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House Approves the Encouraging Employee Ownership Act

Washington, Apr 4 -

The House passed bipartisan legislation on Tuesday that would make it easier for businesses to offer employees  an ownership stake in the companies where they work.

The bill, the Encouraging Employee Ownership Act of 2017, drew strong support from Republicans and Democrats and was approved by a vote of 331-87.  It would update a nearly 20-year old Securities and Exchange Commission rule that inhibits employee ownership opportunities due to burdensome disclosure requirements.

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) noted that employees at companies like Google and MoPub became millionaires because their compensation included stock options in the firms.

“Don’t we want more Americans to have an opportunity to obtain an ownership stake in the places they work? That way the workers can earn the large financial upside that comes when the company performs well, and the company benefits by being able to attract talented workers,” Chairman Hensarling said.  “Unfortunately, too many companies right now shy away from offering employees greater ownership opportunities because a bureaucratic, burdensome, top-down regulation hasn’t been updated in nearly 20 years.  Well, we can fix that.”

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