Trump Just Signed a Law That Helps Retiring Owners Sell the Business to Their Workers. Make Employee Ownership the Main Street Succession Plan
The Retire Through Ownership Act, signed Oct. 15 after passing the Senate unanimously and the House 401–14, sets a clear valuation rule for employee stock ownership plans. In our view, it is a rare bipartisan win for workers and family businesses, and the Labor Department should implement it without delay.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 16, 2026 | 6-min read Every day, an American business owner faces the same hard question: who takes over when I retire? Sell to a competitor, sell to private equity, or close the doors. On Thursday, President Trump signed a law that makes a fourth answer easier: sell the company to the people who built it. The Retire Through Ownership Act, S. 2403, became law on Oct. 15 [1]. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House 401–14 [2][3]. In our view, it is one of the most practical pro-worker laws of the year, and it deserves more attention than it got. Key Takeaways President Trump signed S. 2403, the Retire Through Ownership Act, on Oct. 15, 2026 [1]. The law lets an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciary rely in good faith on an independent appraiser using IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60 to value private company stock [4]. It does not change a fiduciary's duty to act prudently for plan participants and does not expand or remove the Labor Department's rulemaking authority [4]. The bill passed the Senate unanimously in October 2025 and the House 401–14 on Sept. 16, 2026 [2][3]. About 6,600 ESOP plans cover 15.1 million participants and hold more than $2 trillion in assets [5]. Here is why