Employee Ownership Representation Act of 2025

Summary

Creates new federal structures to promote and support employee ownership. It requires the Department of Labor to set up an Office of Employee Ownership, appoint an Advocate for Employee Ownership, expand employee representation on the ERISA Advisory Council, and form an internal Advisory Council to advise the Secretary and coordinate outreach, education, dispute assistance, and rulemaking related to ESOPs and worker-owned cooperatives. The bill sets appointment rules, pay levels for advisory members and the Advocate, deadlines for initial actions (office set up within 90 days, certain nominations within one year), annual reporting to Congress, and authority to hire staff and receive necessary funding to carry out these duties.

• Establishes an Office of Employee Ownership at the Department of Labor within 90 days.
• Creates an Advocate for Employee Ownership with Executive Schedule level V pay and annual congressional reporting requirements.
• Expands the ERISA Advisory Council from 15 to 17 members and increases employee representative seats from 8 to 10.
• Creates a seven-member Advisory Council on Employee Ownership inside DOL with partisan balance and quarterly meeting requirements.
• Advocate must be consulted for ESOP-related rulemaking and handles outreach, dispute assistance, and interagency coordination.
• Advisory Council members receive daily pay equal to Executive Schedule level IV for days worked and travel/per diem.
• Some duties and appointments bypass standard competitive hiring/SES rules; funding is authorized as "such sums as may be necessary."
• No specific appropriations are set; the measure mainly establishes offices, roles, deadlines, and reporting obligations.