Employment and Employee Benefits Matters (a) Parent shall, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation and each of its other Subsidiaries to, for the period commencing at the Effective Time and ending December 31, 2019, maintain for each individual employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries at the Effective Time (each, a “Current Employee”) (i) each of base compensation and a target annual cash incentive compensation opportunity at least as favorable as that provided to the Current Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, (ii) benefits that are at least as favorable as the benefits maintained for and provided to the Current Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time and (iii) severance benefits that are at least as favorable as the severance benefits provided by the Company to the Current Employees as of immediately prior to the Effective Time to the extent set forth in Section 4.13(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule.
(b) Parent shall, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation to, cause service rendered by Current Employees to the Company and its Subsidiaries, prior to the Effective Time to be taken into account for all purposes under employee benefit plans of Parent, the Surviving Corporation, and its Subsidiaries, to the same extent as such service was taken into account under the corresponding Company Plans immediately prior to the Effective Time for those purposes; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to the extent that its application would result in a duplication of benefits or the funding thereof with respect to the same period of service. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Parent shall not, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation to not, subject Current Employees to any eligibility requirements, waiting periods, actively-at-work requirements or pre-existing condition limitations under any employee benefit plan of Parent, the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries for any condition for which they would have been entitled to coverage under the corresponding Company Plan in which they participated prior to the Effective Time. Parent shall, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries, to give such Current Employees credit under such employee benefit plans for any eligible expenses incurred by such Current Employees and their covered dependents under a Company Plan during the portion of the year prior to the Effective Time for purposes of satisfying all co-payment, co-insurance, deductibles, maximum out-of-pocket requirements, and other out-of-pocket expenses applicable to such Current Employees and their covered dependents in respect of the plan year in which the Effective Time occurs; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to the extent that its application would result in a duplication of benefits or the funding thereof with respect to the same period of service.
(c) No provision of this Agreement (i) prohibits Parent or the Surviving Corporation from amending or terminating any individual Company Plan or any other employee benefit plan, (ii) confers upon any director, Current Employee or service provider of the Company or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof any right to continue in the employ or service of the Surviving Corporation, Parent or any Subsidiary or any Affiliate thereof for any period of time, or shall interfere with or restrict in any way the rights of the Surviving Corporation, Parent or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof to discharge or terminate the services of any director, employee or individual service provider of the Company or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof at any time for any reason whatsoever, with or without cause, or (iii) constitutes the establishment or adoption of, or amendment to, any Company Plan or employee benefit plan. No Current Employee or any other individual employed by, or providing services to, the Company or its Subsidiaries has any third-party beneficiary or other rights with respect to this Agreement.
ERISA and Employee Benefits Matters (A) To the knowledge of the Company, no “prohibited transaction” as defined under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code and not exempt under ERISA Section 408 and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder has occurred with respect to any Employee Benefit Plan. At no time has the Company or any ERISA Affiliate maintained, sponsored, participated in, contributed to or has or had any liability or obligation in respect of any Employee Benefit Plan subject to Part 3 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA, Title IV of ERISA, or Section 412 of the Code or any “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA or any multiple employer plan for which the Company or any ERISA Affiliate has incurred or could incur liability under Section 4063 or 4064 of ERISA. No Employee Benefit Plan provides or promises, or at any time provided or promised, retiree health, life insurance, or other retiree welfare benefits except as may be required by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended, or similar state law. Each Employee Benefit Plan is and has been operated in material compliance with its terms and all applicable laws, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code and, to the knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred (including a “reportable event” as such term is defined in Section 4043 of ERISA) and no condition exists that would subject the Company or any ERISA Affiliate to any material tax, fine, lien, penalty or liability imposed by ERISA, the Code or other applicable law. Each Employee Benefit Plan intended to be qualified under Code Section 401(a) is so qualified and has a favorable determination or opinion letter from the IRS upon which it can rely, and any such determination or opinion letter