Dec. 2022 - Landmark ESOP Legislation Signed Into Law

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (P.L. 117-328) includes the Worker Opportunity, Readiness and Knowledge (WORK) Act, sponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), which creates the Employee Ownership Initiative at the DOL to promote employee ownership and directs the DOL to provide formal guidance on the vital issue of properly valuing shares of company stock to be bought by an ESOP– a key rule long missing from the ESOP regulatory landscape. The law included new provisions allowing S corporation ESOPs limited use of section 1042 tax deferral.