Forfeiture of Restricted Stock Units i. If the Participant’s employment is terminated by reason of the Retirement of the Participant before October 1, <Year_of_Grant>, then the Restricted Stock Units shall be forfeited immediately and all rights of the Participant to such Units shall terminate immediately without further obligation on the part of the Corporation or any Subsidiary Company.
ii. If the Participant’s employment is terminated for any reason other than Retirement, Disability, or death, any Restricted Stock Units that are subject to a Restriction Period shall be forfeited immediately without further obligation on the part of the Corporation or any Subsidiary Company, and all rights of the Participant with respect to such Restricted Stock Units shall terminate. If the Participant is granted a leave of absence before the expiration of the Restriction Period, the Participant shall not forfeit any rights with respect to any Restricted Stock Units subject to the Restriction Period, except for Dividend Equivalent Payments as provided in Section 4 of this Agreement, unless the Participant’s employment with the Corporation or a Subsidiary Company terminates at any time during or at the end of the leave of absence and before the expiration of the Restriction Period, at which time all rights of the Participant with respect to such Restricted Stock Units shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Corporation or any Subsidiary Company.
iii. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, if the Participant’s employment is terminated by reason of the Retirement or Disability of the Participant, and the Participant Engages in Competing Employment within a period of two years following Retirement or Disability, and before the expiration of the Restriction Period, then any Restricted Stock Units subject to a Restriction Period shall be forfeited immediately and all rights of the Participant to such Units shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Corporation or any Subsidiary Company. A Participant “Engages in Competing Employment” if the Participant works for or provides services for any Competitor, on the Participant’s own behalf or on behalf of others, including, but not limited to, as a consultant, independent contractor, director, owner, officer, partner, joint venturer, or employee. For this purpose, a “Competitor” is any entity in the same line of business as the Corporation in North American markets in which the Corporation competes, including, but not limited to, any North American Class I rail carrier, any other rail carrier competing with the Corporation (including without limitation a holding or other company that controls or operates or is otherwise affiliated with any rail carrier competing with the Corporation), and any other provider of transportation services competing with Corporation, including motor and water carriers. Moreover, notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Restricted Stock Units shall be forfeited immediately and all rights of the Participant to such Units shall terminate if:
A. the Participant’s employment is terminated by reason of the Retirement or Disability of the Participant before the expiration of the Restriction Period, and
B. it is determined that the Participant engaged in any of the following:
1. the Participant engaged in an act of fraud, embezzlement, or theft in connection with the Participant’s duties or in the course of the Participant’s employment with the Corporation or Subsidiary Company; or
2. the Participant disclosed confidential information in violation of a confidentiality agreement with the Corporation or a Subsidiary Company, or otherwise in violation of the law. A determination under this paragraph shall be made by the Committee with respect to a participant who was, at any time, employed at the level of Vice President or above, and this determination shall be made by the Vice President Human Resources with respect to all other participants, and in either situation upon consultation with the Corporation’s chief legal officer. Participant understands that nothing in this Agreement (1) prohibits or impedes Participant from reporting possible violations of federal law or regulation to any governmental agency or entity (including but not limited to the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Congress, and any agency Inspector General), from making other disclosures that are protected under the whistleblower provisions of federal law or regulation, or from receiving a monetary award from the SEC related to participation in an SEC investigation or proceeding, or (2) requires Participant to obtain prior authorization of the Corporation to make any such reports or disclosures or to notify the Corporation of such reports or disclosures.
Stock Units As used herein, the term “Stock Unit” shall mean a non-voting unit of measurement which is deemed for bookkeeping purposes to be equivalent to one outstanding share of the Company’s Common Stock (“Share”) solely for purposes of the Plan and this Award Agreement. The Stock Units shall be used solely as a device for the determination of the payment to eventually be made to the Participant if such Stock Units vest pursuant to this Award Agreement. The Stock Units shall not be treated as property or as a trust fund of any kind.
