EBN Selects Jason Lee, Salt Labs (A Chime Company), as a Recipient of EBN's 2024 Excellence in Benefits Award
We’re thrilled to announce that EBN has selected Jason Lee, Chief of Chime Enterprise, as a Recipient of its 2024 Excellence in Benefits Award. This prestigious award is given to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in the field of employee benefits, and Jason's work with Salt Labs exemplified these attributes.
Jason is no stranger to developing innovative solutions to help frontline workers feel more financially secure. Previously, when faced with an unexpected expense or a bill due date that was out of sync with their payday, employees had no other recourse than incurring late fees and overdrafts or falling victim to predatory payday lenders. So, in 2015, Jason launched DailyPay and the Earned Wage Access (EWA), or on-demand pay industry, providing hourly workers who live paycheck to paycheck access to their earned wages before their next payday.
But he didn’t stop there. He listened to market feedback that employees needed the ability to save in addition to having access to their earned wages.
Enter Salt Labs.
Unlocking financial progress by helping hourly workers save
In 2023, Jason launched his second company, disrupting the rewards and incentives industry. He founded Salt Labs, which, for the first time, allowed frontline workers to own an asset that they earned simply by working their scheduled shifts. This workforce demographic has traditionally been excluded from other savings programs, such as 401(k)s and stock ownership plans, because they can’t fathom another deduction from their paychecks, which are already scarce resources. There’s virtually nothing left to save after employees meet their basic living expenses.
With Salt, hourly employees own the long-term value of their work by building a new store of value just by working, transforming how they engage with their jobs. Salt is the first ownership asset that frontline workers earn for every hour they work. Rooted in behavioral science principles (e.g., the endowment effect), Salt makes employees feel like they’re getting more out of work, which translates into a greater sense of financial security. This is a testament to the innovative nature of Salt Labs' solution.
Setting savings goals and reaping benefits
Workers earn one Salt for each hour they work, so an eight-hour shift is equal to eight Salt. They create goals they want to reach so they can redeem their Salt for financial products, like a 529 contribution, or experiences, like a family vacation. Salt gives work new meaning by allowing hourly employees to capture, measure and reward themselves for their work using their most valuable resource—their time.
By unlocking financial progress for all employees, Salt is proving that work can have a more significant tangible impact on both employees and employers with these results:
- 56% of Salt users continue to save their Salt, even though they could redeem it
- 91% of Salt users report feeling more financially secure
- 90% of Salt users would be willing to pick up more shifts
- Employees who use Salt stay with their employers, on average, 56% longer
Just this year, Chime, a popular financial technology company, acquired Salt Labs where Jason now leads Chime Enterprise, a business unit of Chime Financial, Inc. Chime Enterprise is committed to empowering businesses and their employees to achieve financial progress through innovative, tailored financial wellness solutions designed for hourly and frontline workers. As Chief of Chime Enterprise, Jason will continue to support all employees with a product suite of 10+ financial wellness products, including Salt, that will unlock financial progress, now and in the future.
EBN’s Excellence in Benefits Awards recognizes exceptional leaders, tech innovators and benefit advisers who have made innovative changes and worked to implement big ideas this year. We thank EBN for bestowing this honor on Jason and for recognizing this innovative solution, which gives employees an ownership asset that significantly affects employee satisfaction, engagement and retention.
To learn more about partnering with Salt, email us at partnerships@saltlabs.com.