remains in effect and has not been revoked; to the knowledge of the Company, nothing has occurred since the date of any such determination or opinion letter that is reasonably likely to adversely affect such qualification; (B) with respect to each Foreign Benefit Plan, such Foreign Benefit Plan (1) if intended to qualify for special tax treatment, meets, in all material respects, the requirements for such treatment, and (2) if required to be funded, is funded to the extent required by applicable law, and with respect to all other Foreign Benefit Plans, adequate reserves therefor have been established on the accounting statements of the applicable Company or subsidiary; (C) the Company does not have any obligations under any collective bargaining agreement with any union and no organization efforts are underway with respect to Company employees. As used in this Agreement, “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; “Employee Benefit Plan” means any “employee benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA, including, without limitation, all stock purchase, stock option, stock-based severance, employment, change-in-control, medical, disability, fringe benefit, bonus, incentive, deferred compensation, employee loan and all other employee benefit plans, agreements, programs, policies or other arrangements, whether or not subject to ERISA, under which (x) any current or former employee, director or independent contractor of the Company or its subsidiaries has any present or future right to benefits and which are contributed to, sponsored by or maintained by the Company or any of its respective subsidiaries or (y) the Company or any of its subsidiaries has had or has any present or future obligation or liability; “ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended; “ERISA Affiliate” means any member of the company’s controlled group as defined in Code Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o); and “Foreign Benefit Plan” means any Employee Benefit Plan established, maintained or contributed to outside of the United States of America or which covers any employee working or residing outside of the United States.
Pension and Employee Benefits (a) Each of the Company, each Subsidiary and the Joint Venture has complied in all material respects with all the terms of, and all applicable laws in respect of, the pension and other employee compensation and benefit obligations of the Company, the Subsidiary or Joint Venture, as the case may be, including the terms of any funding and investment contracts or obligations applicable thereto, arising under or relating to each of the pension or retirement income plans or other employee compensation or benefit plans, agreements, policies, programs, arrangements or practices, whether written or oral, which are maintained by or binding upon the Company, any Subsidiary or the Joint Venture (collectively referred to as the “Benefit Plans”) and all Benefit Plans are, as of the last actuarial valuation for same, fully funded and in good standing with such regulatory authorities as may be applicable.
(b) No step has been taken, no event has occurred and no condition or circumstance exists that has resulted in or could reasonably be expected to result in any Benefit Plan being ordered or required to be terminated or wound up in whole or in part or having its registration under applicable legislation refused or revoked, or being placed under the administration of any trustee or receiver or regulatory authority or being required to pay any material taxes, fees, penalties or levies under applicable laws. There are no actions, suits, claims (other than routine claims for payment of benefits in the ordinary course), trials, demands, investigations, arbitrations or other proceedings which are pending or threatened in respect of any of the Benefit Plans or their assets which would have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(c) None of the Company, any Subsidiary or the Joint Venture has any pension or retirement income plans, and have not made any agreements or promises with respect to same.
(d) None of the Company, any Subsidiary or the Joint Venture has any stock option plan or similar arrangement other than the Stock Option Plan. The Company Disclosure Statement sets forth a complete, up-to-date and accurate list of all optionholders under the Stock Option Plan, together with the number of Options granted, the exercise price, vesting provisions and the expiry date thereof.
Employee Benefit Matters (a) A Person who is an active Company Employee immediately prior to the Closing and who remains an active Company Employee immediately following the Closing shall be a “Continuing Employee.” From and after the Closing Date until the twelve (12)-month anniversary thereof (or such later period as may be required by applicable law), Acquiror shall, and shall cause the Company to, provide each Continuing Employee with (i) an annual base salary, cash-based bonus opportunity, and cash sales commission opportunity that are no less favorable in the aggregate than such compensation items that each Continuing Employee was eligible to receive from the Company as of immediately prior to the Closing (other than any retention, sale bonus, change in control or other similar special or non-recurring compensation) and (ii) employee benefits (other than any severance benefits, retiree or post-termination health or welfare benefits, defined benefit pension benefits, incentive equity, equity-based, retention, sale bonus, change in control or other similar special or non-recurring compensation) that are substantially comparable in the aggregate than the employee benefits that such Continuing Employee was entitled or eligible to receive immediately prior to the Closing. With respect to any Accrued Bonus that remains unpaid as of the Closing, Acquiror shall, or shall cause the Company to, make payment of such Accrued Bonus within thirty (30) days following the Closing.
