Termination without Notice The Employer may terminate an Employee’s employment without notice if the Employee engages in serious misconduct.
Termination Without Just Cause In the case of a termination of Executive’s employment hereunder Without Just Cause in accordance with Section 1.6.6, Executive shall be entitled to the following in lieu of any other compensation or benefits (under Section 1.4 of this Agreement or otherwise) from Employer:
(i) Executive shall receive Termination Compensation each month during the Compensation Continuance Period, subject, however, to Executive’s compliance with Executive’s Section 2 covenants (including, without limitation, compliance with the noncompetition and nonsolicitation covenants of Section 2) for a one (1) year period following Executive’s Termination Date.
(ii) Employer shall use their best efforts to accelerate vesting of any unvested benefits of Executive under any employee stock-based or other benefit plan or arrangement to the extent permitted by Code Section 409A or other applicable law and the terms of such plan or arrangement.
(iii) Employer shall make available to Executive, at Employer’s cost, outplacement services by such entity or person as shall be designated by Employer, with the cost to Employer of such outplacement services not to exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000).
(iv) During the Compensation Continuance Period, Executive shall either continue to participate (treating Executive as an “active employee” of Employer for this purpose) in the same group hospitalization plan, health care plan, dental care plan, life or other insurance or death benefit plan, and any other present or future similar group employee benefit plan or program for which officers of Employer generally are eligible, on the same terms as were in effect prior to Executive’s Termination Date, or, to the extent such participation is not permitted by any group plan insurer, under comparable individual plans and coverage (to the extent commercially available). The Termination Compensation and other benefits provided for in this Section 1.7.3 shall be paid by Employer in accordance with the standard payroll practices and procedures in effect prior to Executive’s Termination Date. If Executive breaches Executive’s obligations under Section 1.7.3 or Section 2 of this Agreement, Executive shall not be entitled to receive any further Termination Compensation or benefits pursuant to this Section 1.7.3 from and after the date of such breach.
Termination Without Good Reason Executive shall have the right to terminate the Period of Employment and Executive’s employment hereunder at any time without Good Reason (as defined below) upon thirty (30) days prior written notice of such termination to the Company. Any such termination by the Executive without Good Reason shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as a termination by the Company for Cause and the provisions of Section 7(a) shall apply.
Termination Without Default (a) In the event that the Closing of the transactions contemplated hereunder has not occurred by the Outside Closing Date, Purchaser, Seller and the Company shall each have the right, at its sole option, to terminate this Agreement without liability to the other party, provided that this right to terminate shall not be available to any party whose material breach under this Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the Closing to have been consummated on or before such date. Such right may be exercised by Purchaser or the Company, as the case may be, giving written notice to the other at any time after the Outside Closing Date.
(b) In the event that the Proxy Statement with respect to the transactions hereunder has not been filed with the SEC by December 31, 2018 (the “Outside Filing Date”), each of Seller and the Company shall have the right, at its sole option, to terminate this Agreement without liability to any other party, provided that this right to terminate shall not be available to any party whose material breach under this Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the Proxy Statement to have been filed on or before such date. Such right may be exercised by Seller or the Company, as the case may be, giving written notice to the other parties at any time after the Outside Filing Date.
(c) In the event that any governmental Authority shall have issued an Order or taken any other action, in each case which has become final and non-appealable and which restrains, enjoins or otherwise prohibits the Closing of the transactions contemplated hereunder, Purchaser, Seller and the Company shall each have the right, at its sole option, to terminate this Agreement without liability to the other party.
Termination With or Without Cause Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Agreement, the Authority shall have the right to terminate this Agreement without cause by providing the Consultant thirty (30) days’ notice by registered mail, return receipt requested, or overnight express mail. Any provisions of this Agreement which expressly or by implication are intended to survive its termination or expiration will survive and continue to bind the Parties. The Authority shall also have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately, without prior notice, if the Consultant incurs in negligence, abandonment of its obligations and/or breach of the terms of the Agreement. The Consultant may terminate this Agreement if it determines any part of the services rendered hereunder would be in conflict with law or professional standards.
Termination Without Cause The Company may terminate Executive’s employment without Cause.
