a loan application, just under half (43%) had received confirmation that their loan was approved by the SBA. Approval typically took just over three days.

Loren Rodgers

April 01, 2020

Resilience

As I talk with members, the word that keeps coming to mind is “resilience.” Some of you reading this are facing terrible choices and no-win situations. Some of you are seeing trouble approaching. But all of the people I have talked with these last weeks – company leaders, employee-owners, advisers, members of the NCEO board, people in our allied organizations – are putting in the hours to create solutions and share them.

Loren Rodgers

April 01, 2020

The NCEO Hosts Public Webinars on Covid-19

The NCEO is hosting three webinars, open to the general public, this week on the coronavirus outbreak and its relationship to employee ownership. You can register for future webinars on Free Webinars: ESOP Issues During the Coronavirus, which will also be updated with follow-up information and recordings of the webinars.

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