Employment and Employee Benefits Matters (a) Subject to the terms of any agreement between a Current Employee and the Company, Parent shall cause the Surviving Corporation and each of its other Subsidiaries to, for a period of one year following the Effective Time (or until employment terminates, if sooner), maintain for each individual employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries immediately prior to the Effective Time (each, a “Current Employee”)
(i) an annual base salary and target annual cash bonus opportunity (excluding equity-based compensation and, with respect to the 2025 performance year, specific performance goals) that are, in each case, no less than those provided to the Current Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, (ii) employee benefits that are substantially comparable in the aggregate to those maintained for and provided to the Current Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time (in each case, excluding equity, equity-based, deferred compensation, severance, change in control, retention or transaction-related benefits, specific performance goals for any cash incentive compensation for the 2025 performance year, defined benefit pension and post-retirement welfare arrangements) and (iii) severance benefits that are at least as favorable as the severance benefits provided by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries to the Current Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time and to the extent set forth on Section 5.6(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, subject to, as a condition to such Current Employee receiving such severance in connection with such Current Employee’s termination, the applicable Current Employee having then signed and not revoked a release of claims in a form substantially in the form of the Company’s standard release of claims and, in each case, except as otherwise agreed to with a Current Employee.
(b) Parent shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Surviving Corporation to cause service rendered by Current Employees to the Company and its Subsidiaries (as well as service with any predecessor employer of the Company or any such Subsidiary, to the extent service with the predecessor employer is recognized by the Company or such Subsidiary under the comparable Company Plans) prior to the Effective Time to be taken into account for purposes of vesting and eligibility to participate and, solely for vacation and paid time off policies and severance plans and policies, determining levels of benefits under all employee benefit plans, programs, or arrangements of Parent and the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries (the “New Plans”) in which the Current Employees are otherwise eligible to participate, to the same extent and for the same purpose as such service was taken into account under the corresponding Company Plans immediately prior to the Effective Time (the “Old Plans”); provided that the foregoing will not apply to the extent that its application would result in a duplication of benefits or coverage with respect to the same type of benefits and period of service. Parent shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Surviving Corporation to waive any eligibility requirements, waiting periods, actively-at-work requirements, evidence of insurability requirements or pre-existing condition limitations under any New Plan to the extent such restriction would not have been applicable to a Current Employee under any comparable Old Plan in which they participated prior to the Effective Time. Parent shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries to give such Current Employees credit under the New Plans for any eligible expenses incurred by such Current Employees and their covered dependents and credited to such person under the comparable Old Plan during the portion of the plan year prior to the Effective Time for purposes of satisfying all co-payment, co-insurance, deductibles, maximum out-of-pocket requirements, and other out-of-pocket expenses applicable to such Current Employees and their covered dependents under the New Plans in respect of the plan year in which the Effective Time occurs.
(c) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the terms and conditions of employment for any employees covered by a Labor Agreement shall be governed by the applicable Labor Agreement until the expiration, modification or termination of such Labor Agreement in accordance with its terms and applicable Law. The Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to use commercially reasonable efforts to satisfy any legal or contractual requirements to provide notice to, or carry out any information and/or consultation procedure with, any employee or groups of employees (or any individual service provider or groups of individual service providers) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any union, works council or similar employee representative organization (a “Labor Organization”) which is required by applicable Law or Contract of the Company with a Labor Organization as a result of the Contemplated Transactions (the “Labor Consultations”). In connection with the Labor Consultations, the Company shall (i) keep Parent reasonably informed of the status of any material developments with respect to such Labor Consultations, (ii) provide Parent with a reasonable opportunity to review, prior to distribution, any written material communications to any Labor Organizations with respect to such Labor Consultations and consider in good faith Parent’s reasonable comments thereto, and (iii) provide Parent with a true and certified copy of any written opinion or written statement delivered by any Labor Organization.
(d) No provision of this Agreement (i) prohibits Parent or the Surviving Corporation from establishing, amending or terminating any Company Plan or any other benefit or compensation plan, policy or arrangement, (ii) requires Parent or the Surviving Corporation to keep any Person employed for any period of time or to offer any particular term of employment, (iii) constitutes the termination of, establishment or adoption of, or amendment to, any Company Plan or other benefit or compensation plan, policy or arrangement or (iv) confers upon any Current Employee or any other Person any third-party beneficiary or similar rights or remedies.
