Non-Solicitation and Non-Compete The Executive agrees that:
(i) except as agreed by the Board, during the term hereof, the Executive will not, directly or indirectly, either as a principal, agent, employee, employer, stockholder, co-partner or in any other capacity whatsoever, engage in any outside activity, whether or not competitive with the business of the Company, that could foreseeably give rise to a conflict of interest or otherwise interfere with his duties and obligations to the Company;
(ii) during the term hereof and for twelve (12) months after the term, the Executive will not, directly or indirectly, either as a principal, agent, employee, employer, stockholder, co-partner or in any other capacity whatsoever, solicit, hire or attempt to hire, or assist others in soliciting, hiring or attempting to hire, any individual employed by the Company at any time while the Executive was also so employed, or encourage any such individual to terminate his or her relationship with the Company; provided, however, that nothing in this Section 6(g) shall be deemed to prohibit Executive from: (A) making general solicitations of employment published in newspapers, trade journals or other publications of general circulation; or (B) employing individuals who have terminated their employment with the Company;
(iii) during the term hereof and for twelve (12) months after the term, the Executive will not, directly or indirectly, either as a principal, agent, employee, employer, stockholder, co-partner or in any other capacity whatsoever, engage in or undertake any planning for any activity which is competitive with the business of the Company, as conducted or under consideration at any time during his employment by the Company; provided that (A) an ownership interest by Executive of one percent (1%) or less in any outstanding equity securities of any company which is competitive with the business of the Company whose equity securities are listed on a national securities exchange, national or capital markets or traded in the over-the-counter bulletin board or (B) Executive’s employment by or otherwise association with a business or entity of which a subsidiary, division, segment, unit, etc. is in material direct competition with the Company or any parent corporation or subsidiary of the Company but as to which such subsidiary, division, segment, unit, etc. the Executive has no direct or indirect responsibility or involvement, so long as the Executive does not breach the confidentiality obligations hereunder, shall not be prohibited and shall not constitute activity which is competitive with the business of the Company.
Non-Solicitation and Non-Competition Executive and the Company agree that the Company would suffer irreparable harm and incur substantial damage if Executive were to enter into Competition (as defined herein) with the Company. Therefore, in order for the Company to protect its legitimate business interests, Executive agrees as follows:
(i) Without the prior written consent of the Company, Executive shall not, during the period of employment with the Company, directly or indirectly, invest or engage in any business that is Competitive (as defined herein) with the Business of the Company or accept employment or render services to a Competitor (as defined herein) of the Company as a director, officer, agent, employee or consultant or solicit or attempt to solicit or accept business that is Competitive with the Business of the Company, except that Executive may own up to five percent (5%) of any outstanding class of securities of any company registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; provided, however, the Company acknowledges that Executive currently engages in a number of activities set forth on Exhibit B as long as such permitted activities do not have a material adverse effect on the Executive’s performance or this Agreement.
(ii) Without the prior written consent of the Company and upon any termination of Executive’s employment with the Company and for a period of twelve (12) months thereafter, Executive shall not, either directly or indirectly, (x) invest or engage in any business that is Competitive (as defined herein) with the Business of the Company, except that Executive may own up to five percent (5%) of any outstanding class of securities of any company registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (y) accept employment with or render services to a Competitor of the Company as a director, officer, agent, employee or consultant unless he is serving in a capacity that has no relationship to that portion of the Competitor’s business that is Competitive with the Business of the Company, or (z) solicit, attempt to solicit or accept business Competitive with the Business of the Company from any of the customers of the Company at the time of his termination or within twelve (12) months prior thereto or from any person or entity whose business the Company was soliciting at such time.
(iii) Upon termination of his employment with the Company, and for a period of twelve (12) months thereafter, Executive shall not, either directly or indirectly, engage, hire, employ or solicit in any manner whatsoever the employment of an employee of the Company.
(iv) For purposes of this Agreement, a business or activity is in “Competition” or “Competitive” with the Business of the Company if it involves, and a person or entity is a “Competitor”, if that person or entity is engaged in, or about to become engaged in, the research, development, design, manufacturing, marketing or selling of a specific product or technology that resembles, competes, or is designed to compete, with, or has applications similar to any product or technology for which the Company has obtained or applied for a patent or made disclosures, or any product or technology involving any other proprietary research or development engaged in or conducted by the Company during the Term of Executive’s employment with the Company.
