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).
Employee Benefits; ERISA (a) Schedule 3.10(a) of the Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true and complete list of each material, written profit-sharing, stock option, restricted stock option, deferred compensation, pension, severance, thrift, savings, incentive, change of control, employment, retirement, bonus, or equity-based, group life and health insurance or other employee benefit plan, agreement, arrangement or commitment, which is maintained, contributed to or required to be contributed to by any Company or any Company Subsidiary on behalf of any current or former employee, director or consultant of any Company or any Company Subsidiary, or by Seller on behalf of any Transferred Employee, or pursuant to which any current or former employee, director or consultant of any Company or Company Subsidiary or any Transferred Employee is eligible to receive benefits on account of service with Seller, its Subsidiaries, any Company or any Company Subsidiary (all of which are hereinafter referred to as the "Benefit Plans"). Schedule 3.10(a) of the Disclosure Schedule identifies each of the Benefit Plans which constitutes an "employee benefit plan" as defined in Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA") and identifies each of the Benefit Plans that are sponsored by or are otherwise obligations of the Company or any Company Subsidiary. None of the Companies or Company Subsidiaries has any formal commitment or intention communicated to employees, to create any additional Benefit Plan or materially modify or change any existing Benefit Plan.
(b) With respect to each of the Benefit Plans, Seller has made available to Buyer true and complete copies of each of the following documents, if applicable: (i) the plan document (including all amendments thereto); (ii) trust documents and insurance contracts; (iii) the annual report filed on Form 5500 for the last two years, if any; (iv) the actuarial report for the last two years, if any; (v) the most recent summary plan description, together with each summary of material modifications; (vi) the most recent determination letter received from the Internal Revenue Service; and (vii) any Form 5310 or Form 5330 filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
(c) Each Benefit Plan has been operated and administered substantially in accordance with its terms and with applicable law including, but not limited to, ERISA and the Code, and all notices, filings and disclosures required by ERISA or the Code (including notices under Section 4980B of the Code) have been timely made. Each Benefit Plan which is an "employee pension benefit plan" within the meaning of Section 3(2) of ERISA (a "Pension Plan") and which is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service for "TRA" (as defined in Rev. Proc. 93-39), and, to the knowledge of Seller or the Companies, there are no circumstances that are likely to result in revocation of any such favorable determination letter. There is no pending or, to the knowledge of Seller or the Companies, threatened litigation relating to any of the Benefit Plans. None of Seller, any affiliate of Seller, the Companies or the Company Subsidiaries has engaged in a transaction with respect to any Benefit Plan that, assuming the taxable period of such transaction expired as of the date hereof, could subject any Company or any Company Subsidiary or any Benefit Plan to a Tax or penalty imposed by either Section 4975 of the Code or Section 502(i) of ERISA in an amount which could be material. No action has been taken with respect to any of the Benefit Plans to either terminate any of such Benefit Plans or to cause distributions, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business to participants under such Benefit Plans.
(d) No Benefit Plan is, and no benefit plan of any entity which is considered one employer with any Company or any Company Subsidiary under Section 4001 of ERISA or Section 414 of the Code is, or has been for the past six years, subject to Title IV of ERISA. No notice of a "reportable event", within the meaning of Section 4043 of ERISA for which the 30-day reporting requirement has not been waived, has been required to be filed for any Benefit Plan or by any ERISA Affiliate within the 12-month period ending on the date hereof.
(e) All contributions required to be made under the terms of any Benefit Plan have been timely made when due or have been reflected on the Final Year End Statements.
(f) Except as set forth in Schedule 3.10(f) of the Disclosure Schedule, none of the Companies nor any Company Subsidiary has any obligations for retiree health or life benefits other than coverage mandated by applicable law. The amounts accrued as of the date hereof by each Company and each Company Subsidiary in respect of such obligations as of the date hereof are adequate to satisfy such obligations, and the amounts accrued as of the Closing Date by each Company and each Company Subsidiary in respect of such obligations as of the Closing Date will be adequate to satisfy such obligations as of the Closing Date. There are no restrictions on the rights of any Company or any Company Subsidiary to amend or terminate any Benefit Plan without incurring Liability thereunder.
(g) Except as set forth in Schedule 3.10(g) of the Disclosure Schedule, neither the execution of this Agreement nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby will (or will upon termination of employment prior to or after the date hereof) (i) entitle any employee, director or consultant of any Company or any Company Subsidiary to severance pay or increase in severance pay, unemployment compensation or any other payment; (ii) accelerate the time of payment or vesting or funding (through a grantor trust or otherwise) or increase the amount of payment with respect to any compensation due to any employee, director or consultant; or (iii) meet the definition of a "Change in Control Event" or otherwise accelerate vesting of any award granted under the Seller's Performance Incentive Compensation Program.
Employee Benefits Plans Schedule 7.14 hereto identifies as of the date hereof each ERISA Plan sponsored or maintained by a Company or BRJ Seller. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect: (a) no ERISA Event has occurred or is expected to occur with respect to an ERISA Plan; (b) payment has been made of all amounts which a Controlled Group member is required, under applicable law or under the governing documents, to have been paid as a contribution to or a benefit under each ERISA Plan; (c) the liability of each Controlled Group member with respect to each ERISA Plan has been fully funded based upon reasonable and proper actuarial assumptions, has been fully insured, or has been fully reserved for on its financial statements to the extent required by GAAP; and (d) to our knowledge, no changes have occurred or are expected to occur that would cause an increase in the cost of providing benefits under any ERISA Plan. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, with respect to each ERISA Plan that is intended to be qualified under Code Section 401(a): (i) there has been no non-compliance by the ERISA Plan and any associated trust with the applicable requirements of Code Section 401(a), (ii) the ERISA Plan and any associated trust have been amended to comply with all such requirements as currently in effect, other than those requirements for which a retroactive amendment can be made within the “remedial amendment period” available under Code Section 401(b) (as extended under Treasury Regulations and other Treasury pronouncements upon which taxpayers may rely), (iii) the ERISA Plan and any associated trust have received a favorable determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service stating that the ERISA Plan qualifies under Code Section 401(a), that the associated trust qualifies under Code Section 501(a) and, if applicable, that any cash or deferred arrangement under the ERISA Plan qualifies under Code Section 401(k), unless the ERISA Plan was first adopted at a time for which the above-described “remedial amendment period” has not yet expired, (iv) the ERISA Plan currently satisfies the requirements of Code Section 410(b), without regard to any retroactive amendment that may be made within the above-described “remedial amendment period”, and (v) no contribution made to the ERISA Plan is subject to an excise tax under Code Section 4972. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, with respect to any Pension Plan, the “accumulated benefit obligation” of Controlled Group members with respect to the Pension Plan (as determined in accordance with Statement of Accounting Standards No. 87, “Employers’ Accounting for Pensions”) does not exceed the fair market value of Pension Plan assets. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, no Controlled Group Member has or has had in the past, an obligation to contribute to a Multiemployer Plan.
Employee Benefit Plans and Compensation (a) For purposes of this Section 2.22, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
Defined Benefit Pension Plans The Borrower will not adopt, create, assume or become a party to any defined benefit pension plan, unless disclosed to the Lender pursuant to Section 5.10.
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.
Benefit Entitlement When an employee is on a WCB claim all benefits of the Agreement will continue to accrue. However, an employee off work on WCB claim shall receive net wages as defined by (A) above, and benefits equalling but not to exceed their normal entitlement had they not suffered a compensable injury. For the first twenty (20) work days on claim, an employee will accrue paid holidays and vacation credits. Once the claim exceeds twenty (20) work days, paid holidays and vacation credits will not accrue. However, unused vacation credits accrued prior to the claim shall not be lost as a result of this clause.
Continued Employee Benefits If Executive elects continuation coverage pursuant to COBRA within the time period prescribed pursuant to COBRA for Executive and Executive’s eligible dependents, the Company will reimburse Executive for the premiums necessary to continue group health insurance benefits for Executive and Executive’s eligible dependents until the earlier of (A) a period of twelve (12) months from the date of Executive’s termination of employment, (B) the date upon which Executive and/or Executive’s eligible dependents becomes covered under similar plans or (C) the date upon which Executive ceases to be eligible for coverage under COBRA (such reimbursements, the “COC COBRA Premiums”). However, if the Company determines in its sole discretion that it cannot pay the COC COBRA Premiums without potentially violating applicable law (including, without limitation, Section 2716 of the Public Health Service Act), the Company will in lieu thereof provide to Executive a taxable monthly payment in an amount equal to the monthly COBRA premium that Executive would be required to pay to continue Executive’s group health coverage in effect on the date of Executive’s termination of employment (which amount will be based on the premium for the first month of COBRA coverage), which payments will be made regardless of whether Executive elects COBRA continuation coverage and will commence on the month following Executive’s termination of employment and will end on the earlier of (x) the date upon which Executive obtains other employment or (y) the date the Company has paid an amount equal to twelve (12) payments. For the avoidance of doubt, the taxable payments in lieu of COBRA Premiums may be used for any purpose, including, but not limited to continuation coverage under COBRA, and will be subject to all applicable tax withholdings. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary under this Agreement, if at any time the Company determines in its sole discretion that it cannot provide the payments contemplated by the preceding sentence without violating applicable law (including, without limitation, Section 2716 of the Public Health Service Act), Executive will not receive such payment or any further reimbursements for COBRA premiums.
Defined Benefit Plans The Company has not maintained or contributed to a defined benefit plan as defined in Section 3(35) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). No plan maintained or contributed to by the Company that is subject to ERISA (an “ERISA Plan”) (or any trust created thereunder) has engaged in a “prohibited transaction” within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) that could subject the Company to any material tax penalty on prohibited transactions and that has not adequately been corrected. Each ERISA Plan is in compliance in all material respects with all reporting, disclosure and other requirements of the Code and ERISA as they relate to such ERISA Plan, except for any noncompliance which would not result in the imposition of a material tax or monetary penalty. With respect to each ERISA Plan that is intended to be “qualified” within the meaning of Section 401(a) of the Code, either (i) a determination letter has been issued by the Internal Revenue Service stating that such ERISA Plan and the attendant trust are qualified thereunder, or (ii) the remedial amendment period under Section 401(b) of the Code with respect to the establishment of such ERISA Plan has not ended and a determination letter application will be filed with respect to such ERISA Plan prior to the end of such remedial amendment period. The Company has never completely or partially withdrawn from a “multiemployer plan,” as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA.
Defined Benefit Plan A plan under which a Participant’s benefit is determined by a formula contained in the plan and no Employee accounts are maintained for Participants.
