Employment and Employee Benefits Matters (a) Parent shall, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation and each of its other Subsidiaries to, for the period commencing at the Effective Time and ending December 31, 2019, maintain for each individual employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries at the Effective Time (each, a “Current Employee”) (i) each of base compensation and a target annual cash incentive compensation opportunity at least as favorable as that provided to the Current Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, (ii) benefits that are at least as favorable as the benefits maintained for and provided to the Current Employee as of immediately prior to the Effective Time and (iii) severance benefits that are at least as favorable as the severance benefits provided by the Company to the Current Employees as of immediately prior to the Effective Time to the extent set forth in Section 4.13(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule.
(b) Parent shall, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation to, cause service rendered by Current Employees to the Company and its Subsidiaries, prior to the Effective Time to be taken into account for all purposes under employee benefit plans of Parent, the Surviving Corporation, and its Subsidiaries, to the same extent as such service was taken into account under the corresponding Company Plans immediately prior to the Effective Time for those purposes; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to the extent that its application would result in a duplication of benefits or the funding thereof with respect to the same period of service. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Parent shall not, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation to not, subject Current Employees to any eligibility requirements, waiting periods, actively-at-work requirements or pre-existing condition limitations under any employee benefit plan of Parent, the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries for any condition for which they would have been entitled to coverage under the corresponding Company Plan in which they participated prior to the Effective Time. Parent shall, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries, to give such Current Employees credit under such employee benefit plans for any eligible expenses incurred by such Current Employees and their covered dependents under a Company Plan during the portion of the 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 in respect of the plan year in which the Effective Time occurs; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to the extent that its application would result in a duplication of benefits or the funding thereof with respect to the same period of service.
(c) No provision of this Agreement (i) prohibits Parent or the Surviving Corporation from amending or terminating any individual Company Plan or any other employee benefit plan, (ii) confers upon any director, Current Employee or service provider of the Company or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof any right to continue in the employ or service of the Surviving Corporation, Parent or any Subsidiary or any Affiliate thereof for any period of time, or shall interfere with or restrict in any way the rights of the Surviving Corporation, Parent or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof to discharge or terminate the services of any director, employee or individual service provider of the Company or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof at any time for any reason whatsoever, with or without cause, or (iii) constitutes the establishment or adoption of, or amendment to, any Company Plan or employee benefit plan. No Current Employee or any other individual employed by, or providing services to, the Company or its Subsidiaries has any third-party beneficiary or other rights with respect to this Agreement.
Employee Benefit Plans; Employment Agreements Except in --------------------------------------------- each case as set forth in SCHEDULE 4.10, (i) there has been no "prohibited transaction," as such term is defined in Section 406 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1975, as amended ("ERISA") and Section 4975 of the Code, with respect to any employee pension plans (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA, any material employee welfare plans (as defined in Section 3(1) of ERISA), or any material bonus, stock option, stock purchase, incentive, deferred compensation, supplemental retirement, severance and other similar fringe or employee benefit plans, programs or arrangements (collectively, the "COMPANY EMPLOYEE PLANS") which could result in any liability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (ii) all Company Employee Plans are in compliance in all material respects with the requirements prescribed by any and all Laws (including ERISA and the Code), currently in effect with respect thereto (including all applicable requirements for notification to participants or the Department of Labor, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the "PBGC"), Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") or Secretary of the Treasury), and the Company 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 material default or violation by any other party to, any of the Company Employee Plans; (iii) each Company 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; (iv) all contributions required to be made to any Company Employee Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the Code, or the terms of any Company Employee Plan or any collective bargaining agreement, have been made on or before their due dates; (v) with respect to each Company 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) nor any event described in Section 4062, 4063 or 4041 of ERISA has occurred; (vi) no withdrawal (including a partial withdrawal) has occurred with respect to any multiemployer plan within the meaning set forth in Section 3(37) of ERISA that has resulted in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, any withdrawal liability for the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (vii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than liability for premium payments to the PBGC, and contributions not in default to the respective plans, arising in the ordinary course), (viii) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any employment, consulting or similar agreement; and (ix) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or will be liable for any severance or other payments to any of its employees as a result of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
Compensation and Employee Benefits SECTION 13.01.
Employees and Employee Benefits (a) Prior to the Closing Date, Buyer shall determine in its sole discretion which Business Employees, if any, to offer employment, and shall set initial terms and conditions of employment for any such employees to whom it offers employment, including wages, benefits, job duties and responsibilities, and work assignments. Only Business Employees who are offered and accept such offers of employment, and actually commence employment with Buyer based upon the initial terms and conditions set by Buyer, shall become “Buyer Employees” after the Closing Date. Seller shall make available for interviews the Business Employees if so requested by Buyer to facilitate Buyer’s right to offer employment to such employees in its sole discretion pursuant to this Section 6.03(a). Buyer shall be responsible for any liability, obligation or commitment arising out of or relating to the (i) employment (including the application for or termination of employment) of any Buyer Employee by Buyer arising after the Closing Date pursuant to the terms and conditions of employment set by Buyer, and (ii) the provision of services by any other Person to Buyer after the Closing Date.
