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.
Employee Matters (a) Parent hereby acknowledges that a “change of control” (or similar phrase) within the meaning of the Employee Plans, as applicable, will occur as of the Appointment Time or Effective Time, as applicable.
(b) Except as provided in Section 7.2(b), from and after the Effective Time, the Surviving Corporation shall (and Parent shall cause the Surviving Corporation to) honor all Employee Plans and compensation arrangements in accordance with their terms as in effect immediately prior to the Appointment Time, provided that nothing in this sentence shall prohibit the Surviving Corporation from amending or terminating, or from causing the Surviving Corporation to amend or terminate, any such Benefit Plans, arrangements or agreements in accordance with their terms or if otherwise required by applicable Law. As of the Effective Time, Parent shall or shall cause the Surviving Corporation to assume the Employee Plans set forth in Section 7.2(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter.
(c) The Company shall take (or cause to be taken) all action necessary or appropriate to terminate, effective no later than the day immediately preceding the Appointment Time, any Employee Plan that contains a cash or deferred arrangement intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code (the “401(k) Plans”), unless Parent, in its sole and absolute discretion, agrees to sponsor and maintain any such 401(k) Plan by providing the Company with written notice of such election (an “Election Notice”) at least three days before the Appointment Time. Unless Parent timely provides an Election Notice to the Company, the Company shall deliver to Parent, prior to the Appointment Time, evidence that the Company’s board of directors has validly adopted resolutions to terminate the 401(k) Plans (the form and substance of which resolutions shall be subject to review and approval of Parent), effective no later than the date immediately preceding the Appointment Time. Parent shall cause a plan intended to qualify under Section 401(k) of the Code (the “Parent 401(k) Plan”) to accept rollovers (including rollover loans) from any 401(k) plan of the Company.
(d) For a period of one year following the Effective Time, the Surviving Corporation shall (and Parent shall cause the Surviving Corporation to) provide (i) at least the same level of base salary or base wages to each Continuing Employee as the base salary or base wages provided to each such Continuing Employee immediately prior to the Effective Time, and (ii) benefits and severance payments (other than equity based benefits, change in control benefits and individual employment agreements) to each Continuing Employee employed in the United States that, taken as a whole, are substantially similar in the aggregate to the benefits and severance payments (other than equity based benefits, change in control benefits and individual employment agreements) provided to similarly situated employees of Parent and its Subsidiaries. Parent agrees that it shall cause the Surviving Corporation to pay an annual cash bonus to each participant in an annual cash bonus plan of the Company as of the Effective Time (excluding, for avoidance of doubt, sales and commission plans) equal to the amount determined by (i) determining the annual cash bonus that would have been paid to such participant based on deemed performance for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 using the rate of accrual for purposes of the Company’s financial statements as of immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and (ii) multiplying the number determined pursuant to clause (i) by 0.8356 (i.e., 305/365), with the resulting amount reduced by any portion of such annual bonus previously paid to the participant. Such bonus will be paid in February 2011 subject to the participant’s continued employment through January 31, 2011.
(e) To the extent that an Employee Plan or employee benefit plan of Parent is made available to any Continuing Employee on or following the Effective Time, the Surviving Corporation shall (and Parent shall cause the Surviving Corporation to) cause to be granted to such Continuing Employee credit for all service with the Company and its Subsidiaries (and their predecessors) prior to the Effective Time for purposes of eligibility to participate, vesting and entitlement to benefits where length of service is relevant (including, but not limited to, for purposes of vacation, sick and paid time off accrual and severance pay entitlement); provided, however, that such service need not be credited (i) to the extent that it would result in duplication of coverage or benefits or (ii) under any new plan or arrangement to the extent that such plan or arrangement does not provide prior service credit to employees generally. In addition, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, at the Effective Time: (i) each Continuing Employee shall be immediately eligible to participate, without any waiting time, in any and all employee benefit plans sponsored by the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries (other than the Employee Plans) (such plans, collectively, the “New Plans”) to the extent coverage under any such New Plan replaces coverage under a comparable Employee Plan in which such Continuing Employee participates immediately before the Appointment Time (such plans, collectively, the “Old Plans”); and (ii) for purposes of each New Plan providing medical, dental, pharmaceutical, vision and/or disability benefits to any Continuing Employee, the Surviving Corporation shall cause all waiting periods, pre-existing condition exclusions, evidence of insurability requirements and actively-at-work or similar requirements of such New Plan to be waived for such Continuing Employee and his or her covered dependents, and the Surviving Corporation shall cause any eligible expenses incurred by such Continuing Employee and his or her covered dependents during the portion of the plan year of the Old Plan ending on the date such employee’s participation in the corresponding New Plan begins to be given full credit under such New Plan for purposes of satisfying all deductible, coinsurance and maximum out-of-pocket requirements applicable to such Continuing Employee and his or her covered dependents for the applicable plan year as if such amounts had been paid in accordance with such New Plan, and (iii) the Surviving Corporation shall credit the accounts of such Continuing Employees under any New Plan which is a flexible spending plan with any unused balance in the account of such Continuing Employee under the applicable Employee Plan. Any vacation or paid time off accrued but unused by a Continuing Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be credited to such Continuing Employee following the Effective Time, and shall not be subject to accrual limits or other forfeiture and shall not limit future accruals.
