Many ESOP companies make a safe harbor matching or discretionary contribution to their ESOP or 401(k) plan. In order to satisfy the safe harbor requirements an annual safe harbor notice must be provided to the participants. The notice must be provided between 30 and 90 days before the first day of the plan year, and employees who become eligible after the notice period must receive the notice by their date of eligibility. Since December 1 is 30 days prior the start of December 31, 2009 plan year, today is effectively the safe harbor notice deadline for many plans.

Uncertainty Describes 2008 Election Results Impact on ESOPs -“The Election of 2008 and Its Impact on ESOPs” shares the remarks delivered by the ESOP Association president J. Michael Keeling at the 2008 Las Vegas Conference. He discussed how the 2008 election results are like the 1980s all over again:

People Practices Help Local and Community Banks Thrive, Even in Tough Economic Times discusses two ESOP-owned banks that are thriving, even in today's financial environment. The banks use employee ownership and other techniques to keep employee turnover low.

Florida's Everglades Deal With U.S. Sugar Faces Challenge From New Bid discusses how a Tennessee company is seeking to acquire U.S. Sugar Corp. We have discussed the U.S. Sugar ESOP Issues including the current plans by the state of Florida to Purchase 187,000 Acres of U.S. Sugar Land for $1.34 billion:

Earlier this week we discussed how a bankruptcy filing may have been prevented with proper Repurchase Obligation and Distribution Planning. Antioch Company files for bankruptcy protection provides additional details on the bankruptcy filing:

November 17, 2008 Employee Ownership Update is online and discusses the following:

Last week we discussed Johnson v. Couturier, 2007 WL 3151802 (E.D. Cal. October 26, 2007) in Corporate Indemnification Limited to Amount Covered by Fiduciary Insurance? In a related case, the DOL announced that they have sued the board of directors for alleged ERISA violations:

I would like to thank Mark Harbeke at Winning Workplaces for the link in Friday Nugget: 15 More Blogs for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Winning Workplaces and The Wall Street Journal recently collaborated to determine the 2008 Top Small Workplaces. Here are some of the ESOP and employee ownership comments about the 2008 Top Small Workplaces:

Balance forward 401(k) plans: someone's gotta win, someone's gotta lose discusses the concept of balance forward recordkeeping and how some participants will benefit at the expense of others under a balance forward arrangement:

In July we discussed Private Letter Ruling (PLR) 200827018, which made it easier to qualify for a IRC Section 1042 Tax Deferred Sale of Stock to an ESOP by including the holding period of a Predecessor LLC. IRS Rules That Holding Period in Shares of Company Stock Being Sold to an ESOP Should Include Holding Period in Company's Predecessor provides another perspective on the PLR:

2008 Election and ESOPs discusses how ESOP Association President J. Michael Keeling will be discussing the election and what it may mean for ESOPs and employee ownership at this week's Las Vegas Conference & Trade Show.

The Great Game of Business is the title of a book and an open-book management system (that is the focus of the book). The Great Game of Business on Getting Employees to Hold Each Other Accountable discusses 4 steps to implementing The Great Game:

We have been discussing ESOP Corporate Governance and the responsibilities of the Board of Directors. A recent court case raises the question of whether corporate indemnification for ESOP companies is limited to any amount covered by fiduciary insurance.

1. Regularly attends board meetings and important related meetings.

2. Makes serious commitment to participate actively in committee work.

3. Volunteers for and willingly accepts assignments and completes them thoroughly and on time.

4. Stays informed about committee matters, prepares themselves well for meetings, and reviews and comments on minutes and reports.

5. Gets to know other committee members and builds a collegial working relationship that contributes to consensus.

6. Is an active participant in the committee's annual evaluation and planning efforts.

The Eternal Power of Entrepreneurship discusses some new approaches to spread employee ownership in academic settings:

Walsh Bishop Associates Inc., a 100% ESOP-owned Twin Cities architectural firm, discusses their commitment to employee ownership and open and honest communication:

In ESOP-Owned CPA Firms, Succession Planning for CPA Firms, we discussed some examples of ESOP-owned CPA firms. One of those firms, Burr Pilger Mayer (BPM), recently announced a merger with another CPA firm. The announcement also emphasized the importance of the ESOP to their company: