1. Profit share
At least a set percentage of each year's net profit goes to workers who are not owners, as cash or through a deferred plan, under a written formula.
What proves it: the profit and loss statement, payroll records and the written plan.
Responsible Profit is an open standard in development that puts workers, owners and investors on a level field. You can read the draft standard and join the founding list for updates.
Working draft · November 2026
The Standard of Responsible Profit
A business earns responsible profit when everyone who creates its profit shares in it: owners, investors and the people who do the work. In practice, it shares a set part of its profit with its workers, pays at least a local living wage, keeps the gap between top pay and typical pay within a set limit, and proves these facts from its own books.
This is a draft for discussion. The thresholds are not set yet. We will set them with public comment before any business is rated.
The four core tests
A business must meet all four. Each one names the records that prove it.
2. Profit-share breadth
At least a set share of staff who are not owners are eligible and are paid under the formula.
What proves it: payroll records and the written plan.
3. Wage floor
The lowest regular wage meets the living wage for the county where the work happens.
What proves it: the payroll rate table and a dated living-wage reference for that county.
4. Pay ratio
The highest total pay, owner draws included, divided by the median worker's pay, stays at or under a set ratio.
What proves it: the payroll report and year-end wage totals.
Supporting measures
These add detail to a rating. They do not replace the core tests.
Benefits. The share of workers with employer-paid health cover, paid leave and a retirement contribution.
Taxes paid. Income and payroll taxes filed and paid on time.
Paying suppliers on time. How quickly suppliers are paid, and how often within terms.
Local reinvestment. The share of spending that goes to local suppliers, wages and capital.
Open questions
- Where should each threshold sit?
- How should part-time staff count?
- How should owner draws count in businesses where profit passes through to the owners?
- Can a business with no staff besides its owners be rated?
Why the books matter
Public records can show that a business exists, whether it sponsors a retirement or profit-sharing plan, and whether investigators found wage violations. They cannot show what share of profit it pays out, its lowest wage or its pay ratio. That evidence lives in a business's own books, so the strongest ratings will come from there.
Help set the numbers
Join the founding list to comment on the thresholds before they are final.