Employers are increasingly collaborating with financial institutions to offer employees small-dollar loans intended to help workers cover short-term financial emergencies. To help employers and others understand the current employer-sponsored small-dollar loan (ESSDL) market and emerging issues, this report discusses the need for safe and affordable short-term loans and describes the business models, loan terms, and features of available ESSDL products based on a review of the field and interviews with 10 ESSDL providers. We also discuss how the existing landscape aligns with best practices, and we examine employer perceptions of ESSDL products, both from the literature and from 11 employers we interviewed. We synthesize early findings about the potential influence of ESSDLs on outcomes of interest for employers and workers, and we identify directions for additional research.