Termination in Connection with Change of Control If Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason within sixty (60) days prior to or twelve (12) months following a Change of Control, Executive shall be entitled to receive, in lieu of any severance benefits to which Executive may otherwise be entitled under any severance plan or program of the Company, the benefits provided below:
(A) the Company shall pay to Executive his or her fully earned but unpaid base salary, when due, through the date of termination at the rate then in effect, plus all other amounts to which Executive is entitled under any compensation plan or practice of the Company at the time of termination;
(B) on the first scheduled payment date pursuant to the usual payroll practices of the Company (or successor entity, as applicable) immediately after the 60th day following the date of termination or Change of Control, in the event the date of termination precedes a Change of Control, with respect to those payments the amount of which is not administratively practicable by the foregoing date because it is not yet known whether a Change of Control will occur within sixty (60) days following the date of termination, as applicable, Executive shall be entitled to receive a lump sum severance payment equal to the sum of:
(1) twelve (12) months of Executive’s monthly base salary as in effect immediately prior to the date of termination, plus
(2) an amount equal to Executive’s Bonus;
(C) The vesting and/or exercisability of all of Executive’s outstanding unvested Stock Awards shall be automatically accelerated on the date of termination;
(D) for the period beginning on the date of termination and ending on the date which is twelve (12) full months following the date of termination (or, if earlier, the date on which Executive accepts employment with another employer that provides comparable benefits in terms of cost and scope of coverage), the Company shall pay for and provide Executive and his or her dependents with healthcare and life insurance benefits which are substantially the same as the benefits provided to Executive immediately prior to the date of termination, including, if necessary, paying the costs associated with continuation coverage pursuant to COBRA;
(E) Executive shall be entitled to executive-level outplacement services at the Company’s expense, not to exceed $15,000. Such services shall be provided by a firm selected by Executive from a list compiled by the Company; and
(F) The payments and benefits provided for in this Section 4(d)(ii) shall only be payable in the event Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason within sixty (60) days prior to or twelve (12) months following a Change of Control. If Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason prior to a Change of Control and such Change of Control is not consummated within sixty (60) days following such termination, then Executive shall receive the payments and benefits described in Section 4(d)(i) and shall not be eligible to receive any of the payments and benefits described in this Section 4(d)(ii).
Involuntary Termination in Connection with a Change in Control Notwithstanding anything contained herein, in the event of an Involuntary Termination prior to a Change in Control, if the Involuntary Termination (1) was at the request of a third party who has taken steps reasonably calculated to effect such Change in Control or (2) otherwise arose in connection with or in anticipation of such Change in Control, then the Executive shall, in lieu of the payments described in Section 4 hereof, be entitled to the Post-Change in Control Severance Payment and the additional benefits described in this Section 5 as if such Involuntary Termination had occurred within two (2) years following the Change in Control. The amounts specified in Section 5 that are to be paid under this Section 5(h) shall be reduced by any amount previously paid under Section 4. The amounts to be paid under this Section 5(h) shall be paid within sixty (60) days after the Change in Control Date of such Change in Control.
