Nancy Wiefek
ESOP companies know that helping employees feel like an owner is key to getting the best outcomes. Still, creating that feeling in day-to-day operations is a complex task requiring more than just putting high-performance management practices in place. Companies must also create positive feelings and a connection to the company. This mindset can give ESOP companies a unique advantage over traditional companies.
Corey Rosen
Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina has declared October as employee ownership month. Among other things, Cooper said that “employee ownership drives the creation of wealth and helps to close the wealth gap for North Carolinians, as employee owners are shown to have more than twice the retirement savings as their peers and greater financial assets overall.”
Loren Rodgers
On September 19, 2024, the Assistant Secretary of Labor, Lisa M. Gomez, attended the NCEO’s Fall Forum to address attendees. In her role as the head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Assistant Secretary Gomez is involved in key issues that affect the employee ownership community, including both regulation and promotion.
Lindsay Isaac
The first of October signifies, among other things, the start of gourd season, pumpkin spice flavoring, Halloween decorations, leaves changing, and bidding a (hopefully) fond farewell to summer (and a sad farewell to Jamboard—if you’ve ever participated in an Innovative Communication Coalition meeting or the Communications Committee Crash Course, you get it). But here at the NCEO, it marks the start of Employee Ownership Month (EOM). Since the 80s, Employee Ownership Month has given us the time and space to step back and celebrate employee ownership in all its transformative power.
Corey Rosen
In a recent policy statement, the Harris/Walz campaign became the first presidential campaign to explicitly endorse employee ownership: "In addition, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will reform our tax laws to make it easier for businesses to let workers share in their company’s success, including through broad-based employee stock ownership, profit-sharing plans, and comparable arrangements, with appropriate guardrails to ensure these plans benefit and protect workers."
Corey Rosen
In 2014, the United Kingdom passed a law providing a tax exemption for business owners selling to an employee ownership trust (EOT). An EOT is somewhat similar to a U.S. ESOP, but unlike an ESOP, with an EOT the employees do not have individual share accounts and do not have any claim on equity when they leave the company. Instead, the trust is meant to own the company in perpetuity on behalf of the employees, with the employees getting a dividend or profit share each year. New data confirm just how successful this tax incentive has been in encouraging transfers to EOTs in the UK. According to the European Federation of Employed Shareholders, 1,756 UK companies have been transferred to their 124,000 employees via EOTs as of July 2024. About 6% of UK business transfers so far in 2024 have been through EOTs, as the graph below shows.
Corey Rosen
Each year the NCEO compiles a review of ESOP litigation over the prior 12 months. The review has been incorporated into our book ESOP and 401(k) Plan Employer Stock Litigation Review 1990-2024.
Eva Lianos
Calling all trailblazers of employee ownership, pioneers of workplace engagement, and champions of business growth! The NCEO is thrilled to announce the much-anticipated 2025 Annual Employee Ownership Conference, taking place amidst the majestic peaks and inspiring vistas of Salt Lake City, Utah, from April 14–17, 2025.
Loren Rodgers
One theme of most speakers at our conferences is that ownership culture makes employee-owned companies outperform their competitors. People say that because it’s true and supported by data from many independent researchers. The NCEO is proud to have contributed to that finding.
