PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) Explained
Podcast: Discussing and Demystifying the IRS News Release on ESOPs
(A)ESOP's Fables - The Income and Estate Tax-Free ESOP
Investment Management Update – Exit Strategies
ESOPs: A Path to Bank Independence
The German Federal Labour Court has tightened its case law. According to a decision from 19 March 2025 (10 AZR 67/24), the reasons for which were only recently published, employees may be entitled to an exit bonus even if the...more
Thinking about succession planning, employee engagement, or selling your business? On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Nona Massengill, a partner focusing on Executive...more
An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) has become a popular tool for succession planning and tax structuring, especially for S corporations. As more business owners look to retire and wish to avoid selling their life’s...more
Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) have been used as a business succession strategy by employers across many industries. In the cannabis industry, ESOPs have come and gone and come again as a trendy topic promising to fix...more
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are unique employee benefit plans designed to invest primarily in the stock of the sponsoring employer....more
Welcome to our latest blog post where we delve into the intricacies of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (“ESOPs”). Scott H. Moskol, a partner and co-chair of the Cannabis practice at Blank Rome, and Jason S. Luter, a partner,...more
Incentive programs like an employee stock option plan or a virtual stock option plan ("VSOP") are widely used by young technology companies ("Company") to reward and retain talent ("Beneficiaries"). A key feature in these...more
As we enter Q2 of 2025, the cannabis industry has become increasingly pessimistic about the elimination of Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, whether via rescheduling or otherwise. Rescheduling appears unlikely in the...more
Happy Spring from the Kaufman & Canoles ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation team! We hope you’re shaking off the winter blues and ready for another round of benefits updates. ...more
On March 19, 2025, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht or BAG) held in Case No.: 10 AZR 67/24 that certain forfeiture clauses in General Terms and Conditions of Business (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen or...more
Virtual Stock Option Plans (VSOPs) are a common tool used by companies to incentivize employees by linking part of their compensation to the company’s long-term success. Unlike traditional stock options, VSOPs do not grant...more
At least four lawsuits have recently been filed against employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciaries alleging a failure to prudently invest cash held in the ESOP trust. While scrutiny of investments in company stock has...more
Key Takeaways: Board’s Duty to Monitor the Trustee: A company’s board of directors has a fiduciary duty to monitor the ESOP trustee’s actions in an ESOP transaction, ensuring that the trustee is acting in the exclusive...more
On January 20, 2025, an executive order froze two new pieces of proposed employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) guidance announced in a notice of proposed rulemaking and originally set for publication in the Federal Register on...more
On February 6, 2025, a Pennsylvania federal judge gave preliminary approval to a $2.1 million settlement resolving a class action involving the Pride Mobility ESOP. This case is one of six brought so far—and the second to...more
There is a significant demographic shift headed our way known as the “gray tsunami,” as a very large portion of the American population will reach retirement age and eventually exit the workforce. In fact, we are at a peak...more
A February 19 Executive Order, titled “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Initiative,” is aimed at directing the “Administration to focus the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 16, 2025, released its long-awaited proposed regulation interpreting the definition of "adequate consideration" as applied to private company stock acquired or sold by an employee...more
As a new administration takes office, CHBs should prepare for significant policy changes across immigration, employee benefits, and employment and labor law that could impact their businesses in 2025....more
Employment-related policies are undergoing rapid change, with regulatory shifts impacting the enforceability of non-competes, evolving unionization dynamics, and a growing focus on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)....more
On January 16, 2025, the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released two pieces of guidance that, if finalized, would dramatically change the landscape for fiduciaries responsible...more
On January 16, the Department of Labor released long-awaited guidance on how to determine the value of employer stock in purchase and sale transactions involving an ESOP. Unfortunately for those in the ESOP community hoping...more
On January 16, 2025, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) at the Department of Labor (DOL) released drafts of long-awaited proposed regulations seeking to clarify the definition of “adequate consideration” as...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regularly requires retirement plans to incorporate new laws and regulations. To ensure that pre-approved retirement plans incorporate these required legal and regulatory updates, the IRS...more
Good news! The second chamber (Bundesrat) has now paved the way for the eagerly awaited and much-debated inclusion of a group privilege in sec. 19a of the German Income Tax Act (“EStG”). German start-ups that have done the...more