Employment Claims Any claim relating to any (a) violation by Kraft or the Eligible Recipients, or their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives or agents, of Federal, state, provincial, local, international or other Laws or regulations or any common law protecting persons or members of protected classes or categories, including laws or regulations prohibiting discrimination or harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic, (b) liability arising or resulting from a Transitioned Employee’s employment with Kraft prior to the Employment Effective Date with Supplier, (c) payment or failure to pay any salary, wages or other cash compensation due and owing to (i) any Kraft employee who does not become a Transitioned Employee or (ii) any Transitioned Employee prior to such Transitioned Employee’s Employment Effective Date with Supplier, (d) (i) all accrued employee pension or other benefits of any Kraft employee who does not become a Transitioned Employee and (ii) those employee pension or other benefits of any Transitioned Employee accruing prior to such Transitioned Employee’s Effective Employment Date with Supplier, (e) other aspects of any Transitioned Employee’s employment relationship with Kraft or the termination of such relationship, including claims for breach of an express or implied contract of employment, and/or (f) liability resulting from representations (oral or written) to the Kraft employees identified on the applicable Supplement by Kraft or the Eligible Recipients (or their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives or agents) with respect to their employment by Supplier or its Subcontractors or Affiliates (other than representations made with the authorization or approval of Supplier, representations that Supplier knew to be inaccurate and failed to correct and/or representations made by Supplier in this Agreement), except, in each case, to the extent resulting from the wrongful actions of Supplier, Supplier Affiliates or Subcontractors or their failure to comply with Supplier’s responsibilities under this Agreement, or involving any matters for which Supplier has an indemnity obligation under Section 17.1.11; and
Employment and Employee Benefits Matters (a) Parent will cause the Surviving Corporation and each of its Subsidiaries, for the period commencing at the Control Time and ending on the first anniversary thereof (the “Continuation Period”), to (i) maintain for the individuals employed by the Company at the Control Time (the “Current Employees”) and who remain employees of the Surviving Corporation during the Continuation Period base compensation and target incentive compensation that is no less favorable to each Current Employee than such Current Employee’s base compensation and target incentive compensation immediately prior to the Control Time, and (ii) provide benefits that are of comparable economic value in the aggregate to the benefits provided by the Company as of immediately prior to the Control Time (excluding, for purposes of Section 6.4(a)(i) and (ii) equity and equity-based compensation, retention, stay, or transaction bonuses or similar arrangements); provided, however, that nothing in this Section 6.4 will be construed as an amendment to or prevent the amendment or termination of any particular Company Plan or employee benefit plan of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, to the extent permissible thereunder, or interfere with the Parent’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ or the Surviving Corporation’s right or obligation to make such changes as are necessary to conform with applicable Law. Parent will cause the Surviving Corporation and each of its Subsidiaries to honor all obligations and agreements relating to 2010 Bonuses (as defined in Section 4.13(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter) as are, and to the fullest extent, set forth in Section 6.4(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter. During the Continuation Period, Parent will cause the Surviving Corporation to pay or cause to be paid, consistent with the Company’s past practice in similar circumstances, to each Current Employee (i) who is involuntarily terminated or (ii) in the case of any employee covered by an employment, change in control, severance or similar agreement or entitlement providing for benefits upon a voluntary termination for good reason, who terminates employment voluntarily for good reason as therein defined, severance in accordance with past practices, including with respect to bonuses.
Release of Employment Claims Executive agrees, as a condition to receipt of the termination payments and benefits provided for in this Section 4, that he/she will execute a release agreement, a form of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A, releasing any and all claims arising out of Executive’s employment.
