Pro-ESOP Bill Introduced in the House; Bill Aims to Protect ESOPs

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressmen Brett S. Guthrie (R-KY), David Loebsack (D-IA), and Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) introduced H.R. 2041, a bill to modify the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to make clear appraisers of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are not ERISA fiduciaries.

H.R. 2041 is the companion bill to S. 273 introduced by Senator Kelly Ayotte in February 2013. This bill is a response to the Department of Labor's (DOS) proposed anti-ESOP regulation mandating all private ESOP company appraisers be ERISA fiduciaries.

While the original proposal was withdrawn, if any regulation was finalized to make appraisers ERISA fiduciaries, there would be extreme confusion over whether the appraiser or the trustee[s], and other current fiduciaries, make the decisions about acquisition of shares on behalf of average pay employees. More troubling, it would leave private ESOP companies open to lawsuits by aggressive class action trial lawyers. Leaders at the DOL say a new proposal will be issued sometime in 2013. It is expected DOL will not alter the proposed regulation's mandate that all appraisers of ESOP stock be ERISA fiduciaries.

"The DOL needs to wake up to the fact that private company ESOPs have tremendous positive records of sustaining jobs as evidenced during the Great Recession. As we've said before, research proves that ESOPs, and companies with other forms of employee stock ownership, provide more sustainable employment. According to the 2010 General Social Survey, employee stock owned companies laid off employees at a rate of 2.6% in 2010, whereas the rate for conventionally-owned companies was 12.1%. Bottom-line, ESOP companies' employees, in the aggregate, save Uncle Sam $7 for every dollar Uncle Sam spent promoting employee ownership," stated ESOP Association President, J. Michael Keeling.

The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and the leading voice in America for employee ownership. The core cause of The ESOP Association is the belief that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation, and strengthen our free enterprise economy. More information: website - www.esopassociation.org and blog – www.esopassociationblog.org.

SOURCE The ESOP Association

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