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.
Employees and Employee Benefit Plans (a) The Company Employee Plans that the Company has made available to Parent are true and correct copies of such Company Employee Plans. For each material Company Employee Plan, the Company will, within ten (10) Business Days of this Agreement, make available to Parent a copy of such plan (or a description, if such plan is not written) and all amendments thereto, together with a copy of (if applicable) (i) each trust, insurance or other funding arrangement, (ii) each summary plan description and summary of material modifications, (iii) the most recently filed IRS Forms 5500, (iv) the most recent favorable determination or opinion letter from the IRS, (v) the most recently prepared actuarial reports and financial statements in connection with each such Company Employee Plan, and (vi) all material documents and correspondence relating thereto received from or provided to any Governmental Authority during the past year.
(b) The Company will provide to Parent a list, within ten (10) Business Days of the date of this Agreement, containing with respect to each Key Employee: (i) name, (ii) date of hire, (iii) position, (iv) employment location, (v) base salary or wage rate, (vi) the current incentive opportunities of such employee and (vii) the legal entity that employs such employee.
(c) Neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates (nor any predecessor of any such entity) sponsors, maintains, administers or contributes to (or has any obligation to contribute to), or in the past six years has, sponsored, maintained, administered or contributed to (or had any obligation to contribute to), any plan subject to Title IV of ERISA, including any multiemployer plan, as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA.
(d) Each Company Employee Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination or opinion letter from the IRS or has applied to the IRS for such a letter within the applicable remedial amendment period or such period has not expired and, to the knowledge of the Company, no circumstances exist that would reasonably be expected to result in any such letter being revoked or not being reissued or a penalty under the IRS Closing Agreement Program if discovered during an IRS audit or investigation. Each trust created under any such Company Employee Plan is exempt from tax under Section 501(a) of the Code and has been so exempt since its creation.
(e) Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, since January 1, 2017, each Company Employee Plan has been maintained in compliance with its terms and all Applicable Law. Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, no Proceeding (other than routine claims for benefits and including an audit) is pending against or involves or, to the Company’s knowledge, is threatened against or reasonably expected to involve, any Company Employee Plan before any court or arbitrator or any Governmental Authority. To the knowledge of the Company, since January 1, 2017, no events have occurred with respect to any Company Employee Plan that would reasonably be expected to result in the assessment of any excise taxes or penalties against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except for events that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(f) With respect to each director, officer, employee or independent contractor (including each former director, officer, employee or independent contractor) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the consummation of the Transactions will not, either alone or together with any other event: (i) entitle any such individual to any payment or benefit, including any bonus, retention, severance, retirement or job security payment or benefit, (ii) accelerate the time of payment or vesting or trigger any payment or funding (through a grantor trust or otherwise) of compensation or benefits under, or materially increase the amount payable or trigger any other obligation under, any Company Employee Plan or (iii) limit or restrict the right of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or, after the Closing, Parent to merge, amend or terminate any Company Employee Plan.
(g) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any current or projected liability for, and no Company Employee Plan provides or promises, any post-employment or post-retirement medical, dental, disability, hospitalization, life or similar benefits (whether insured or self-insured) to any director, officer, employee or individual independent contractor (including any former director, officer, employee or individual independent contractor) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than coverage mandated by Applicable Law).
(h) There has been no amendment to, written interpretation of or announcement (whether or not written) by the Company or any of its Affiliates relating to, or making a change in employee participation or coverage under, any Company Employee Plan that would materially increase the expense of maintaining such plan above the level of expense incurred in respect thereof for the fiscal year ended on the Company Balance Sheet Date, except as required in order to comply with Applicable Law.
(i) Without limiting the generality of Section 4.22(e), no amount paid or payable (whether in cash, in property, or in the form of benefits) by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in connection with the Transactions (either solely as a result thereof or as a result of such transactions in conjunction with any other event) will be an “excess parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any obligation to gross-up, indemnify or otherwise reimburse any current or former Company Service Provider for any tax incurred by such individual.
(j) Except as would not be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, each Company Employee Plan, and any award thereunder, that is or forms part of a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code has been timely amended (if applicable) to comply and has been operated in compliance with, and the Company and its Subsidiaries have complied in practice and operation with, all applicable requirements of Section 409A of the Code.
