Cassidy Floats Employee Ownership Bills to Build on SECURE 2.0

New legislation introduced by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) seeks to foster more employee-owned US companies by eliminating tax code contribution caps and giving employee stock ownership plans seats on a federal advisory panel.

Employee stock ownership plans set up as workplace benefits are the most common method for transferring ownership from a small group of owners to a company’s workers. Cassidy’s legislation builds on pro-ESOP riders Congress passed under the SECURE 2.0 Act in 2022 requiring the US Labor Department to untangle complicated valuation procedures.

Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, helped facilitate ESOP language ...