Employment and Employee Benefits (a) Parent shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its subsidiaries to provide employees of the Company and its Subsidiaries (the “Company Employees”) for the period of twelve (12) months immediately following the Closing Date, (i) at least the same level of base salary and hourly wages as in effect on the Closing Date, and (ii) benefits that are substantially comparable, in the aggregate, to the benefits provided by the Company and its Affiliates to Company Employees prior to the Closing Date; provided, however, that no defined benefit pension, post-retirement medical, equity-based, retention, change-in-control or other special or non-recurring compensation or benefits provided prior to the Closing Date shall be taken into account for purposes of this covenant. From and after the Closing Date, Parent or one of its Affiliates shall honor, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation to honor, in accordance with their terms, all employment, retention and severance agreements and all severance, incentive and bonus plans, programs and arrangements as in effect on the Closing Date that are applicable to any current or former employees or directors of the Company, subject to the terms and conditions, including the amendment and termination provisions, thereof. Parent or one of its Affiliates shall recognize the service of the Company Employees with the Company and its Affiliates prior to the Closing Date as service with Parent and its Affiliates in connection with any pension or welfare benefit plans and policies (including vacations, paid time-off, and holiday policies) maintained by Parent or one of its Affiliates (each, a “Parent Plan”) which is made available following the Closing Date by Parent or one of its Affiliates for purposes of any waiting period, vesting, eligibility, benefit entitlement and benefit accrual, provided that service credit shall not be required with respect to benefit accruals under any defined benefit pension plan, or to the extent that service credit would result in a duplication of benefits. Parent shall, or shall cause its Affiliates to, to the extent commercially and administratively practicable, (i) waive, or cause its insurance carriers to waive, all limitations as to pre-existing and at-work conditions, if any, with respect to participation and coverage requirements applicable to Company Employees under any welfare benefit plan (as defined in Section 3(1) of ERISA) which is made available to Company Employees following the Closing Date by Parent or one of its Affiliates, and (ii) provide credit to Company Employees for any co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses paid by such employees under the employee benefit plans, programs and arrangements of the Company and its Subsidiaries during the portion of the relevant plan year including the Closing Date.
Claims Released Except for the claims identified in Section 2(b), I irrevocably and unconditionally release (i.e., give up) all known and unknown claims, promises, causes of action, or similar rights of any type that I currently may have (“Claims”) with respect to any Released Party listed in Section 2(c). I understand that I am not releasing future rights or claims, meaning rights or claims that arise after my Termination Date. I understand that the Claims I am releasing might arise under many different foreign, domestic, national, state, or local laws (including statutes, regulations, other administrative guidance, and common law doctrines), such as the following: Anti-discrimination statutes, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sections 1981 and 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and Executive Order 11,246, which prohibit discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, or sex; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) and Executive Order 11,141, which prohibit age discrimination in employment; the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits paying men and women unequal pay for equal work; the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination based on disability; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (“XXXX”), which prohibits discrimination based on genetic information; and any other federal, state, or local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment based on a protected category, such as actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics. Federal employment statutes, such as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”), which requires that advance notice be given of certain work force reductions; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which, among other things, protects employee benefits; and any other federal laws relating to employment, such as veterans’ reemployment rights laws. Other laws, such as any federal, state, or local laws mandating leaves of absence, restricting an employer’s right to terminate employees, or otherwise regulating employment; any federal, state, or local law enforcing express or implied employment contracts or requiring an employer to deal with employees fairly or in good faith; any other federal, state, or local laws providing recourse for alleged wrongful discharge, tort, physical or personal injury, emotional distress, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, defamation, and similar or related claims; any other law relating to salary, commission, compensation, benefits, and other matters; and family and medical leave laws. Examples of released Claims include, but are not limited to the following (except to the extent explicitly preserved by Section 1 or 2(b) of this Agreement): (i) Claims that in any way relate to or arose during my employment with the Company, or the termination of that employment, such as Claims for compensation, bonuses, commissions, lost wages, or unused accrued vacation or sick pay; (ii) Claims that in any way relate to the design or administration of any employee benefit program; (iii) Claims that I have irrevocable or vested rights to severance or similar benefits or to post-employment health or group insurance benefits; (iv) any Claims to attorneys’ fees or other indemnities (such as under the Civil Rights Attorneys’ Fees Act), with respect to Claims I am releasing; or (v) claims under the Connecticut Human Rights and Opportunities Law, the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Law, the Connecticut Age Discrimination and Employee Insurance Benefits Law, and the Connecticut Smokers’ Rights Law. If, despite this Agreement, I xxx or bring an arbitration action asserting any Claim that I have released, I will be liable to the Released Party (as defined below) for its attorneys’ fees, other defense costs, and any other damages that my suit or arbitration causes, except those attributable to ADEA claims. I promise not to accept any relief or remedies not set forth in this Agreement as to any Claim I have released by signing it.