(f) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, no provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to (i) guarantee employment for any period of time for, or preclude the ability of Parent or the Surviving Corporation to terminate, any Continuing Employee for any reason, or (ii) subject to the limitations and requirements specifically set forth in this Section 7.2, require Parent or the Surviving Corporation to continue any Employee Plan or prevent the amendment, modification or termination thereof after the Effective Time.
(g) This Section 7.2 shall be binding upon and inure solely to the benefit of each of the parties to this Agreement, and nothing in this Section 7.2, expressed or implied, is intended to confer upon any other Person any rights or remedies of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Section 7.2. Without limiting the foregoing, no provision of this Section 7.2 will create any third party beneficiary rights in any current or former employee, director or consultant of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in respect of continued employment (or resumed employment) or any other matter.
(h) Effective as of immediately prior to, and contingent upon, the Appointment Time, the Company shall cause to be amended each outstanding Company RSU, Company Option and Company Restricted Stock Award to provide that, if upon or within twelve (12) months following the Appointment Time, the employment or service of the holder of any such Company RSU, Company Option and/or Company Restricted Stock Award is terminated by the Company or the Parent (or any employing parent or subsidiary thereof) by reason of elimination of the holder’s position due to redundancy or integration of Parent and Company business units (but, for avoidance of doubt, excluding terminations for death, “Disability,” “Serious Misconduct,” or “Poor Performance,” (as such terms are defined in Section 7.2(h) of the Company Disclosure Letter), then one hundred percent (100%) of the then unvested shares subject to such Company RSU, Company Option and/or Company Restricted Stock Award shall become immediately vested and, if applicable, exercisable.
Certain Employee Payments The Company is not a party to any employment agreement which could result in the payment to any current, former or future director or employee of the Company of any money or other property or rights or accelerate or provide any other rights or benefits to any such employee or director as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, whether or not (i) such payment, acceleration or provision would constitute a “parachute payment” (within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code), or (ii) some other subsequent action or event would be required to cause such payment, acceleration or provision to be triggered.
Fixed Term Employees The only terms of this Agreement that apply to employees who are not regular employees are those that are set out in Articles 31A, 32, 33 and 34. 31A.1 Articles 31A.2 to 31A.16 apply only to fixed-term employees other than seasonal, student and GO Temp employees.
EMPLOYEE EVALUATION A. Formal evaluation of employees shall be in writing and shall be for the purpose of establishing a record of the employee’s work performance. The evaluation may include but is not limited to: establishing performance standards and outcome measures, recognition of an employee’s efforts, as well as planning for improvement. Issues of attendance and punctuality may be addressed if they have previously been discussed with the employee. The employee’s job description shall be a basis for the evaluation.
B. The evaluator shall review the written evaluation with the employee and provide the employee with a copy. The employee shall sign the evaluation acknowledging receipt. If the employee has objections to the evaluation, s/he, may within twenty (20) working days following receipt of the evaluation put such objections in writing and have them attached to the evaluation report and placed in his/her personnel file.
C. The frequency of evaluations shall be determined by the District and generally occur every other year by April 1st for bargaining unit employees. If the District chooses to do so, it may conduct formal evaluations on an annual basis. An employee may request to receive one (1) annual evaluation. Such request shall be in writing to the employee’s supervisor with a copy to the Human Resources Department.
