As Rhode Island employers contemplate retirement, Lt. Governor Sabina Matos is encouraging owners to consider employee ownership as an option. Last March, Matos formed a Rhode Island Succession Planning Task Force hoping to prevent permanent small business closures by introducing the concept of employee succession as a viable alternative.

Representatives from the Lt. Governor’s office reached out to NFIB to discuss her new initiative and will provide additional details and information when it becomes available. From the conversation with her staff, they stated this will not be a heavy-handed approach offering workers a “right of first refusal” as past legislation demanded, but instead offer resources and guidance for owners that may want to consider this succession plan as an option.