(b) Effective as of, and following, the Closing, Acquiror shall, and shall cause the Company to, cause each Continuing Employee’s length of service with the Company prior to the Closing Date (including any length of service with the Seller Guarantors) to be taken into account for all purposes (including eligibility, vesting and benefit accrual) under each employee benefit plan, program, policy and arrangement of Acquiror (each, an “Acquiror Plan”), except that such prior service credit will not be required (i) to the extent that such credit results in a duplication of benefits, (ii) with respect to the vesting of awards under Acquiror’s equity compensation plans, if any or (iii) for benefit accrual purposes under any defined benefit pension plan.
(c) Effective as of, and following, the Closing, to the extent permitted or required by applicable Law, Acquiror shall, and shall cause the Company to, use commercially reasonable efforts to cause any Acquiror Plan in which any Continuing Employee participates that is a health or welfare benefit plan (collectively, “Acquiror Welfare Plans”) to (i) waive all limitations as to preexisting conditions, requirements for insurability, exclusions and service conditions with respect to participation and coverage requirements applicable to Continuing Employees (and their eligible dependents), (ii) honor any payments, charges and expenses of such Continuing Employees (and their eligible dependents) that were applied toward the deductible and out-of-pocket maximums under the corresponding Company Benefit Arrangement in satisfying any applicable deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums or co-payments under a corresponding Acquiror Welfare Plan during the same plan year in which such payments, charges and expenses were made, and (iii) with respect to any medical plan, waive any waiting period limitation or evidence of insurability requirement that would otherwise be applicable to a Continuing Employee following the Closing.
(d) If requested by Xxxxxxxx in a writing delivered to the Company following the date hereof and at least ten (10) Business Days prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall take all necessary action (including the adoption of resolutions and plan amendments and the delivery of any required notices) to vest all account balances and terminate, effective as of no later than the day before the Closing Date, any Company 401(k) Plan. In the event Acquiror makes a written request as set forth in the prior sentence, the Company shall provide Acquiror with a copy of any resolutions, plan amendments, notices or other documents prepared to effectuate the termination of the Company 401(k) Plan in advance and give Acquiror a reasonable opportunity to comment on such documents (which comments shall be considered in good faith), and prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall provide Acquiror with the final documentation evidencing that any Company 401(k) Plans have been terminated.
(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Section 7.3 to the contrary, nothing contained herein, whether express or implied, shall be treated as an establishment, amendment or other modification of any Company Benefit Arrangement or any Acquiror Welfare Plan, or shall limit the right of Acquiror or any of its Affiliates to amend, terminate or otherwise modify any Company Benefit Arrangement or other employee benefit plan following the Closing Date. The Seller Guarantors and Acquiror acknowledge and agree that all provisions contained in this Section 7.3 are included for their sole benefit, and that nothing in this Section 7.3, whether express or implied, shall create any third party beneficiary or other rights: (i) in any other Person, including any Continuing Employee, any participant in any Company Benefit Arrangement or any Acquiror Welfare Plan, or any dependent or beneficiary thereof, or (ii) to continued employment with Acquiror or any of its Affiliates or to any particular term or condition of employment.
Compensation and Employee Benefits SECTION 13.01.
Certain Employee Matters (a) During the 12-month period commencing on the Closing Date, Parent shall, or shall cause one of its Subsidiaries (including the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries) to, provide each employee of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company who continues employment with Parent or any of its Subsidiaries (including the Surviving Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries) after the Effective Time (a “Continuing Employee”) with (i) an annual base salary or wage rate that is no less favorable to such Continuing Employee than the annual base salary or wage rate that is provided to such Continuing Employee immediately prior to the Effective Time, and (ii) employee benefits (including severance and long-term incentive opportunities but excluding annual base salary or wage rate) that are substantially comparable in the aggregate to those employee benefits provided to similarly situated employees of Parent and its Subsidiaries (including severance and long-term incentive opportunities but excluding annual base salary or wage rate).
