Employee Ownership Advisers Desperate for DOL Valuation Clarity

Employee ownership advocates are cautiously optimistic about a new US Labor Department plan to finalize decades-old rulemaking that would standardize the valuation of worker-owned stock and curb potentially costly agency litigation.

DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration announced the formation of a new Employee Ownership Division this week, part of a congressional SECURE 2.0 Act (Pub. L. No. 117-328) mandate to encourage more employee-owned companies and set clear guidelines for stock appraisals.

Congress has repeatedly endorsed worker ownership as a means of democratizing the workplace, giving employees a financial stake in their labor. The WORK Act, passed under the ...