(k) With respect to any Company Employee Plan covered by Subtitle B, Part 4 of Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, no non-exempt prohibited transaction has occurred that has caused or would reasonably be expected to cause the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to incur any material liability under ERISA or the Code.
(l) Each Company Employee Plan that is an International Plan (i) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and Applicable Law, (ii) if intended to qualify for special tax treatment, meets all the requirements for such treatment, and (iii) if required, to any extent, to be funded, book-reserved or secured by an insurance policy, is fully funded, book-reserved or secured by an insurance policy, as applicable, based on reasonable actuarial assumptions in accordance with applicable accounting principles, in each case, except as would not be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Employee Benefit Plans; Employment Agreements (a) Section 2.11(a) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule lists all employee pension plans (as defined in Section 3(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA")), all employee welfare plans (as defined in Section 3(1) of ERISA), and all other bonus, stock option, stock purchase, incentive, deferred compensation, supplemental retirement, severance and other similar fringe or employee benefit plans, programs or arrangements, written or otherwise, as amended, modified or supplemented, for the benefit of, or relating to, any current employee, officer or consultant (or any of their beneficiaries) of Parent or any other entity (whether or not incorporated) which is a member of a controlled group including Parent or which is under common control with Parent (an "ERISA Affiliate") within the meaning of Section 414 of the Code or Section 4001 of ERISA, or any subsidiary of Parent, as well as each plan with respect to which Parent or an ERISA Affiliate could incur liability under Section 4069 (if such plan has been or were terminated) or Section 4212(c) of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code (together, the "Employee Plans"). There have been made available or will be made available as promptly as practicable, but in any event no later than 20 business days after the date hereof to the Company copies of (i) each such written Employee Plan and all related trust agreements, insurance and other contracts (including policies), the most recent summary plan descriptions, summaries of material modifications and communications distributed to plan participants since the date of the most recent summary plan descriptions, (ii) the three most recent annual reports on Form 5500 series, with accompanying schedules and attachments, filed with respect to each Employee Plan required to make such a filing, (iii) the most recent actuarial valuation for each Employee Plan subject to Title IV of ERISA, (iv) the latest reports which have been filed with the Department of Labor with respect to each Employee Plan required to make such filing and (v) favorable determination letters issued for each Employee Plan and related trust that are intended to satisfy the qualification requirements of Section 401(a) and Section 501(a) of the Code (or, if pending, a copy of the application for such determination). For purposes of this Section 2.11, the term "material," when used with respect to (i) any Employee Plan, shall mean that Parent or an ERISA Affiliate has incurred or may incur obligations in an amount exceeding $5,000,000 with respect to such Employee Plan, and (ii) any liability, obligation, breach or non-compliance, shall mean that the Parent or an ERISA Affiliate has incurred or may incur obligations in an amount exceeding $1,000,000, with respect to any one such or series of related liabilities, obligations, breaches, defaults, violations or instances of non-compliance.
(b) Except as set forth in Section 2.11(b) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, (i) none of the Employee Plans promises or provides retiree medical or other retiree welfare benefits to any person, and none of the Employee Plans is a "multiemployer plan" as such term is defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA; (ii) no party in interest or disqualified person (as defined in Section 3(14) of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code) has at any time engaged in a transaction with respect to any Employee Plan which could subject Parent or any ERISA Affiliate, directly or indirectly, to a tax, penalty or other material liability for prohibited transactions under ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code; (iii) no fiduciary of any Employee Plan has breached any of the responsibilities or obligations imposed upon fiduciaries under Title I of ERISA, which breach could result in any material liability to Parent or any ERISA Affiliate; (iv) all Employee Plans have been established and maintained substantially in accordance with their terms and have operated in compliance in all material respects with the requirements prescribed by any and all statutes (including ERISA and the Code), orders, or governmental rules and regulations currently in effect with respect thereto (including all applicable requirements for notification to participants or the Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") or Secretary of the Treasury), and may by their terms be amended and/or terminated at any time subject to applicable law, and Parent and each of its subsidiaries have performed all material obligations required to be performed by them under, are not in any material respect in default under or violation of, and have no knowledge of any default or violation by any other party to, any of the Employee Plans; (v) each Employee Plan intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code and each trust intended to qualify under Section 501(a) of the Code is the subject of a favorable determination letter from the IRS, and nothing has occurred which may reasonably be expected to impair such determination; (vi) all contributions required to be made with respect to any Employee Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the Code, or the terms of the Employee Plan or any collective bargaining agreement, have been made on or before their due dates; (vii) with respect to each Employee Plan, no "reportable event" within the meaning of Section 4043 of ERISA (excluding any such event for which the 30 day notice requirement has been waived under the regulations to Section 4043 of ERISA) has occurred for which there is any material outstanding liability to the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate; and (viii) neither Parent nor any ERISA Affiliate has incurred or reasonably expects to incur any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than liability for premium payments to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the PBGC") arising in the ordinary course).