Restricted Stock Units Subject to the terms and conditions provided in this Agreement and the Plan, the Company hereby grants to the Grantee restricted stock units (the “Restricted Stock Units”) as of the Grant Date. Each Restricted Stock Unit represents the right to receive a Share of Common Stock if the Restricted Stock Unit becomes vested and non-forfeitable in accordance with Section 2 or Section 3 of this Agreement. The Grantee shall have no rights as a stockholder of the Company, no dividend rights and no voting rights with respect to the Restricted Stock Units or the Shares underlying the Restricted Stock Units unless and until the Restricted Stock Units become vested and non-forfeitable and such Shares are delivered to the Grantee in accordance with Section 4 of this Agreement. The Grantee is required to pay no cash consideration for the grant of the Restricted Stock Units. The Grantee acknowledges and agrees that (i) the Restricted Stock Units and related rights are nontransferable as provided in Section 5 of this Agreement, (ii) the Restricted Stock Units are subject to forfeiture in the event the Grantee’s Continuous Status as an Employee or Consultant or Non-Employee Director terminates in certain circumstances, as specified in Section 6 of this Agreement, (iii) sales of Shares of Common Stock delivered in settlement of the Restricted Stock Units will be subject to the Company’s policies regulating trading by Employees and Consultants, including any applicable “blackout” or other designated periods in which sales of Shares are not permitted, (iv) Shares delivered in settlement will be subject to any recoupment or “clawback” policy of the Company, regardless of whether such recoupment or “clawback” policy is applied with prospective or retroactive effect, and (v) any entitlement to dividend equivalents will be in accordance with Section 7 of this Agreement. The extent to which the Grantee’s rights and interest in the Restricted Stock Units becomes vested and non-forfeitable shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Sections 2 and 3 of this Agreement.
Forfeiture of Award Section 4.1 If, at any time during the Award Recipient’s tenure as a director of the Company or within 18 months after termination of such tenure, the Award Recipient engages in any activity in competition with any activity of CenturyTel or its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”), or inimical, contrary or harmful to the interests of the Company, including but not limited to: (a) conduct relating to the Award Recipient’s service on the Board for which either criminal or civil penalties against the Award Recipient may be sought, (b) conduct or activity that results in removal of the Award Recipient from the Board for cause, (c) violation of the Company’s policies, including, without limitation, the Company’s xxxxxxx xxxxxxx policy or corporate compliance program, (d) accepting employment after the date hereof with, acquiring a 5% or more equity or participation interest in, serving as a consultant, advisor, director or agent of, directly or indirectly soliciting or recruiting any officer of the Company who was employed at any time during the Award Recipient’s service on the Board, or otherwise assisting in any other capacity or manner any company or enterprise that is directly or indirectly in competition with or acting against the interests of the Company or any of its lines of business (a “competitor”), except for (A) any employment, investment, service, assistance or other activity that is undertaken at the request or with the written permission of the CenturyTel Board of Directors or (B) any assistance of a competitor that is provided in the ordinary course of the Award Recipient engaging in his or her principal occupation in the good faith and reasonable belief that such assistance will neither harm the Company’s interests in any substantial manner or violate any of the Award Recipient’s duties or responsibilities under the Company’s policies or applicable law, (e) disclosing or misusing any confidential information or material concerning the Company, (f) engaging in, promoting, assisting or otherwise participating in a hostile takeover attempt of the Company or any other transaction or proxy contest that could reasonably be expected to result in a Change of Control (as defined in the Plan) not approved by the CenturyTel Board of Directors or (g) making any statement or disclosing any information to any customers, suppliers, lessors, lessees, licensors, licensees, regulators, employees or others with whom the Company engages in business that is defamatory or derogatory with respect to the business, operations, technology, management, or other employees of the Company, or taking any other action that could reasonably be expected to injure the Company in its business relationships with any of the foregoing parties or result in any other detrimental effect on the Company, then (i) all unvested shares of Restricted Stock granted hereunder shall automatically terminate and be forfeited effective on the date on which the Award Recipient first engages in such activity and (ii) all shares of Common Stock acquired by the Award Recipient upon vesting of the Restricted Stock hereunder after the date that precedes by one year the date on which the Award Recipient’s tenure as a director of the Company terminated or the date the Award Recipient first engaged in such activity if no such termination occurs (or other securities into which such shares have been converted or exchanged) shall be returned to the Company or, if no longer held by the Award Recipient, the Award Recipient shall return to the Company, without interest, all cash, securities or other assets received by the Award Recipient upon the sale or transfer of such stock or securities.