(b) Seller shall terminate, or shall cause to be terminated, on or prior to the Closing Date the employment and service of all Business Employees (which shall include releasing such Business Employees from any obligations to Seller or its Affiliates following the Closing Date incurred or that arose in connection with such employment or service, including confidentiality, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements) who are offered and accept offers of employment with Buyer pursuant to this Section 6.03. For the avoidance of doubt, (i) Buyer shall not be obligated to provide any severance, separation pay, final wage payments, or other payment or benefits to any Business Employee on account of any termination of such Business Employee’s employment on or before the Closing Date, and (ii) Seller acknowledges and agrees that any and all liabilities, obligations or commitments of Seller to pay any employee or former employee of Seller (including the Buyer Employees) for any salary, bonus, commission, vacation pay, severance, separation, key employee retention payments, or other compensation earned or accrued on or prior to the Closing Date, shall be an Excluded Liability and be borne solely by Seller.
(c) Seller shall have full responsibility under the WARN Act or any other labor or employment Law relating to any obligation, act, or omission of Seller prior to or on the Closing Date with respect to the Business Employees including, without limitation, any Liabilities that result from the Business Employees’ separation of employment from Seller or Business Employees not becoming Buyer Employees.
(d) With respect to any employee benefit plan maintained by Buyer or an Affiliate of Buyer for the benefit of any Buyer Employee (collectively, “Buyer Benefit Plans”), effective as of the Closing, Buyer shall, or shall cause its Affiliate to, recognize, to the extent permitted under applicable Law, all service of the Buyer Employees with Seller, as if such service were with Buyer, for purposes of any applicable Buyer Benefit Plan; provided, however, such service shall not be recognized to the extent that (x) such recognition would result in a duplication of benefits or (y) such service was not recognized under the corresponding Benefit Plan. Further, with respect to each Buyer Benefit Plan, in which any Buyer Employee will be eligible to participate effective as of the Closing, Buyer shall, or shall cause its applicable Affiliate(s) to, (i) waive, to the extent permitted under applicable Law, all pre-existing conditions, exclusions and waiting periods with respect to participation and coverage requirements applicable to such Buyer Employee under any such Buyer Benefit Plan in which such Buyer Employee may be eligible to participate on or after the Closing, except to the extent such pre-existing conditions, exclusions or waiting periods would apply under the analogous Benefit Plan; and (ii) to the extent permitted under applicable Law, provide each such Buyer Employee with credit for any payments made under any cost-sharing provisions prior to the Closing (to the same extent such credit was given under the analogous Benefit Plan prior to the Closing) in satisfying any applicable cost-sharing provisions in any Buyer Benefit Plan in which such Buyer Employee may be eligible to participate on or after the Closing.
(e) Effective as of the Closing Date, the Buyer Employees shall cease active participation in the Benefit Plans. Seller shall remain liable for all eligible claims for benefits under the Benefit Plans that are incurred by the Business Employees on or prior to the Closing Date. For purposes of this Agreement, the following claims shall be deemed to be incurred as follows: (i) life, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and workers’ compensation insurance benefits, on the event giving rise to such benefits; (ii) medical, vision, dental, and prescription drug benefits, on the date the applicable services, materials or supplies were provided; and (iii) long-term disability benefits, on the eligibility date determined by the long-term disability insurance carrier for the plan in which the applicable Business Employee participates.
(f) Buyer and Seller intend that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement should not constitute a separation, termination or severance of employment of any Business Employee who accepts an employment offer by Buyer that is consistent with the requirements of Section 6.03(b), including for purposes of any Benefit Plan that provides for separation, termination or severance benefits (if any). Each Buyer Employee shall resign from Seller and accept employment with Buyer at the same time resulting in no period of unemployment. Buyer shall be liable and hold Seller harmless for any claims relating to the employment of any Buyer Employee only to the extent such claims relate to activity occurring after the Closing Date.
(g) This Section 6.03 shall be binding upon and inure solely to the benefit of each of the parties to this Agreement, and nothing in this Section 6.03, express or implied, shall confer upon any other Person any rights or remedies of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Section 6.03. Nothing contained herein, express or implied, shall be construed to establish, amend or modify any benefit plan, program, agreement or arrangement. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that the terms set forth in this Section 6.03 shall not create any right in any Business Employee, Buyer Employee or any other Person to any continued employment with Buyer or any of its Affiliates or compensation or benefits of any nature or kind whatsoever.
