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.
Employee Ownership Blog
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.
Loren Rodgers
The State of Worker Cooperatives 2019
On January 29, the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and the Democracy at Work Institute released their annual report on the state of worker cooperatives (registration required) in the U.S. The report notes that there are 465 known worker cooperatives, which is a slight increase from the 450 known cooperatives in the 2017 report. Worker cooperatives employ 6,454 people and generate annual revenue of approximately $505 million. They're situated throughout the country, with concentrations in the San Francisco Bay Area, the corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston, and Puerto Rico.
Loren Rodgers
House Committee Holds Hearings on Employee Ownership in Small Businesses
On February 12, the House Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing titled "Challenges and Benefits of Employee-Owned Small Businesses." The hearing, which will begin at 11:30 am, will be live-streamed. [Update on February 12: that link now goes to a committee page that includes a link to a video recording of the hearing.]