(b) For purposes of eligibility, level of benefits and vesting and benefits accrual (including with respect to vacation or paid time off, but excluding any defined benefit or retiree medical plans) under the Parent Plans in which the Continuing Employees are eligible to participate, Parent shall, or shall cause the applicable plan sponsor to, credit each Continuing Employee with his or her years of service with the Company, any of the Subsidiaries of the Company and any of its or their predecessor entities, to the same extent as such Continuing Employee was entitled immediately prior to the Closing Date to credit for such service under any similar Company Plan, except to the extent that such service credit would result in a duplication of benefits for the same period of service. In addition, Parent or the Subsidiaries of Parent (including the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries), as applicable, shall cause each Parent Plan that is a welfare benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(1) of ERISA to: (i) waive all limitations as to preexisting conditions, exclusions and waiting periods with respect to participation and coverage requirements other than preexisting condition limitations, exclusions or waiting periods that are already in effect with respect to such Continuing Employees and that have not been satisfied or waived as of the Effective Time under the analogous welfare benefit plan maintained for the Continuing Employees immediately prior to the Effective Time; and (ii) recognize for each Continuing Employee and his or her spouse, domestic partner and dependents for purposes of applying annual deductible, co-payment and out-of-pocket maximums under such Parent Plan any deductible, co-payment and out-of-pocket expenses paid by the Continuing Employee and his or her spouse, domestic partner and dependents under an analogous Company Plan during the plan year of such plan in which occurs the later of the Effective Time and the date on which the Continuing Employee begins participation in such Parent Plan.
(c) Pxxxxx agrees to take the actions set forth on Section 4.11(c) of the Company Disclosure Letter.
(d) If requested by Parent not less than ten (10) Business Days before the Closing Date, the Company Board (or the appropriate committee thereof) shall adopt resolutions and take such corporate action as is necessary to terminate the Company’s 401(k) plan (the “Company 401(k) Plan”), effective as of the day prior to the Closing Date, but contingent on the occurrence of the Closing. In the event that Parent requests that the Company 401(k) Plan be terminated, (i) the Company shall provide Parent with evidence that such plan has been terminated (the form and substance of which shall be subject to reasonable prior review and comment by Parent) not later than the day preceding the Closing Date and (ii) following the Effective Time and as soon as reasonably practicable following receipt of a favorable determination letter from the IRS on the termination of the Company 401(k) Plan, the assets thereof shall be distributed to the participants, and Parent shall permit the Continuing Employees who are then actively employed to make rollover contributions of “eligible rollover distributions” (within the meaning of Section 401(a)(31) of the Code, including with respect to loans) to Parent’s 401(k) plan, in the form of cash, in an amount equal to the full account balance distributed to such Continuing Employees from the Company 401(k) Plan. If the Company 401(k) Plan is terminated prior to the Closing Date, each Continuing Employee shall be eligible to participate in Parent’s 401(k) plan on the Closing Date (subject to the terms of Parent’s 401(k) plan and giving effect to the service crediting provisions of Section 4.11(b)).
(e) Each of the Company and Parent shall provide to the other party copies of any written, broad-based communications with employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries regarding the impact of the Merger on such employee’s employment, compensation or benefits for Parent’s or the Company’s prior approval, as applicable, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed; provided, however, that no such prior approval shall be required in the event (i) the other party has previously approved the information contained in such communication or (ii) the information contained in such communication was previously publicly disclosed.
(f) Nothing in this Section 4.11 or elsewhere in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to create a right in any employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to employment with Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any of their Subsidiaries or shall interfere with or restrict in any way the rights of Parent or any of its Affiliates, which rights are hereby expressly reserved, to discharge or terminate the services of any Continuing Employee at any time for no reason or any reason whatsoever, with or without cause. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to amend or modify any compensation or benefit arrangement of Parent, the Company or their respective Affiliates. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the right of Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any of their Subsidiaries to amend or terminate any Parent Plan, any Company Plan or any other employee benefit plan. Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, nothing in this Section 4.11 shall create any third party rights, benefits or remedies of any nature whatsoever in any employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (or any beneficiaries or dependents thereof) or any other Person that is not a party to this Agreement.