(c) Section 2.11(c) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true and complete list of options or other rights, direct or indirect to purchase Parent Common Stock held by any current or former employee, officer or director of Parent or any of its subsidiaries as of the date hereof, together with the number of shares of Parent Common Stock subject to such options, and the exercise price of such options or rights (to the extent determined as of the date hereof), and no such option is intended to qualify as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422(b) of the Code (an "ISO"), provided that no later than 20 business days after the date hereof, Parent will provide the Company with a list of current or former employees, officers and directors of Parent or any of its subsidiaries who hold any options or rights listed on Section 2.11(c) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule and the expiration dates of such options.
(d) Section 2.11(d) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true and complete list of (i) all employment agreements with executive officers of Parent or any of its subsidiaries; (ii) all agreements with consultants who are individuals obligating Parent or any of its subsidiaries to make annual cash payments in an amount exceeding $500,000; (iii) all current executive officers of Parent or any of its subsidiaries who have executed a non-competition agreement with Parent or any of its subsidiaries; (iv) all severance agreements, programs and policies of Parent or any of its subsidiaries with or relating to its employees, in each case with outstanding commitments with respect to any one individual exceeding $250,000 per year or providing for payments over a period in excess of two years, excluding programs and policies required to be maintained by law; and (v) all Employee Plans which contain change in control provisions. Other than as disclosed in Parent's Statement on Schedule 14D-9 filed prior to the date hereof with the SEC in respect of an exchange offer of Western Resources, Inc. (the "Schedule 14D-9"), there have been no material changes to the compensation of Parent's executive officers since September 30, 1996. All related payroll expenses and any accelerated pension benefits of Parent and any of its subsidiaries under severance agreements with former employees, directors and officers of Parent or any of its subsidiaries have been fully accrued in the 1996 Financial Statements.
(e) Except as set forth in Section 2.11(e) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, no employee of Parent or any of its subsidiaries has participated in any employee pension benefit plans (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA) maintained by or on behalf of Parent. The PBGC has not instituted proceedings to terminate any defined benefit plan listed in Section 2.11(e) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule (each, a "Defined Benefit Plan"). The Defined Benefit Plans have no accumulated or waived funding deficiencies within the meaning of Section 412 of the Code nor have any extensions of any amortization period within the meaning of Section 412 of the Code or 302 of ERISA been applied for with respect thereto. The present value of the benefit liabilities (within the meaning of Section 4041 of ERISA) of the Defined Benefit Plans, determined on a termination basis using actuarial assumptions that would be used by the PBGC does not exceed by more than $1,000,000 the value of the Plans' assets. No facts exist with respect to the Defined Benefit Plans which would give rise to a lien on the assets of Parent under Section 4068 of ERISA. All the assets of the Defined Benefit Plans are cash, readily marketable securities or insurance contracts.
(f) Parent has fiduciary liability insurance in effect covering the fiduciaries of the Employee Plans (including Parent) with respect to whom Parent may have liability, and within 20 business days of the date hereof, Parent will provide the Company with a statement of the amount of such insurance.