(h) Seller shall follow the “standard procedure” for preparing and filing Internal Revenue Service Forms W-2 (Wage and Tax Statements), as described in Revenue Procedure 2004-53 for Buyer Employees. Under this procedure, (i) Seller shall provide all required Forms W-2 to (x) all Buyer Employees reflecting wages paid and Taxes withheld by Seller in respect of such Buyer Employees’ employment with Seller through the Closing Date, and (y) all other employees and former employees of Seller who are not Buyer Employees reflecting all wages paid and taxes withheld by Seller, and (ii) Buyer (or one of its Affiliates) shall provide all required Forms W-2 to all Buyer Employees reflecting all wages paid and taxes withheld by Buyer (or one of its Affiliates) after the Closing Date.
Employees and Employee Benefit Plans (a) Section 4.17 of the Company Disclosure Schedule contains a correct and complete list identifying each material “employee benefit plan,” as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA, each material employment contract, material severance contract or plan and each other material plan or agreement providing for compensation, bonuses, profit-sharing, equity compensation or other forms of incentive or deferred compensation, insurance (including any self-insured arrangements), health or medical benefits, post-employment or retirement benefits (including compensation, pension, health, medical or life insurance benefits) which is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate and covers any current or former employee, director or other independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or with respect to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has any liability, other than a Multiemployer Plan or a Company International Plan. As soon as reasonably practicable after the date hereof, but in no event more than 60 days after the date hereof, copies of such plans and any material Company International Plan and Multiemployer Plan (and, if applicable, related trust or funding agreements or insurance policies) and all amendments thereto and written interpretations thereof will be furnished to Parent together with the most recent annual report (Form 5500 including, if applicable, Schedule B thereto) and tax return (Form 990) prepared in connection with any such plan or trust and the most recent Internal Revenue Service determination letter for any such plan, to the extent applicable. Such plans (disregarding all materiality qualifiers in this Section 4.17(a)), including Company International Plans but not any Multiemployer Plan, are referred to collectively herein as the “Company Plans.”
(b) No Company Plan (for the avoidance of doubt, other than any Multiemployer Plan) that is subject to Title IV of ERISA (each, a “Title IV Plan”) has any unfunded liabilities as of the date of this Agreement. The aggregate underfunded or unfunded, as applicable, liability for all Company Plans that are “excess benefit plans” (as defined in Section 3(36) of ERISA) or that provide deferred compensation (including, for this purpose, any analogous Company International Plans), computed using the actuarial assumptions used for the purposes of determining any liability under such Company Plan for purposes of the Company SEC Documents, is not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(c) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates has incurred any liability on account of a “complete withdrawal” or a “partial withdrawal” (within the meaning of Sections 4203 and 4205 of ERISA, respectively) from any “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA (a “Multiemployer Plan”) and, to the Company’s knowledge, no circumstances exist that would reasonably be expected to give rise to any such withdrawal (including as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement). Neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates has received notice of any Multiemployer Plan’s (i) failure to satisfy the minimum funding requirements of Section 412 of the Code or application for or receipt of a waiver of such minimum funding requirements, (ii) “endangered status” or “critical status” (within the meaning of Section 432 of the Code) or (iii) insolvency, “reorganization” (within the meaning of Section 4241 of ERISA) or proposed or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened termination. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, all contributions, surcharges and premium payments owed by the Company and its ERISA Affiliates with respect to each Multiemployer Plan have been paid when due.
(d) Each Company Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter. Each Company Plan (for the avoidance of doubt, other than a Multiemployer Plan) has been established and operated in compliance with its terms and with all Applicable Laws, including ERISA and the Code, except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(e) Except as disclosed in Section 4.17(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not (either alone or together with any other event) entitle any employee, director or other independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to severance pay or accelerate the time of payment or vesting or trigger any payment or funding (through a grantor trust or otherwise) of material compensation or benefits under, increase the amount payable or trigger any other material obligation pursuant to, any Company Plan. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any obligation to gross-up, indemnify or otherwise reimburse any current or former employee, director or other independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for any Tax incurred by such individual, including under Section 409A or 4999 of the Code.
(f) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any liability in respect of post-retirement health, medical or life insurance benefits for retired, former or current employees, directors or other independent contractors of the Company or its Subsidiaries except as required to avoid excise tax under Section 4980B of the Code.