Termination Without Cause by the Company During the term of this Agreement and at times following the Company’s successfully consummating its first equity financing of $10 million or more in gross proceeds following the Effective Date (the “First Financing”), if the Company terminates the Executive’s employment without Cause pursuant to Paragraph 4(d) of this Agreement (a “Termination without Cause”), under circumstances that constitute a Involuntary Separation from Service with the Company (as defined for purposes of §409A of the Internal Revenue Code), the Company shall pay the Executive that ratable amount of Annual Compensation which the Executive would earn in 12 months based on Executive’s then-current salary and target bonus level (the “Severance Period”). Executive shall continue to participate in all other benefit plans during the Severance Period, except to the extent prohibited by law or any applicable employee benefit plan. All Stock Options granted to Executive which have vested prior to the final day of Executive’s employment under this Agreement (the “Termination Date”) shall remain vested and exercisable for the exercise period set forth in Executive’s Option Award Agreement. The Company will continue to vest Stock Options and stock awards during the Severance Period in accordance with the following vesting schedule:
(1) If a Termination without Cause occurs during the first year of the term of this Agreement, all unvested Stock Options that would have vested during the calendar quarter within which the Termination without Cause occurs shall vest and become exercisable on the Termination Date for the exercise period set forth in Executive’s Option Award Agreement and, in addition, all unvested Stock Options that would have vested during the calendar quarter after the occurrence of the Termination without Cause also shall vest and become exercisable for the exercise period set forth in Executive’s Option Award Agreement; and
(2) If a Termination without Cause occurs during the second year of the term of this Agreement, all unvested Stock Options that would have vested during the calendar quarter within which the Termination without Cause occurs shall vest and become exercisable on the Termination Date for the exercise period set forth in Executive’s Option Award Agreement and, in addition, all unvested Stock Options that would have vested during the two (2) calendar quarters after the occurrence of the Termination without Cause also shall vest and become exercisable for the exercise period set forth in Executive’s Option Award Agreement; and
(3) If a Termination without Cause occurs during the third year of the term of this Agreement or thereafter, all unvested Stock Options that would have vested during the calendar quarter within which the Termination without Cause occurs shall vest and become exercisable on the Termination Date for the exercise period set forth in Executive’s Option Award Agreement and, in addition, all unvested Stock Options that would have vested during the three (3) calendar quarters after the occurrence of the Termination without Cause also shall vest and become exercisable for the exercise period set forth in Executive’s Option Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 5(d), if Executive receives a Termination without Cause prior to the First Financing, Executive shall receive no severance. Payment of the Executive’s separation pay benefit under this Section 5(d), if any, shall be made as follows:
(i) Payment of the separation pay benefit shall commence as of the 30th day after the Executive’s Separation from Service, and shall continue in monthly installments thereafter until all 6 payments are made.
(ii) In the event the value of the separation pay benefit shall exceed two times the lesser of the Executive’s annualized compensation or the maximum amount that may be taken into account for qualified plan purposes (in each case, as determined in accordance with Treas. Reg. §1.409A-1(b)(9)(iii)(A)), the excess shall not be paid as provided in (i), above, but instead shall be paid in 6 equal monthly installments commencing as of the first of the month after the date that is six months after the Executive’s Separation from Service date.
(iii) In no event shall payments be accelerated, nor shall the Executive be eligible to defer payments to a later date.
Termination in Connection with a Change of Control If during the two (2) year period that begins on the date that is one (1) year prior to a Change of Control and ends on that date which is one (1) year following a Change of Control, Conn’s (or its successor) terminates Executive’s employment other than for Cause or as a result of Executive’s death or Disability, or Executive voluntarily terminates his employment for Good Reason, Conn’s will pay the following amounts and provide the following benefits:
(i) A lump-sum cash payment in an amount equal to three (3) times the Executive’s Base Salary, payable not later than ten (10) days following (A) Executive’s termination (if Executive’s employment terminates on or after the date of the Change of Control), or (B) the date of the Change of Control (if Executive’s employment terminates during the one-year period prior to the date of the Change of Control). Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3(c)(i)(B), the amount payable to Executive under this Section 3(c)(i) shall be reduced by the payments, if any, received by Executive pursuant to Section 3(b)(i).
(ii) During the eighteen (18) month period following such termination (the “Change of Control Severance Period”), Executive shall receive continued coverage under the Conn’s medical, dental, life, disability, and other employee welfare benefit plans in which senior executives of Conn’s are eligible to participate, to the extent Executive is eligible under the terms of such plans immediately prior to Executive’s termination. For purposes of clarity, during the term of this Agreement Conn’s shall provide Executive coverage under a major medical plan. Conn’s obligation to provide the foregoing benefits shall terminate upon Executive’s becoming eligible for comparable employee welfare benefits under a plan or arrangement provided by a new employer. Executive agrees to promptly notify Conn’s of any such employment and the material terms of any employee welfare benefits offered to Executive in connection with such employment.
(iii) All awards held by Executive under the Conn’s Amended and Restated 2003 Incentive Stock Option Plan and/or the Conn’s 2011 Omnibus Incentive Plan shall immediately vest and, if applicable, continue to be exercisable during the Change of Control Severance Period as if Executive had remained an employee of Conn’s. The terms of this Section 3(c) are continuing in nature and shall survive until the one (1) year anniversary of the earlier of Executive’s termination of employment or termination of this Agreement.