Employees and Employee Benefit Plans (a) Section 4.17 of the Company Disclosure Schedule contains a correct and complete list identifying each material “employee benefit plan,” as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA, each material employment contract, material severance contract or plan and each other material plan or agreement providing for compensation, bonuses, profit-sharing, equity compensation or other forms of incentive or deferred compensation, insurance (including any self-insured arrangements), health or medical benefits, post-employment or retirement benefits (including compensation, pension, health, medical or life insurance benefits) which is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate and covers any current or former employee, director or other independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or with respect to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has any liability, other than a Multiemployer Plan or a Company International Plan. As soon as reasonably practicable after the date hereof, but in no event more than 60 days after the date hereof, copies of such plans and any material Company International Plan and Multiemployer Plan (and, if applicable, related trust or funding agreements or insurance policies) and all amendments thereto and written interpretations thereof will be furnished to Parent together with the most recent annual report (Form 5500 including, if applicable, Schedule B thereto) and tax return (Form 990) prepared in connection with any such plan or trust and the most recent Internal Revenue Service determination letter for any such plan, to the extent applicable. Such plans (disregarding all materiality qualifiers in this Section 4.17(a)), including Company International Plans but not any Multiemployer Plan, are referred to collectively herein as the “Company Plans.”
(b) No Company Plan (for the avoidance of doubt, other than any Multiemployer Plan) that is subject to Title IV of ERISA (each, a “Title IV Plan”) has any unfunded liabilities as of the date of this Agreement. The aggregate underfunded or unfunded, as applicable, liability for all Company Plans that are “excess benefit plans” (as defined in Section 3(36) of ERISA) or that provide deferred compensation (including, for this purpose, any analogous Company International Plans), computed using the actuarial assumptions used for the purposes of determining any liability under such Company Plan for purposes of the Company SEC Documents, is not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(c) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates has incurred any liability on account of a “complete withdrawal” or a “partial withdrawal” (within the meaning of Sections 4203 and 4205 of ERISA, respectively) from any “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA (a “Multiemployer Plan”) and, to the Company’s knowledge, no circumstances exist that would reasonably be expected to give rise to any such withdrawal (including as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement). Neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates has received notice of any Multiemployer Plan’s (i) failure to satisfy the minimum funding requirements of Section 412 of the Code or application for or receipt of a waiver of such minimum funding requirements, (ii) “endangered status” or “critical status” (within the meaning of Section 432 of the Code) or (iii) insolvency, “reorganization” (within the meaning of Section 4241 of ERISA) or proposed or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened termination. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, all contributions, surcharges and premium payments owed by the Company and its ERISA Affiliates with respect to each Multiemployer Plan have been paid when due.
(d) Each Company Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter. Each Company Plan (for the avoidance of doubt, other than a Multiemployer Plan) has been established and operated in compliance with its terms and with all Applicable Laws, including ERISA and the Code, except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(e) Except as disclosed in Section 4.17(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not (either alone or together with any other event) entitle any employee, director or other independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to severance pay or accelerate the time of payment or vesting or trigger any payment or funding (through a grantor trust or otherwise) of material compensation or benefits under, increase the amount payable or trigger any other material obligation pursuant to, any Company Plan. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any obligation to gross-up, indemnify or otherwise reimburse any current or former employee, director or other independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for any Tax incurred by such individual, including under Section 409A or 4999 of the Code.
(f) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any liability in respect of post-retirement health, medical or life insurance benefits for retired, former or current employees, directors or other independent contractors of the Company or its Subsidiaries except as required to avoid excise tax under Section 4980B of the Code.
