Advocate for Employee Ownership Act

The Advocate for Employee Ownership Act would create a new, high-level DOL position called the Advocate for Employee Ownership, placed within the Department of Labor’s Employee Ownership Initiative (an element already established by the SECURE 2.0 Act). The Secretary of Labor would appoint this Advocate (not through the usual civil service process) and give them broad duties to promote employee ownership, facilitate communication among stakeholders, educate the public, assist with ESOP-related disputes, and identify needed legislative or administrative changes to expand use of employee ownership, including ESOPs. The Advocate would report annually to Congress, be compensated at the equivalent of Executive Schedule level V, and the office would be funded as needed. In short, the bill formalizes a dedicated DOL role to advance employee ownership, particularly ESOPs, and to serve as a go-between for employers, workers, plan sponsors, and other government agencies, with regular reporting and a mandate to improve access to employee ownership options.