Employees and Employee Benefits (a) Upon consummation of the Merger and the Bank Merger, all employees of Company and Great American shall be deemed to be at-will employees of Purchaser and FCB, respectively, subject only to, and to the extent provided in, those written employment agreements which have been disclosed on the Company Disclosure Schedule. At the discretion of Purchaser, subject to the requirements of the Code and except as expressly set forth in this Section 5.5, from and after the Effective Time, all Company Benefit Plans shall continue to be maintained separately, or be consolidated, frozen or terminated. Employees of Company and Great American who continue as employees of Purchaser and FCB ("Continuing Employees") shall be entitled to participate, commencing at the Effective Time, on an equitable basis in the same benefit plans, programs or policies as are generally available to employees of Purchaser or FCB, as the case may be, of similar rank and status. For purposes of eligibility, vesting, accrual of benefits (but not for benefit accrual purposes under any qualified defined benefit plan maintained by Purchaser) and determination of the level of benefits under any employee benefit plans, arrangements or policies (including, without limitation, severance, vacation, sick and other leave policies) maintained by Purchaser, Continuing Employees will be credited with prior years of service with Company or Great American. Purchaser and FCB shall give service credit to Continuing Employees (and their dependents) with respect to the satisfaction of the limitations as to pre-existing condition exclusions, evidence of insurability requirements and waiting periods for participation and coverage that are applicable under the employee welfare benefit plans (within the meaning of Section 3(1) of ERISA) of Purchaser or FCB, equal to the credit that any such employee had received as of the Effective Time towards the satisfaction of any such limitations and waiting periods under the comparable employee welfare benefit plans of Company or Company Subsidiaries and shall waive preexisting condition limitations to the same extent waived under the corresponding plans of Company or Company Subsidiaries. Nothing contained herein shall obligate Purchaser to provide severance or other benefits that are based on years of service with duplicative benefits for the same years of service. (b) No Continuing Employee shall be subject to any waiting period under any welfare benefit plan of Purchaser to the extent that such period is longer than the period, if any, to which such Continuing Employee was subject under the applicable welfare benefit plan of Company. Continuing Employees shall not be subject to any waiting period under a welfare benefit plan of Purchaser if the applicable waiting period under the corresponding Company plan had been satisfied as of the Effective Time. To the extent that the initial period of coverage for Continuing Employees under any plan of Purchaser that is an "employee welfare benefit plan" as defined in Section 3(1) of ERISA is not a full twelve (12) month period of coverage, Continuing Employees shall be given full credit under the applicable welfare plan for any deductibles and co-insurance payments made by such Continuing Employees under the corresponding welfare plan of Company during the balance of such twelve (12) month period of coverage. Nothing contained herein shall obligate Purchaser to provide or cause to be provided any duplicative benefits. (c) The Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan ("ESOP") shall be terminated as of the Effective Time. The Board of Directors of Company shall use reasonable commercial efforts to cause the trustees of the ESOP, to the extent consistent with the fiduciary 37
