New legislation signed by President Clinton now allows all workers to receive stock options from employers. The new law ensures that hourly workers can now receive similar stock option benefits that salaried employees have enjoyed for years.

Earlier this year, an advisory letter released by the Labor Department threatened to force employers to count stock options toward the overtime compensation levels of hourly employees. The ruling could have made it impossible for some companies to offer stock option plans.

As more companies gain momentum on creative ways to reward and pay employees stock options will become increasingly important. The new law will enable employers to expand those options to all workers and possibly gain competitive advantage over competitors not offering such benefits