Not quite, they used to give stock options that would vest within 2 to 3 years. You would buy the shares at the reduced price and then they were yours to do with whatever you wanted. Last year I netted about $5500, the year before that was really good which was almost $11,000. This year I had one mature and got a little under $3K.
Now due to some IRS rule they can only give out stock grants that vest in around three years, no more buying and selling of options. What sucks is that the grant is considered income when it vests and you have to pay income tax on it wether you sell it or not. I have one that comes up next year that is worth around $4k.
To me, I look at as pretty much free money.
Slam away