We recently discussed the August Recess and the Congressional Company Visit. We have also discussed hosting a Congressional company visit in recent discussions on ESOP Advocacy and ESOP Planning. Here are some links to coverage of Congressional company visits:

Mere Posting of SPD on Intranet Does Not Ensure Actual Receipt discusses Gertjejansen v. Kemper Ins. Co., 9th Cir. 2008 and how the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that posting a summary plan description (SPD) was not sufficient to ensure that a participant actually received it:

Lumber Yard Supply (Great Falls, MT)

Here are some links to recent DOL and IRS rules and publications:

We recently discussed the requirements for an IRC Section 1042 Tax Deferred Sale of Stock to an ESOP. One of the 4 requirements to qualify for Section 1042 sale, as provided under IRC Section 1042(b) - Sales of stock to employee stock ownership plans or certain cooperative – Requirements to qualify for nonrecognition, is to provide a written statement:

ESOP Rules for Government Contractors Finalized explains the May 2008 final ruling for Accounting for the Costs of ESOPs Sponsored by Government Contractors. The ruling provides more certainty by clearly defining the allowable cost as the contractor's contribution, including interest and dividends. This differs with the fair market value definition provided under Statement of Position 93-6, Employers' Accounting for Employee Stock Ownership Plans. The article also discusses the remaining concerns about dividends and notes that stock valuations remain subject to audit by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA):

We continue our coverage of the story of EBO Group by sharing Eight Ways to Foster Innovation - Lessons from the EBO Group:

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal recently named the winners of its 10th annual Best Places to Work competition:

This month, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published working papers relevant to ESOPs and employee ownership:

The ESOP Association announced that they have submitted comments to the IRS concerning the
Sample Plan Language for IRC Section 409(p) Transfers:

We recently discussed EBO Group in Using Innovation and Employee Ownership to Achieve Continuous Success, Diversify Lines of Business, Retain Employees, and Address Succession Planning Objectives. "Why would you want to turn your employee-owners into venture capitalists?" is from this year's Ohio Employee Ownership Center's (OEOC) annual conference and tells the story of EBO Group from the Chairman's perspective:

The August 14, 2008 Employee Ownership Update is online and discusses the following:

A recent order by the United States District Court Northern District of New York, Lilly v. Oneida Ltd. Employee Benefits Administrative Committee, Case No.6:07-CV-0340 (NPM/GJD) (N.D.N.Y. May 8, 2008), found that the Oneida participants can continue their claim of fiduciary breach.

Six Signs You Don't Care About Workers shares six indicators that employees are not a top priority:

We have extensively discussed LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Assoc. Inc., No. 06-856 (Feb. 20, 2008). We have also discussed Cook v. Campbell, 482 F. Supp.2d 1341 (M.D. Ala. 2007), one of the first cases to consider LaRue's impact on individual claims involving an ESOP. The district court case rejected the attempt to revive a fiduciary breach case. Alabama District Court Rejects Application of LaRue in ESOP Participant Suit provides a detailed analysis of the case and some important takeaways:

The latest Employee Ownership Blog post, Future of ESOPs, contains a discussion of where the ESOP industry sees ESOPs and employee ownership in twenty years:

U.S. Sugar's sweet deal provides a detailed look at Florida's Purchase of the 187,000 Acres of Land Owned by U.S. Sugar Corp., including a review of the outstanding U.S. Sugar ESOP litigation:

The July 31, 2008 Employee Ownership Update is online and discusses the following:

The cases against Bear Stearns provides an update on more than 20 lawsuits related to the Bear Stearns transaction, including litigation from former participants in the ESOP:

Study: S ESOP Companies Create Jobs and Savings for Workers and Have Higher Productivity, Profitability, Job Stability, and Job Growth discussed a new study that found that S ESOPs create new jobs and savings that would not have otherwise been earned. Here is the abstract for S Corp ESOP Legislation Benefits and Costs: Public Policy and Tax Analysis:

What is a price protection or floor price agreement?

Managing Intellectual Property provides a checklist of finance, legal, IT, and HR tasks to consider for protecting intellectual property:

Do You Really Know Who Supports Employee Stock Ownership? explores how Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA] and Rep. Ron Paul [R-TX] have consistently supported ESOPs, and cites H.R. 6419: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income compensation received by employees consisting of qualified distributions of employer stock as a recent example. The post discusses what constitutes good Congressional support:

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA] introduced H.R. 6419: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income compensation received by employees consisting of qualified distributions of employer stock on June 26, 2008, which was cosponsored by Rep. Virgil Goode [R-VA], Rep. Walter Jones [R-NC], and Rep. Peter Roskam [R-IL], and has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Ron Paul [R-TX] also cosponsored the bill on July 17, 2008.