(g) There has been no amendment to, written interpretation or announcement (whether or not written) by the Company or any of its Affiliates relating to, or change in participation or coverage under, a Company Plan which would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(h) There is no action, suit, investigation, audit or proceeding pending against or involving or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or involving, any Company Plan before any Governmental Authority, except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(i) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, each Company Plan that covers former or current employees, directors or other independent contractors of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries who are located primarily outside of the United States (a “Company International Plan”) (i) if intended to qualify for special tax treatment, meets all the requirements for such treatment, and (ii) if required, to any extent, to be funded, book-reserved or secured by an insurance policy, is fully funded, book-reserved or secured by an insurance policy, as applicable, based on reasonable actuarial assumptions in accordance with applicable accounting principles. From and after the Effective Time, Parent and its Subsidiaries will receive the full benefit of any funds, accruals and reserves under the Company International Plans.
(j) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, no Person has been treated as an independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for tax purposes, or for purposes of exclusion from any Company Plan, who should have been treated as an employee for such purposes.
(k) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, (i) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has breached or otherwise failed to comply with the provisions of any Collective Bargaining Agreement and there are no grievances or arbitrations outstanding thereunder, and (ii) there are no formal organizational campaigns, corporate campaigns, petitions, demands for recognition via card-check or, to the knowledge of the Company, other unionization activities seeking recognition of a bargaining unit at the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, there are no unfair labor practice charges, grievances, pending arbitrations or other complaints or union representation questions before the National Labor Relations Board or other labor board of Governmental Authority that would reasonably be expected to affect the employees of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(l) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, there are no current or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened strikes, slowdowns or work stoppages, and no such strike, slowdown or work stoppage has occurred within the three years preceding the date hereof.
Employee Benefit Plans; Employment Agreements Except in --------------------------------------------- each case as set forth in SCHEDULE 4.10, (i) there has been no "prohibited transaction," as such term is defined in Section 406 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1975, as amended ("ERISA") and Section 4975 of the Code, with respect to any employee pension plans (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA, any material employee welfare plans (as defined in Section 3(1) of ERISA), or any material bonus, stock option, stock purchase, incentive, deferred compensation, supplemental retirement, severance and other similar fringe or employee benefit plans, programs or arrangements (collectively, the "COMPANY EMPLOYEE PLANS") which could result in any liability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (ii) all Company Employee Plans are in compliance in all material respects with the requirements prescribed by any and all Laws (including ERISA and the Code), currently in effect with respect thereto (including all applicable requirements for notification to participants or the Department of Labor, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the "PBGC"), Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") or Secretary of the Treasury), and the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have performed all material obligations required to be performed by them under, are not in any material respect in default under or violation of, and have no knowledge of any material default or violation by any other party to, any of the Company Employee Plans; (iii) each Company Employee Plan intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code and each trust intended to qualify under Section 501(a) of the Code is the subject of a favorable determination letter from the IRS, and nothing has occurred which may reasonably be expected to impair such determination; (iv) all contributions required to be made to any Company Employee Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the Code, or the terms of any Company Employee Plan or any collective bargaining agreement, have been made on or before their due dates; (v) with respect to each Company Employee Plan, no "reportable event" within the meaning of Section 4043 of ERISA (excluding any such event for which the 30-day notice requirement has been waived under the regulations to Section 4043 of ERISA) nor any event described in Section 4062, 4063 or 4041 of ERISA has occurred; (vi) no withdrawal (including a partial withdrawal) has occurred with respect to any multiemployer plan within the meaning set forth in Section 3(37) of ERISA that has resulted in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, any withdrawal liability for the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (vii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than liability for premium payments to the PBGC, and contributions not in default to the respective plans, arising in the ordinary course), (viii) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any employment, consulting or similar agreement; and (ix) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or will be liable for any severance or other payments to any of its employees as a result of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
Employee Benefits Matters (a) From and after the Effective Time, each of the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries shall honor all of its respective compensation and benefits plans, programs, agreements and arrangements of the Company and its Subsidiaries in accordance with their terms as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, provided that nothing in this sentence shall prohibit the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries from amending or terminating any such plans, programs, agreements and arrangements in accordance with their terms. The Surviving Corporation shall, for the six-month period immediately following the Effective Time, provide each retained employee of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the Effective Time (each, a “Retained Employee”), other than any Retained Employee whose employment is subject to a collective bargaining or other labor agreement, with compensation and employee benefits, excluding equity, equity-based and similar compensation, that are comparable in the aggregate to those provided by the Company and its Subsidiaries (other than with respect to change of control payments or other payments resulting from the Offer or the Merger) to such Retained Employees immediately prior to the Effective Time. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be a guarantee of employment for any employee or prohibit or restrict the right of the Surviving Corporation to (i) make changes to salaries, employee benefits and incentive compensation pursuant to negotiations in connection with a collective bargaining agreement or (ii) amend and/or eliminate any benefit program, subject to compliance with the first sentence of this Section 6.7(a).