D. The Human Resources Department will consult with the Federation in developing an outline of best practices to be used in conducting employee evaluations.
E. When the District determines that an employee’s work performance is unsatisfactory, it shall inform the employee in writing of any deficiency and the improvement expected and provide the employee with the opportunity to correct the unsatisfactory performance within a reasonable time period established by the District.
F. The judgment of an employee’s work performance by an evaluating supervisor shall not be the subject of a grievance. A grievance concerning an evaluation shall be limited to an allegation that the evaluation was done in bad faith or clearly untrue. The burden of proof shall rest with the grievant. Such grievance shall be filed at the next administrative level above that of the evaluator and that administrator shall provide a written decision within ten (10) working days of any hearing. If the grievance is not resolved, it may be appealed by submitting a written statement to the Human Resources Department within ten (10) working days following receipt of the administrative written decision. The written statement must clearly set forth why the previous decision is in error regarding the allegation of bad faith or being clearly untrue. The Director of Labor Relations, or designee, may review the record of the grievance and/or conduct a hearing and shall issue a written decision within ten (10) working days following such review or hearing. Such decision shall be final.
G. Effective July 1, 2013, Sign Language Interpreters will be evaluated using the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) pursuant to OAR 581-015-2035 and/or the District’s evaluation form.
EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS 6.1 Administrators will meet with new employees to discuss their job description within one (1) month of hire. The Administrator and new employee will sign off on the job description and it will be forwarded to the Human Resources Department for inclusion in the employee‘s personnel file. The Human Resources Department will compile and distribute a list showing each employee‘s evaluator prior to November 1st of each year. Bargaining unit job descriptions will be made available via the District‘s web site.
6.2 Evaluations will transpire as follows for employees that are receiving satisfactory ratings:
a. New hires—regular part-time (school year employees) will be evaluated at three (3) and six (6) working months.
b. New hires—full time (12 month employees) will be evaluated at three (3), six (6) and twelve (12) months.
c. After the initial year of employment, each employee shall be evaluated at least once annually by March 31st.
6.3 Criteria for evaluating bargaining unit members will be based on the performance categories outlined on the evaluation form as related to the job description of their specific position assignment.
6.4 Evaluation reports shall include feedback regarding strengths and weaknesses (if any) demonstrated by the employee. Prior to an employee receiving a rating less than “Meets Expectations,” the employee shall be advised of the performance concern and provided with a clear statement of any deficiency and a statement defining acceptable performance. This shall occur within a reasonable time prior to the final evaluation to allow the employee a chance to demonstrate improvement.
6.5 In the event an employee is evaluated overall as “Does Not Meet Expectations,” the district, in consultation with the employee and the Association, will provide the employee a written plan of improvement (See Employee Plan of Improvement form in Appendix). The plan shall clearly define all areas of deficiency, provide clear and attainable performance goals, and outline supports (if any) to be given, including any necessary training at the District’s expense. The employee will be given a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed sixty (60) working days, to meet job performance expectations. During the improvement period, feedback will be provided through a minimum of three scheduled meetings. Following the completion of the plan, the supervisor shall notify the employee in writing of the outcome. Failure to demonstrate satisfactory improvement may constitute grounds for termination.
6.6 The bargaining unit member shall be given a copy of their evaluation, and any data collection sheets (with the submitters name excluded) used in the evaluation.
6.7 Under the law there is no right to Association Representation at evaluation conferences.
6.8 Any information shared with the evaluating administrator for the evaluation process shall be recorded on Data Collection Sheet(s), with the exception of those unit members that have supervising teachers. Supervising teachers will work directly with the evaluating administrator to share performance information for inclusion in the unit member‘s evaluation.
6.9 Employees shall have the right to respond to evaluations in writing. Such written response shall be attached to the evaluation if received within 5 days.
6.10 No bargaining unit member shall be required to sign a blank or incomplete evaluation form.
Shift Employees Employees who work rotating shift patterns or those who work qualifying shifts shall be entitled, on completion of 12 months employment on shift work, to up to an additional 5 days annual leave, based on the number of qualifying shifts worked. The entitlement will be calculated on the annual leave anniversary date. Qualifying shifts are defined as a shift which involves at least 2 hours work performed outside the hours of 8.00am to 5.00pm, excluding overtime. Number of qualifying shifts per annum Number of days additional leave per annum 121 or more 5 days 96 – 120 4 days 71 – 95 3 days 46 – 70 2 days 21 – 45 1 day
Term Employees 9.1.2.1 A term employee is entitled to all employee benefits under Article 9 unless otherwise specified.
