Loren Rodgers
The NCEO's commitments to you
We at the NCEO have always seen ourselves as your partners. We exist to make employee ownership thrive, and that mission determines what we do: serve the needs of you who are reading this.
Employee Ownership Blog
Corey Rosen
On Changing the Format of Our Annual Conference
Thirty-nine years ago, we held our first annual conference. We had 175 attendees, including my uncle Bernie. Last year we sold out at over 1,900; this year, we were on track to sell out even sooner at over 2,000. The conference is one of the most important ways we help make employee ownership grow and thrive. It is also over one-third of our annual revenue and provides most of the profit we use to support all the other work we do, such as research and outreach, that is essential to employee ownership but does not generate revenue. We devote approximately the equivalent of three full-time staff people per year to the event. I know many of you really look forward to the conference every year, just as I do. One of my favorite spring rituals is checking in each day on how many new registrations we are getting and looking forward to reconnecting with all the inspiring people I have gotten to know over the years, as well as meeting so many new ones. I come back reenergized for another year, and it is part of why I count my ongoing role as a pretty much full-time volunteer for the NCEO as an extraordinary blessing.
Loren Rodgers
The NCEO Responds to the Coronavirus
Update on March 16: Please read our revised coronavirus update and see the announcement on our conference website.
Corey Rosen
New DOL Process Agreement Adds Provisions on Indemnification and Control
A new process agreement between the Department of Labor and Farmers National Bank (FNB) was made public on February 28. It lays out a much more detailed process for evaluating whether an ESOP actually has and can pay for control. It also prevents FNB from accepting indemnification and sets new hurdles for the advancement of fees in legal cases. The agreement was included in a settlement in the case of Scalia v. The Farmers National Bank of Danville and Weddle Bros. Construction Company, No. 1:20-cv-674 (S.D. Ind. Feb 28, 2020). Process agreements apply only to the parties involved, but they may indicate how the DOL would proceed in other actions. While much of the agreement reiterates prior agreements, this new one lays out some potentially troubling issues.
Loren Rodgers
The NCEO Welcomes Milan Havel, Its Newest Staff Member
On February 29, Milan Havel joined the staff of the NCEO as our controller.
Loren Rodgers
The Spring 2020 CEPI Exam Prep Course Is Open
The NCEO has launched the Spring 2020 CEPI Exam Prep Course. Candidates for the Certified Equity Professional designation, offered by the Certified Equity Professional Institute at Santa Clara University, receive access to our online learning environment with hundreds of sample questions, answers, and explanations; a practice final exam; webinars on the four subject areas (accounting; taxation; corporate and securities law; and equity plan design, analysis, and administration) for all three levels; a Quick Reference Guide for use during studying; and supplemental study documents. This year's exams will be held May 18 to 23, with a full schedule and FAQs available online.
Corey Rosen
Broad-Based Stock Plans Remain Prevalent in Fortune Best 100 Companies to Work For
Forty of the 78 employers among the 2020 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For that can offer stock plans have some kind of broad-based plan. Twenty-two of the organizations cannot have stock plans because they are nonprofits (mostly in health care), law or accounting firms, or a consumer cooperative (REI). The percentage of eligible companies offering these plans on the list has been around 50% since its inception.
Loren Rodgers
Employee Ownership in Democratic Presidential Debate
During the February 19, 2020, debate of the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, moderator MSNBC anchor Hallie Jackson asked Pete Buttigieg about employee ownership: "Senator Sanders has a proposal that will require all large companies to turn over up to 20 percent of their ownership to employees over time. Is that a good idea?"
Loren Rodgers
New Members of the NCEO Board of Directors
The NCEO is proud to announce the new members of its board of directors, following the election in January.