New Jersey Launches Employee Ownership Finance Program

The new law, A5016/S4218, creates an Employee Ownership Revolving Loan Fund and provides state-backed reimbursements for feasibility studies and consultative services. By partnering with the NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership at Rutgers University, the program seeks to keep companies rooted in local communities. The legislation draws directly from the Lafayette Square Institute’s policy playbook, which advocates for integrating credit enhancement and institutional capital into state economic development strategies.

This framework revives a financing model the NJEDA successfully employed 50 years ago to assist the worker buyout of the Okonite Company in Passaic County. That initial loan was repaid ninefold, and today, Okonite remains entirely employee-owned. Supporters, including Senator Andrew Zwicker and Assemblyman Al Barlas, emphasize that the program avoids new mandates or taxes, instead leveraging a circular loan structure that allows capital to be recycled for future business transitions. With many business owners currently facing succession hurdles, officials hope this toolkit will provide a viable path to preserve both companies and worker equity.