(g) There has been no amendment to, written interpretation or announcement (whether or not written) by the Company or any of its Affiliates relating to, or change in participation or coverage under, a Company Plan which would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(h) There is no action, suit, investigation, audit or proceeding pending against or involving or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or involving, any Company Plan before any Governmental Authority, except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(i) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, each Company Plan that covers former or current employees, directors or other independent contractors of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries who are located primarily outside of the United States (a “Company International Plan”) (i) if intended to qualify for special tax treatment, meets all the requirements for such treatment, and (ii) 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. From and after the Effective Time, Parent and its Subsidiaries will receive the full benefit of any funds, accruals and reserves under the Company International Plans.
(j) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, no Person has been treated as an independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for tax purposes, or for purposes of exclusion from any Company Plan, who should have been treated as an employee for such purposes.
(k) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, (i) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has breached or otherwise failed to comply with the provisions of any Collective Bargaining Agreement and there are no grievances or arbitrations outstanding thereunder, and (ii) there are no formal organizational campaigns, corporate campaigns, petitions, demands for recognition via card-check or, to the knowledge of the Company, other unionization activities seeking recognition of a bargaining unit at the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, there are no unfair labor practice charges, grievances, pending arbitrations or other complaints or union representation questions before the National Labor Relations Board or other labor board of Governmental Authority that would reasonably be expected to affect the employees of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(l) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, there are no current or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened strikes, slowdowns or work stoppages, and no such strike, slowdown or work stoppage has occurred within the three years preceding the date hereof.
Compensation; Employment Agreements; Etc Enter into or amend or renew any employment, consulting, severance or similar agreements or arrangements with any director, officer or employee of Metropolitan or its Subsidiaries, or grant any salary or wage increase or increase any employee benefit (including incentive or bonus payments), except (i) for normal individual increases in compensation to employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) for other changes that are required by applicable law, and (iii) to satisfy Previously Disclosed contractual obligations existing as of the date hereof.
Incentive, Savings and Retirement Plans During the Employment Period, the Executive shall be entitled to participate in all incentive, savings and retirement plans, practices, policies and programs applicable generally to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated companies, but in no event shall such plans, practices, policies and programs provide the Executive with incentive opportunities (measured with respect to both regular and special incentive opportunities, to the extent, if any, that such distinction is applicable), savings opportunities and retirement benefit opportunities, in each case, less favorable, in the aggregate, than the most favorable of those provided by the Company and its affiliated companies for the Executive under such plans, practices, policies and programs as in effect at any time during the 120-day period immediately preceding the Effective Date or if more favorable to the Executive, those provided generally at any time after the Effective Date to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated companies.
Prior Employment Agreements The Executive represents that he/she has not executed any agreement with any previous employer which may impose restrictions on Executive’s employment with the Employer.
Pension and Employee Benefits (a) Each of the Company, each Subsidiary and the Joint Venture has complied in all material respects with all the terms of, and all applicable laws in respect of, the pension and other employee compensation and benefit obligations of the Company, the Subsidiary or Joint Venture, as the case may be, including the terms of any funding and investment contracts or obligations applicable thereto, arising under or relating to each of the pension or retirement income plans or other employee compensation or benefit plans, agreements, policies, programs, arrangements or practices, whether written or oral, which are maintained by or binding upon the Company, any Subsidiary or the Joint Venture (collectively referred to as the “Benefit Plans”) and all Benefit Plans are, as of the last actuarial valuation for same, fully funded and in good standing with such regulatory authorities as may be applicable.
(b) No step has been taken, no event has occurred and no condition or circumstance exists that has resulted in or could reasonably be expected to result in any Benefit Plan being ordered or required to be terminated or wound up in whole or in part or having its registration under applicable legislation refused or revoked, or being placed under the administration of any trustee or receiver or regulatory authority or being required to pay any material taxes, fees, penalties or levies under applicable laws. There are no actions, suits, claims (other than routine claims for payment of benefits in the ordinary course), trials, demands, investigations, arbitrations or other proceedings which are pending or threatened in respect of any of the Benefit Plans or their assets which would have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(c) None of the Company, any Subsidiary or the Joint Venture has any pension or retirement income plans, and have not made any agreements or promises with respect to same.
(d) None of the Company, any Subsidiary or the Joint Venture has any stock option plan or similar arrangement other than the Stock Option Plan. The Company Disclosure Statement sets forth a complete, up-to-date and accurate list of all optionholders under the Stock Option Plan, together with the number of Options granted, the exercise price, vesting provisions and the expiry date thereof.
Incentive Plans During the Term of this Agreement, Executive shall be entitled to participate in all bonus, incentive compensation and performance based compensation plans, and other similar policies, practices, programs and arrangements of the Company, now in effect or as hereafter amended or established, on a basis that is commensurate with his position and no less favorable than those generally applicable or made available to other executives of the Company. The Executive's participation shall be in accordance with the terms and provisions of such plans and programs. Participation shall include, but not be limited to:
