HCSS (Houston, TX)

"What we've got here is failure to communicate." expands on The Risk and Expense of Terminated Participants and how victims of downsizing can perceive their layoff as unfair and retaliate:

Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D-NY] introduced H. Con. Res. 333: Expressing continued support for employee stock ownership plans on April 24, 2008. The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA] and has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. Here is the text of the legislation:

Hansen Plastics Corp. (Elgin, IL)

Steve Sheppard's latest blog post, Five Degrees of Connection, discusses his upcoming trip to Nicaragua and some training topics:

PLR 200804023 was published on January 25, 2008 and is the first 409(p) anti-abuse private letter ruling.

ESOP Update: Deduction Disallowance Under Section 267 discusses how the Large & Mid-Size Business Division (LMSB) of the IRS, a division that "serves corporations, subchapter S corporations, and partnerships with assets greater than $10 million," issued a memorandum on September 28, 2007 (LMSB-04-0907-064) identifying an emerging issue that could affect some ESOP companies:

Company President Pleads Guilty to Lying on Form 5500 and Employer Fined for Lying on Form 5500 discuss how a company president and fiduciary misused plan assets and was convicted of filing a false IRS Form 5500:

Paul Windsor, an investigator from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the Department of Labor (DOL), presented What to Expect from an Employee Benefits Security Administration Investigation on April 15, 2008, at the Spring Conference of the ESOP Association – Wisconsin Chapter. Here are some highlights of the presentation:

Last week we discussed an Update on Section 3701 of the Rangel Tax Proposal. The latest Employee Ownership Blog post suggests that now is the time to discuss The ESOP Promotion and Improvement Act of 2007 (S. 1322) with your Senators:

Terminated Employees Can Be Toxic to the Health of Your Plan uses LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Assoc. Inc., No. 06-856 (Feb. 20, 2008) as an example of why plans should act quickly to move the accounts of terminated participants out of the plan. It stresses the fiduciary responsibilities that apply to both current and terminated participants:

DOL Correspondence on Late Deposit of Elective Deferrals discusses how the DOL has been automatically generating letters to plan sponsors who indicate on the IRS Form 5500 that they failed to deposit deferrals in the required time period, even if the sponsor included an attachment that indicated it had been corrected. The article still recommends the use of the attachment or footnote:

Times Co. puts Maine newspapers on market discusses how the Seattle Times Co. is trying to sell its Maine newspapers and hopes to complete a sale within a year. Newspaper guild retains advisor, announces exploration of bid for Blethen Newspapers notes that the Portland Newspaper Guild has hired a consultant and is exploring an employee ownership model to purchase the Blethen Maine Newspapers:

The ESOP Association Announces Silver ESOP Award Winners is a press release announcing 129 ESOP Association companies that have had an ESOP for at least 25 years. Because the list only recognizes Association members, it is not comprehensive. Please let me know if you are or know of an ESOP that has been in existence for 25 or more years and I will add it to the list. I will also add links to individual press releases and related articles as they become available:

ESOP Benefits of Fiduciary Who Breached His Duties Can Offset Plan Loss discusses Pension and Employee Stock Ownership Plan Administrative Committee of Community Bancshares Inc. v. Patterson, N.D. Ala., No. CV-04-BE-00531-S, 3/31/08, which determined that a plan committee member breached his fiduciary duty by failing to disclose his criminal acts against his company to the plan committee:

The DOL announced the release of Choosing A Retirement Solution for Your Small Business, an online video designed to help small employers and accountants understand their retirement options. The video shares examples of companies that have implemented SEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, and 401(k) plans:

The April 10, 2008 Employee Ownership Update is online and discusses the following:

We recently discussed ESCA's position on Section 3701 of H.R. 3970: Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2007, otherwise known in the ESOP world as the Rangel Corporate Tax Proposal. Progress, But No Victory, No Let Up is an Employee Ownership Blog post discussing Section 3701, including the progress in getting ESOP companies to understand the negative consequences of the bill:

The Wall Street Journal.'s Retirement-Planning Guide discusses a guidebook that is "a blueprint for building a successful retirement" and shares the following "Potential Cracks In Your Nest Egg":

Happiness and Employee Ownership discusses factors in happiness to an entrepreneur, focusing on eudaimonic well-being:

The March 28, 2008 Employee Ownership Update is online and discusses the following:

While I am Chicago for the NCEO/Beyster Institute 2008 Employee Ownership Conference, I thought I would share Employee Ownership: It’s Good for Business – and for the Soul, an article that discusses the four previous keynote speakers and their employee ownership vision:

The LaRue Decision: A Mountain of Individual ERISA Lawsuits or Not? discusses LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Assoc. Inc., No. 06-856 (Feb. 20, 2008). It discusses the procedural history, provides analysis, and shares some concluding remarks.