ESOPs (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re ESOPs, gathered by BenefitsLink.comGuidance Overview ESOPs In Changing Times; C'est LaRue- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Even though the LaRue case involved a drop in the value of a 401(k) account, the impact of the case can be significant in any context where a plan participant believes that by fiduciary action or inaction, his or her individual benefits were negatively impacted. This means that a participant may directly and immediately bring suit for breach of fiduciary duty without moving through the benefit claim and appeal process. The presumption of correctness for fiduciary defendants and...http://www.seethebenefits.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3313 Employee Ownership Update for May 15, 2008- (Found June 29, 2008 ) NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses a program in Indiana to encourage banks to loan to ESOPs; a pro-ESOP resolution in Congress; an inaccurate claim by many compensation professionals that broad-based equity plans don't work; an NCEO survey of equity compensation practices in closely held companies; and a Winning Workplaces Webinar on employee ownership. (National Center for Employee Ownership)http://www.nceo.org/columns/cr253.html Europe Takes a Closer Look at Employee Stock Ownership- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Governments in Austria and Germany are devising legislation that takes inspiration from pioneers like Voestalpine, and they are using tax law to encourage employee stock ownership. More stock in the hands of workers could help compensate for wages that have stagnated in much of Europe even as stock markets have staged a long-term rally, the recent turmoil notwithstanding. The politics are appealing as well." (The New York Times; free registration required)http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/business/worldbusiness/01euroecon-web.html?_r=1&scp=... Opinion Employee Ownership: It's Good for Business and for the Soul- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Study after study has confirmed the fact that employee ownership helps companies be more productive, more competitive, and more profitable. In short, employee ownership is good for business. And that's a great thing. But there is something more that is at work in employee ownership companies. In the way they operate, and by their very nature, these companies tap into the universal human hunger for meaning, for the pursuit of a higher purpose one that transcends the drive for...http://beysterinstitute.ucsd.edu/other_resources/leading_companies/april08/lc0408EOgood4so... Executive Compensation - Besides Stock Options, What Else Is There- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "There are several alternatives, including restricted stock plans, phantom stock, stock appreciation rights, and employee stock ownership plans. Each of these plans is an alternative to the stock option, and some do not involve stock ownership at all." (Wisconsin Technology Network, LLC)http://wistechnology.com/articles/4658/ Termination Before Selloff not Intentional Benefits Interference- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has found that an employer was not motivated by a desire to deprive an Employee Stock Ownership Plan participant of benefits when it terminated him to move along a sell of one of its units to another company." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)http://www.plansponsor.com/pi_type10/?RECORD_ID=40962 Johnson & Perkinson Announces Filing of Employee Retirement Class Action Complaint Against The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The complaint, on behalf of participants and beneficiaries who obtained Company stock through an employee stock ownership plan between December 14, 2006 and the present, seeks redress under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ('ERISA'). The complaint alleges the failure of the plan fiduciaries to act solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries, and to exercise the required skill, care, prudence and diligence in administering the retirement plan,...http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0383938.htm Employee Ownership Update for April 10, 2008- (Found June 29, 2008 ) NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses AECOM Technology Corp., a publicly traded company with a global employee ownership program; the impact of small ideas on a company; and the question of whether ESOP-owned companies can qualify for minority ownership status for federal Section 8(a) contract preferences if most of the beneficial ownership goes to qualifying minority employees. (National Center for Employee Ownership)http://www.nceo.org/columns/cr251.html ESOP Benefits of Fiduciary Who Breached His Duties Can Offset Plan Loss- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama has determined a former bank president breached his fiduciary duty to the bank's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) by not disclosing his criminal acts against the bank to the plan's committee." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)http://www.plansponsor.com/pi_type10/?RECORD_ID=41097 Guidance Overview IRC Section 409(p) Anti-Abuse Testing, History of Regulations, and Private Letter Ruling (PLR) 200804023- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "PLR 200804023 was published on January 25, 2008 and is the first 409(p) anti-abuse private letter ruling." (The One-Stop ESOP Blog)http://www.onestopesopblog.com/2008/04/irc-section-409p-anti-abuse-testing.html |