Today the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) ended the ESOP National Enforcement Project, a 20-year effort by the Department that began in 2005. The National Enforcement Project against ESOPs promoted a targeted enforcement approach by EBSA that led to increased enforcement resources and scrutiny.
The ESOP Association has been requesting an end to this decades-long and unnecessary effort at EBSA as part of its effort to reverse what has long been perceived as its anti-ESOP bias.
Jim Bonham, President and CEO of The ESOP Association, responded with, “We are grateful that the DOL and EBSA have taken this important step. This decision shows that DOL’s leadership is taking action on its promise to ‘end the war on ESOPs.’”
This move opens the door to further efforts at the DOL to promote ESOPs, which TEA has been pursuing. “EBSA’s decision should be a clear, unmistakable signal to both the ESOP community and those considering forming an ESOP that the future is bright,” continued Bonham.
This decision by EBSA follows a series of meetings between TEA and DOL leadership about priorities and opportunities for promoting ESOPs and employee ownership.
View the DOL’s full release here: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20260115
Contact:
Demetrios Karoutsos
dkaroutsos@esopassociation.org