Labor and Employee Relations (i) (A) None of the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is represented in his or her capacity as an employee of such company by any labor organization; (B) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has recognized any labor organization nor has any labor organization been elected as the collective bargaining agent of any of their employees, nor has the Company or any of its Subsidiaries signed any collective bargaining agreement or union contract recognizing any labor organization as the bargaining agent of any of their employees; and (C) to the Knowledge of the Company, there is no active or current union organization activity involving the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, nor has there ever been union representation involving employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
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.
COMPENSATION; EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS; ORGANIZED LABOR MATTERS The Company has delivered to TCI an accurate list (which is set forth on Schedule 5.18) showing all officers, directors and key employees of the Company, listing all employment agreements with such officers, directors and key employees and the rate of compensation (and the portions thereof attributable to salary, bonus and other compensation, respectively) of each of such persons as of (i) the Balance Sheet Date and (ii) the date hereof. The Company has provided to TCI true, complete and correct copies of any employment agreements for persons listed on Schedule 5.18. Since the Balance Sheet Date, there have been no material increases in the compensation payable or any special bonuses to any officer, director, key employee or other employee, except ordinary salary increases implemented and bonuses paid on a basis consistent with past practices. Except as set forth on Schedule 5.18, (i) the Company is not bound by or subject to any arrangement with any labor union, (ii) no employees of the Company are represented by any labor union or covered by any collective bargaining agreement, (iii) to the knowledge of the Stockholders, no campaign to establish such representation is in progress and (iv) there is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Stockholders, threatened labor dispute involving the Company and any group of its employees nor has the Company experienced any labor interruptions over the past three years. The Company believes its relationship with employees to be good.
Labor and Employment Matters (a) Except as set forth in Section 3.25 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (i) there is no labor strike, material labor dispute, slowdown, stoppage or lockout actually pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and during the past three years there has not been any such action, (ii) no labor organization claims to represent the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (iii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any collective bargaining or similar agreement governing terms and conditions of employment with any labor organization, (iv) none of the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is represented by any labor organization and the Company does not have any knowledge of any current organizing activities on behalf of any labor organization among the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, does any question concerning representation exist concerning such employees, (v) there is no pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened material unfair labor practice charge or complaint against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries before the National Labor Relations Board or any similar state or foreign agency, (vi) there is no material grievance arising out of any collective bargaining agreement, (vii) no material charges with respect to or relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are pending before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or any other agency responsible for the prevention of unlawful employment practices, (viii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received notice of the intent of any federal, state, local or foreign agency responsible for the enforcement of labor or employment laws to conduct an investigation with respect to or relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and no such investigation is in progress, (ix) the Company has procedures in place for collecting information about employee eligibility on Form I-9, collects such information and follows applicable Laws governing U.S. citizenship in all material respects, and (x) there are no material complaints, lawsuits or other proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened in any forum by or on behalf of any present or former employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries alleging breach of any express or implied contract of employment, any law or regulation governing employment or the termination thereof or other discriminatory, wrongful or tortious conduct in connection with the employment relationship.
Employee Claims (i) In consideration for the Company’s commitment to provide the severance benefits contemplated by Section 4(f) of the Employment Agreement, the Employee releases and discharges the Company, any parent, divisions, subsidiaries and affiliates and their current and former owners, managers, officers, directors, shareholders, agents and employees (whether acting as representatives of the Company or in their individual capacities), and each of their predecessors, successors, and assigns (the “Company Released Parties”), from any and all claims and causes of action (except for the commitments set forth in this Agreement and the obligations under the Employment Agreement which by their nature may require either partial or total performance after the expiration of the Employment Agreement (including, without limitation, those under Sections 2(c), 4, 5, 15 and 24 of the Employment Agreement)) arising out of or related to the Employee’s employment or separation from employment, including, but not limited to, the General Claims (as defined below), that the Employee, his heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns now have, ever had or may hereafter have, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, up to and including the date of this Agreement; Exhibit A provided that such claims or causes of action shall be released and discharged by the Employee only to the extent that they arose solely in the Employee’s capacity as an employee of the Company or any subsidiaries or affiliates of the Company (and, for the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall any claim or cause of action be released or discharged by the Employee that arose in connection with the Employee’s role as a director, manager and/or shareholder of the Company or any subsidiaries or affiliates of the Company) (collectively, “Employee Claims”).