Section 4.2 If the Award Recipient owes any amount to the Company under Section 4.1 above, the Award Recipient acknowledges that the Company may, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, deduct such amount from any amounts the Company owes the Award Recipient from time to time for any reason (including without limitation amounts owed to the Award Recipient as directors fees, reimbursements, retirement payments, or other compensation or benefits). Whether or not the Company elects to make any such set-off in whole or in part, if the Company does not recover by means of set-off the full amount the Award Recipient owes it, the Award Recipient hereby agrees to pay immediately the unpaid balance to the Company.
Section 4.3 The Award Recipient may be released from the Award Recipient’s obligations under Sections 4.1 and 4.2 above only if the CenturyTel Board of Directors determines in its sole discretion that such action is in the best interests of the Company.
Forfeiture of Awards The Restricted Stock Units granted hereunder (and gains earned or accrued in connection therewith) shall be subject to such generally applicable policies as to forfeiture and recoupment (including, without limitation, upon the occurrence of material financial or accounting errors, financial or other misconduct or Competitive Activity) as may be adopted by the Administrator or the Board from time to time and communicated to the Employee or as required by applicable law, and are otherwise subject to forfeiture or disgorgement of profits as provided by the Plan.
RSUs The Continuing Stock Units shall continue to vest in accordance with the terms of the Original RSU Award Documents, on the same basis as such stock units would have become vested if Executive had remained employed under this Agreement through the Scheduled Expiration Date. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all such Continuing Stock Units shall be subject to, and administered in accordance with, the Original RSU Award Documents. Any of Executive’s restricted stock unit awards that have not become vested on or before the Termination Date, and that are outstanding at the Termination Date, but which are not Continuing Stock Units, shall automatically terminate on the Termination Date. Notwithstanding any term or provision of the Original RSU Award Documents:
(A) any provisions in such Original RSU Award Documents relating to disability shall not be applicable to any such Continuing Stock Units after the Termination Date; and
(B) in the event of Executive’s death after the Termination Date but prior to the Scheduled Expiration Date, the terms and provisions of the Original RSU Award Documents shall be interpreted and applied in the same manner with respect to such Continuing Stock Units as if Executive were an active employee on the date of Executive’s death.
(C) to the extent that, under the Company’s compensation practices and policies, any tranche of Continuing Stock Units is subject to the achievement of performance conditions which were imposed solely because Executive was an executive officer of the Company who could have been a covered employee within the meaning of Section 162(m) at the time payment in respect of such award was expected to be made (the “Applicable 162(m) Criteria”) and such Applicable 162(m) Criteria relate, in whole or in part, to any performance period continuing after the end of the Company’s fiscal year in which the Termination Date occurs, such Applicable 162(m) Criteria shall be waived as of the Termination Date with respect to such tranche of the Continuing Stock Units; provided, however, that this Paragraph 5(d)(iii)(C) shall not be applicable if and to the extent, in the reasonable opinion of tax counsel to the Company, the presence of such provision would cause any stock units intended to be qualified as other performance based compensation within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code to fail to be so qualified at any time prior to Executive’s Termination Date.
Performance Shares Each Performance Share is a bookkeeping entry that records the equivalent of one Share. Upon the vesting of the Performance Shares as provided in Section 2, the vested Performance Shares will be settled as provided in Section 3.
Forfeiture of Restricted Stock In addition to the circumstance described in Section 9(a) hereof, any and all shares of Restricted Stock which have not become vested in accordance with Section 3, 4 or 5 hereof shall be forfeited and shall revert to the Company upon the termination by the Grantee, the Company or its subsidiaries of the Grantee’s employment for any reason other than those set forth in Section 4 or other than without “Cause” prior to the date on which such shares of Restricted Stock would otherwise vest. All or any portion of the Restricted Stock may be forfeited by the Grantee prior to vesting at his or her sole discretion.
Restricted Share Units Restricted Share Units means Restricted Share Units granted to Participant under the Plan subject to such terms and conditions as the Committee may determine at the time of issuance.
Performance Share Units The Committee may, in its discretion, grant to Executive performance share units subject to performance vesting conditions (collectively, the “Performance Units”), which shall be subject to restrictions on their sale as set forth in the Plan and an associated Performance Unit Grant Letter.