Employee Benefits Matters (a) Parent hereby agrees that, for a period of one (1) year immediately following the Effective Time, it shall, or it shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries to provide each Employee as of the Effective Time (each, a “Continuing Service Provider”) to the extent such Continuing Service Provider remains employed by Parent or its Subsidiaries with (i) a base salary or wage rate that is not less than the base salary or wage rate provided by the Company Group to such Continuing Service Provider as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, (ii) target annual cash incentive compensation opportunities for such Continuing Service Provider that are no less favorable than those in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, and (iii) all other employee benefits (excluding any equity or equity-based compensation, severance, defined benefit pension benefits, non-qualified deferred compensation benefits, retiree health and welfare benefits or change in control, transaction or retention bonuses or payments) that are substantially comparable, in the aggregate to either (A) those in effect for such Continuing Service Providers immediately prior to the Effective Time or (B) those provided by Parent or its Subsidiaries to similarly situated employees of Parent or its Subsidiaries. Without limiting the generality of this Section 6.05(a), and subject to Section 6.05(f) from and after the Effective Time, Parent shall, or it shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries, to honor all obligations under the Plans other than those terminated pursuant to Section 6.05(e), in each case in accordance with and subject to their terms as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, including with respect to any payments, benefits or rights arising as a result of the Transactions (either alone or in combination with any other event).
(b) Parent shall, or shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries to cause Continuing Service Providers to receive full service credit for purposes of eligibility to participate and vesting (but not for benefit accrual purposes, except for paid time off and severance) under any employee benefit plan, program, policy or arrangement, in each case, established or maintained by Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any of their respective Subsidiaries under which each Continuing Service Provider may be eligible to participate on or after the Effective Time (a “Parent Plan”) to the same extent recognized by the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries under comparable Plans immediately prior to the Effective Time; provided, however, that such crediting of service shall not be credited for the purposes of any retiree health or welfare plan, defined benefit pension plan or long-term equity incentive program (including in respect of any “retirement” provisions thereunder) and shall not operate to duplicate any benefit or the funding of any such benefit. In addition, Parent shall use reasonable best efforts to (i) waive, or cause to be waived, any limitations on benefits relating to any pre-existing conditions under a Parent Plan to the extent such conditions are covered immediately prior to the Effective Time a comparable Plan and to the same extent such limitations are waived under such Plan as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time and (ii) recognize, for purposes of the annual deductible and out-of-pocket limits under its medical and dental plans, the deductible and out-of-pocket expenses paid by Continuing Service Provider in the calendar year in which the Effective Time occurs to the same extent recognized under any comparable Plan prior to the Effective Time.
(c) With respect to each Continuing Service Provider whose employment is terminated without cause during the period commencing on the Closing Date and ending one (1) year after the Closing Date, Parent shall, or it shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries, to provide such Continuing Service Provider with severance benefits equal in value to the severance benefits determined in accordance with (and subject to the terms and conditions of) the policy set forth on Section 6.05(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, in each case, taking into account the Continuing Service Provider’s service with the Company Group prior to the Closing and with Parent or its Subsidiaries on or after the Closing.
(d) To the extent the Closing Date occurs in the 2024 calendar year, Parent shall, or it shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries to, continue any Plan that is an annual bonus plan for the 2024 calendar year and will administer it in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and taking into account determinations made prior to the Closing with respect to such annual bonus program or target amounts thereunder, in all cases pursuant to and subject to the terms of Section 6.05(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedule.
(e) If requested by Parent as of at least ten (10) days prior to the Closing Date (but conditioned upon the occurrence of the Closing), the Company shall take all necessary actions to terminate or cause to be terminated any or all of the Plans sponsored or maintained by the Company or any Company Subsidiaries. The Company shall, or shall cause its applicable Affiliate to, provide Parent with evidence that any requested terminated Plan has been terminated, with the termination of the applicable Plans effective no later than the day immediately preceding the Closing Date, pursuant to a duly adopted resolution of the Company or its applicable Affiliate (the form and substance of which shall be subject to review and approval by Parent, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) no later than the day immediately preceding the Effective Time.
(f) Without limiting the generality of Section 9.09, nothing contained in this Agreement is intended to be treated as an amendment to any Plan or any employee benefit plan or arrangement of Parent or any of its Affiliates, or to create any third-party beneficiary rights in any Employee or Non-Employee Service Provider, any beneficiary or dependent thereof, or any collective bargaining representative thereof. Nothing contained herein, express or implied, shall (i) alter or limit the ability of Parent or the Surviving Corporation or any of their respective Affiliates to amend, modify or terminate any Plan or any other benefit plan, program, agreement or arrangement at any time assumed, established, sponsored or maintained by any of them or (ii) create any rights to continued employment or service with Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any Company Subsidiary or any of their respective Affiliates or in any way limit the ability of Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any Company Subsidiary or any of their respective Affiliates to terminate the employment or service of any Employee or Non-Employee Service Provider at any time and for any reason.
