Matthew Licina
Yesterday, the Senate’s HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee held a hearing titled "Empowering Workers by Expanding Employee Ownership." As detailed in our previous post, this hearing was a rare example of a congressional hearing focused exclusively on employee ownership.
Corey Rosen
The US House of Representatives Education and Workforce Subcommittee held a hearing on July 22, 2025, on transparency and oversight at the Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). The hearing, titled “Restoring Trust: Enhancing Transparency and Oversight at EBSA,” focused on alleged EBSA overreach in enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). EBSA's enforcement includes audits, investigations, and litigation to ensure that companies comply with ERISA's requirements.
Nancy Wiefek
Research Associate Matt Mazewski from the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers has completed an analysis of US Census data on how many privately held firms in the US are “good candidates” for conversion to employee ownership through an ESOP or worker cooperative. He draws upon the US Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey, County Business Patterns, and Economic Census.
Loren Rodgers
The Senate’s HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee will hold hearings on employee ownership at 10am Eastern on Thursday, July 24. The hearing’s title is "Empowering Workers by Expanding Employee Ownership," and the public can livestream it at the hearing’s landing page.
Matthew Licina
For each employee it touches, employee ownership is more than just a succession planning structure—it’s a catalyst for growth and long-term success. As your business moves through the ESOP life cycle, it is important to leverage the ESOP in a strategic way to promote growth, innovation, employee engagement, and more.
Corey Rosen
Emprise, a 100% ESOP-owned holding company that acquires and invests in middle-market consumer product companies, has acquired Nice-Pak Products through its portfolio company Vivos Holdings, LLC, creating one of the largest companies in its field. Emprise, which the company says stands for "employee" and "enterprise," includes a number of personal care companies, including Consumer Product Partners, Surefil, UpLift Brands, and Vi-Jon, as well as INSPR Labs, which provides research and analytical services for the personal care industry. Nice-Pak is a manufacturer of sanitizing wipes for personal care, babies and toddlers, homes, hospitals, and other users.
Matthew Licina
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has launched a $500,000 pilot program to help business owners consider employee ownership as a transition option. The program will be run in conjunction with the Michigan Employee Ownership Center (MICEO), which will administer the program.
Corey Rosen
Patricia Hetter Kelso, a leading voice in the promotion of employee ownership and universal capitalism, died yesterday at 98. She was the intellectual and business partner, wife, and coauthor of numerous books on expanding capitalism with her husband, Louis Kelso. Louis Kelso developed the idea of the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 1956. Patricia met Louis in 1963, and they married in 1980.
Timothy Garbinsky
Dr. Joseph Blasi, one of the driving forces of academic interest and research on employee ownership, has stepped down from his role as the director of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University. He will continue his work as both a researcher and mentor at the university's School of Management and Labor Relations.