(b) The Retained Employees shall receive credit for service with the Company and its Subsidiaries for all purposes (including for purposes of eligibility to participate, vesting, benefit accrual and eligibility to receive benefits, but excluding benefit accruals under any defined benefit pension plan) under any compensation or employee benefit plan, program or arrangement established or maintained by Parent (to the extent an Retained Employee is brought under any such plan), the Surviving Corporation or any of their respective Affiliates under which each Retained Employee may be eligible to participate on or after the Effective Time to the same extent recognized by the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries under comparable benefit plans immediately prior to the Effective Time; provided, however, that such crediting of service shall not operate to duplicate any benefit or the funding of any such benefit.
(c) To the extent that, after the Effective Time, the Surviving Corporation changes the welfare benefit plans, programs and arrangements in which Retained Employees participate, Parent shall (i) waive, or use its reasonable best efforts to cause its insurance carrier to waive, all limitations as to preexisting and at-work conditions, if any, with respect to participation and coverage requirements applicable to each Retained Employee to the same extent waived under a comparable benefit plan and (ii) with respect to the plan year in which the change was made, provide a credit to each Retained Employee for any co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses paid by such Retained Employee under the benefit plans during the relevant plan year, up to and including the Effective Time.
(d) During the period from the date hereof to the Acceptance Date, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without Parent’s prior written consent, make any payment or contribution to the Employee Benefit Plans except in accordance with past practices in the ordinary course.
(e) The parties agree that the provisions of this Section 6.7 may be modified without the consent of any employee (it being understood and agreed that the employees to whom this Section 6.7 applies shall not be third party beneficiaries of this Section 6.7).
Labor and Employment Matters (1) (i) There is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened arbitration or grievance, charge, complaint, audit or investigation by or before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or any other Governmental Entity with respect to any current or former employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is, nor has been since January 1, 2021, a party to, bound by or negotiating any collective bargaining agreement, work rules or practices, or any other labor-related agreement, arrangement or contract with a labor union, trade union, works council or labor organization applicable to persons employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, nor has any labor union, trade union, labor organization or group of employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries made a pending demand (in writing) for recognition or certification, and there are no representation or certification proceedings or petitions seeking a representation proceeding presently pending or threatened in writing to be brought or filed with the National Labor Relations Board or any other labor relations tribunal or authority; (iii) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no contemplated or pending proceedings of any labor union to organize any such employees; (iv) there are no Unfair Labor Practice (as defined under the National Labor Relations Act) complaints pending against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries before the National Labor Relations Board; and (v) since January 1, 2021, there has not been any strike, slowdown, work stoppage, lockout, job action, picketing, unfair labor practice, concerted refusal to work overtime or other labor disruption or dispute affecting, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threat thereof, by or with respect to any employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(2) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any requirement under contract or Law to provide notice to, or to enter into any consultation procedure with, any union, labor organization, work council or similar organization in connection with the execution of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(3) The Company and its Subsidiaries are and since January 1, 2021 have been in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws relating to the employment of labor, including with respect to employment practices, terms and conditions of employment, employment discrimination or harassment, termination of employment, employee whistle-blowing, immigration and employment eligibility verification, occupational health and safety, wages and hours, withholding, classification of employees as exempt or nonexempt, and classification of consultants and independent contractors.
(4) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has incurred any liability or obligation the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 and the regulations promulgated thereunder or any similar state or local Law that remains unsatisfied.