Labor and Employee Relations As of the date hereof, except as disclosed in Section 4.11(a) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule hereto or in the PSNC SEC Reports, (i) neither PSNC nor any of the PSNC Subsidiaries is a party to any collective bargaining agreement or other labor agreement with any union or labor organization and (ii) to the best knowledge of PSNC, there is no current union representation question involving employees of PSNC or any of the PSNC Subsidiaries, nor does PSNC know of any activity or proceeding of any labor organization (or representative thereof) or employee group to organize any such employees. PSNC has delivered or otherwise made available to SCANA true, correct and complete copies of the collective bargaining agreements listed in Section 4.11(a) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule, together with all amendments, modifications or supplements thereto. Except as disclosed in Section 4.11(b) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule hereto or in the PSNC SEC Reports filed prior to the date hereof or except to the extent such could not reasonably be expected to have a PSNC Material Adverse Effect, (a) there is no unfair labor practice, employment discrimination or other written grievance, arbitration, claim, suit, action or proceeding against PSNC or any of the PSNC Subsidiaries pending, or to the best knowledge of PSNC, threatened before any court, governmental department, commission agency, instrumentality or authority or any arbitrator, (b) there is no strike, lockout or material dispute, slowdown or work stoppage pending or, to the best knowledge of PSNC, threatened against or involving PSNC, and (c) there is no proceeding, claim, suit, action or governmental investigation pending or, to the best knowledge of PSNC, threatened in respect of which any director, officer, employee or agent of PSNC or any of the PSNC Subsidiaries is or may be entitled to claim indemnification from PSNC or such PSNC Subsidiary pursuant to their respective charters or by-laws or as provided in the indemnification agreements listed in Section 4.11(c) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule. Except as set forth in Section 4.11(d) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule, to the knowledge of PSNC, PSNC and the PSNC Subsidiaries are in material compliance with all federal, state and local laws with respect to employment practices, labor relations, safety and health regulations and mass layoffs and plant closings.
Employee Benefit Plans and Related Matters; ERISA (a) Section 2.16(a) of the GFI Disclosure Letter contains a true and complete list of each material employment, bonus, deferred compensation, incentive compensation, stock purchase, stock option, retention, change of control, severance or termination pay, hospitalization or other medical, life or other insurance, supplemental unemployment benefits, profit-sharing, pension or retirement plan, program, trust, agreement or arrangement, and each other material employee benefit plan, program, agreement or arrangement (collectively, the “GFI Benefit Plans”) currently maintained or contributed to or required to be contributed to by (i) GFI, (ii) any GFI Subsidiary or (iii) any ERISA Affiliate, in any case for the benefit of any current or former employee, worker, consultant, director or member of GFI or any GFI Subsidiary.
(b) With respect to each of the GFI Benefit Plans, GFI has delivered or made available to Parent complete copies of each of the following documents: (i) the GFI Benefit Plan governing documentation (including all amendments thereto); (ii) the annual report and actuarial report, if required under ERISA or the Code or any Law, for the most recent plan year; (iii) the most recent Summary Plan Description, together with each Summary of Material Modifications, if required under ERISA, and other booklets or information issued to participants and beneficiaries; (iv) if the GFI Benefit Plan is funded through a trust or any third party funding vehicle, the trust or other funding agreement (including all amendments thereto) and the most recent financial statements thereof; and (v) the most recent determination letter received from the IRS with respect to each GFI Benefit Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code.
(c) In the past six years, neither GFI nor any ERISA Affiliate has maintained or contributed to or was required to contribute to any plan or arrangement that is or was (i) subject to Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of Title IV of ERISA, (ii) a multiple employer welfare arrangement within the meaning of Section 3(40) of ERISA or (iii) a multiemployer plan within the meaning of Section 3(37) or 4001(a)(3) of ERISA.