Former Employees All Employees terminating service with the Employer during the Plan Year and who have satisfied the eligibility requirements based on the terms of the Employer's accumulated benefits plans checked below (select all that apply; leave blank if no exclusions):
a. [ ] The Former Employee must be at least age (e.g., 55)
b. [ ] The value of the sick and/or vacation leave must be at least $ (e.g., $2,000)
c. [ ] A contribution will only be made if the total hours is over (e.g., 10) hours
d. [ ] A contribution will not be made for hours in excess of (e.g., 40) hours
Business Employees a) Prior to the Closing, Seller shall update the information provided in Schedule 3.10(a)(i) as of the Closing Date.
b) As of the Closing Date, Buyer shall make offers of employment to at least the number of Business Employees of Seller set forth on Schedule 5.4(b) whom shall be specifically identified by Buyer prior to the Closing. The initial term of employment shall be for a period no less than three (3) months, subject to termination for cause, which cause shall be determined by the Buyer or Buyer Designee in its sole discretion. At the end of the initial three (3) month term, the Buyer or Buyer Designee shall have the option to extend employment to those Business Employees as it determines in its sole discretion. To the extent permitted by applicable Law, including data privacy and data protection Laws, Seller agrees to provide Buyer with such information reasonably requested by Buyer to assist it with complying with the terms of this Section 5.4 and to assist Buyer with determining the wages paid to the Transferred Employees (as defined below) with respect to the period beginning on December 29, 2017 and ending on the Closing Date. Without limiting the foregoing, each Party shall comply with all applicable Laws in connection with the transfer of the employees to Buyer or a Buyer Designee, including with respect to notice and other procedural requirements. Any offered Employee who accepts Buyer’s offer of employment and commences employment with Buyer or a Buyer Designee shall be referred to as a “Transferred Employee”. Employment of the Transferred Employees with Buyer or a Buyer Designee shall be effective as of the day following the close of business on the Closing Date.
c) Where terms are not dictated by applicable Law, Buyer or a Buyer Designee shall provide, or shall cause to be provided, to Transferred Employees, during their employment with Buyer or a Buyer Designee, at a minimum, the same base salaries or, as applicable, base wage rates, offered by Seller immediately prior to the Closing Date (but taking into account the 2018 salary increases) as set forth on Schedule 3.10(a)(i). Except as expressly set forth in this Section 5.4, no Benefit Plans or assets of any Benefit Plan shall be transferred to Buyer or any Affiliate of Buyer.
d) Seller and Buyer intend that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall not constitute a severance of employment, under the terms of any Benefit Plan of Seller, of any Transferred Employee prior to or upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and that such employees will have continuous and uninterrupted employment immediately before and immediately after the Closing Date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Buyer shall provide, at a minimum, severance benefits substantially equivalent to the benefits contained in the plans listed or as described on Schedule 5.4(d) to Transferred Employees whose employment is terminated involuntarily by Buyer on or before December 31, 2017 other than terminations in circumstances that would not require payments of severance benefits under Seller’s severance plan.
e) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, nothing in this Agreement shall require Buyer or a Buyer Designee to employ any Business Employees, or to employ any Transferred Employee on anything other than an at-will basis, terminable at any time with or without cause unless required otherwise under applicable Law. Nothing in this Section 5.4, expressed or implied, shall confer upon any employee or former employee of Seller or related entities (including, without limitation, the Transferred Employees) any rights or remedies (including, without limitation, any right to employment or continued employment for any specified period) of any nature or kind whatsoever, under or by reason of this Section 5.4. It is expressly agreed that the provisions of this Section 5.4 are not intended to be for the benefit of or otherwise be enforceable by, any third party, including, without limitation, any Transferred Employees. No provision of this Section 5.4 shall create any rights in any such persons in respect of any benefits that may be provided under any Benefit Plan or any plan or arrangement which may be established or maintained by Buyer, shall be construed to establish, amend, or modify an Benefit Plan or any other benefit plan, program, agreement or arrangement nor shall require Seller, Buyer or any Affiliate of Seller or Buyer to continue or amend any particular benefit plan and any such plan may be amended or terminated in accordance with its terms and applicable Law