(d) Each GFI Benefit Plan intended to be “qualified” within the meaning of Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter from the IRS as to its qualification and, to the Knowledge of GFI, no event has occurred that could reasonably be expected to result in disqualification of such GFI Benefit Plan.
(e) Each of the GFI Benefit Plans has been operated and administered in all material respects in accordance with its terms and all applicable Laws, including ERISA and the Code.
(f) Neither GFI nor any GFI Subsidiary has made any loans to employees in violation of Section 402 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act. Each transfer of funds by GFI or any GFI Subsidiary to any of their respective employees that was deemed a loan was when made (and at all times since has been) properly treated by GFI and the GFI Subsidiaries as such for federal income tax purposes.
(g) Neither the execution of this Agreement nor the consummation of the Transactions will (either alone or together with any other event) (i) cause any payment (whether of severance pay or otherwise) to become due to any current or former employee or director of GFI or a GFI Subsidiary, (ii) cause an increase in the amount of compensation or benefits or the acceleration of the vesting or timing of payment of any compensation or benefits payable to or in respect of any current or former employee or director of GFI or a GFI Subsidiary, (iii) cause any individual to accrue or receive additional benefits, services or accelerated rights to payment of benefits under any GFI Benefit Plan, (iv) provide for payments that could subject any person to liability for tax under Section 4999 of the Code or (v) result in payments under any of the GFI Benefit Plans which would not be deductible under Section 280G of the Code.
(h) There are no pending or, to the Knowledge of GFI, threatened material claims in respect of or relating to any of the GFI Benefit Plans, by any employee or beneficiary covered under any GFI Benefit Plan or otherwise involving any GFI Benefit Plan (other than routine claims for benefits).
(i) Neither GFI, any GFI Subsidiary, any GFI Benefit Plan, any trust created thereunder, nor any trustee or administrator thereof has engaged in a transaction in connection that could reasonably be expected to give rise to a civil liability under either Section 409 of ERISA or Section 502(i) of ERISA or a tax imposed pursuant to Section 4975 or 4976 of the Code.
(j) No GFI Benefit Plan provides benefits, including death or medical benefits (whether or not insured), with respect to current or former employees or directors of GFI or any GFI Subsidiary beyond their retirement or other termination of service, other than (i) coverage mandated solely by applicable Law, (ii) death benefits or retirement benefits under any “employee pension plan” (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA), (iii) deferred compensation benefits accrued as liabilities on the books of GFI or a GFI Subsidiary or (iv) benefits the full costs of which are borne by the current or former employee or director or his or her beneficiary.
(k) Each stock option issued since January 1, 2005 with respect to GFI Common Stock was granted with a per-share exercise or base price, as the case may be, not less than the fair market value of a share of GFI Common Stock on the date of grant.
(l) With respect to each GFI Benefit Plan established or maintained outside of the U.S. primarily for the benefit of employees of GFI or any GFI Subsidiary residing outside of the U.S. (a “Foreign GFI Benefit Plan”): (i) all material employer and employee contributions to each Foreign GFI Benefit Plan required by Law or by the terms of such Foreign GFI Benefit Plan have been made, or, if applicable, accrued, in accordance with normal accounting practices; (ii) the fair market value of the assets of each funded Foreign GFI Benefit Plan and the liability of each insurer for any Foreign GFI Benefit Plan funded through insurance or the book reserve established for any Foreign GFI Benefit Plan, together with any accrued contributions, is not materially less than the accrued benefit obligations with respect to all current and former participants in such plan according to the actuarial assumptions and valuations most recently used to determine employer contributions to such Foreign GFI Benefit Plan and none of the Transactions shall cause such assets or insurance obligations to be materially less than such benefit obligations; and (iii) each Foreign GFI Benefit Plan required to be registered has been registered and has been maintained in good standing with applicable regulatory authorities (including tax authorities). Section 2.16(l) of the GFI Disclosure Letter separately identifies each Foreign GFI Benefit Plan that is a defined benefit pension plan.
Other Employee Benefit Plans During the Employment Period, except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the Executive shall be entitled to participate in all compensation, incentive, employee benefit, welfare and other plans, practices, policies and programs and fringe benefits on a basis no less favorable than that provided to any other executive officer of the Company.
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.
Employee Benefit Plans and Compensation (a) For purposes of this Section 2.22, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