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Because of the nature of the Company’s Business, and because, as a result of his employment with the Company, the Executive has been and will continue to be exposed to Confidential Information, the Executive acknowledges that the Company would sustain grievous harm in the event that he were to disclose Confidential Information, engage in business activities that compete with the Business, appropriate or divert business or customers of the Company or its affiliates and/or induce employees or consultants of the Company or its affiliates to leave the employment of the Company or its affiliates. The Executive acknowledges that the Company has a legitimate business interest in protecting itself from the aforementioned harm and in the protection and maintenance of the Confidential Information and of the good will and customer relationships of the Company and its affiliates. Therefore, the Executive hereby agrees and covenants to be bound by the non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions set forth herein below, which restrictions the Executive agrees and acknowledges are reasonable and necessary and do not impose undue hardship or burdens on the Executive.
a. The Executive agrees that, during his employment with the Company and for a period of three (3) years following the termination of his employment with the Company, he and his affiliates shall not directly or indirectly own, manage, operate, control, be employed by, consult for, be a shareholder of, be an officer of, participate in, contract with or be connected in any capacity or any manner with any person or entity whose business activities directly or indirectly (whether through related persons, entities or otherwise) compete with the Business anywhere in the United States, Canada and the People’s Republic of China, where the Company or its affiliates is engaged in the Business, PROVIDED HOWEVER, that the Executive shall not be prevented from owning an interest in a publicly traded company so long as the fair market value of such interest at the date of acquisition is less than US$100,000.
b. The Executive agrees that during the period of his employment with the Company and for a period of three (3) years following the termination of his employment with the Company, for any reason, he will not, within the United States, Canada and the People’s Republic of China, where the Company or its affiliates is engaged in the Business, directly or indirectly recruit, induce, divert, supervise, employ, manage, hire or entice, or cause to be recruited, induced, diverted, supervised, employed, managed, hired or enticed, any employee, consultant or independent contractor of the Company or its affiliates to leave or terminate the employment or other relationship thereof, for any reason.
c. The Executive agrees that during the period of his employment with the Company and for a period of three (3) years following the termination of his employment with the Company, he will not, within the United States, Canada and the People’s Republic of China, where the Company or its affiliates is engaged in the Business, directly or indirectly appropriate, call on, induce, divert or solicit, or assist another to appropriate, call on, induce, divert or solicit any actual or potential business or customer away from the Company or its affiliates, or attempt to do any of the foregoing, or otherwise induce or attempt to induce any actual or potential business or customer of the Company or its affiliates, to terminate or adversely modify its relationship with the Company or its affiliates, or to enter into a relationship with or conduct business with the Company or its affiliates, which actual or potential business or customer the Executive was involved with or had a relationship with or whose identity became known to the Executive in connection with the Executive’s employment with the Company.
d. If any of the restrictive covenants set forth in paragraphs 12(a), (b) and (c) of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable (in whole or in part), such restrictive covenant shall be deemed modified to the extent, but only to the extent, of such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability, and a court of competent jurisdiction shall have the power to modify, any such restrictive covenant to the extent necessary to render such provision enforceable, and the remaining restrictive covenant shall not be affected thereby.
e. In the event of a violation of any of the restrictive covenants set forth in paragraphs 12(a), (b) and (c) of this Agreement, if the Executive is prevented by a court or arbitrator from committing any further violation, whether by a temporary restraining order, injunction or otherwise, the time periods set forth in paragraphs 12(a), (b) and (c) of this Agreement shall be computed by commencing the periods on the date of the applicable court or arbitrators’ order and continuing them from that date for the full period provided.
f. The Executive shall have the right to request a waiver of all or part of the restrictive covenants contained in paragraphs 12(a), (b) and (c) of this Agreement by providing the Company with a written request for such a waiver that contains all relevant details. The Company may, in its sole discretion, waive all or part of the restrictive covenants contained in paragraphs 12(a), (b) and (c) of this Agreement on such terms and conditions, and to such extent, as it, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate. Such waiver must be in writing.
g. The parties acknowledge that this Agreement would not have been entered into, that the benefits described in paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 would not have been promised to the Executive by the Company, in the absence of the Executive’s covenants and promises set forth in paragraphs 12(a), (b) and (c) of this Agreement.
Non-Solicitation of Company Employees Executive shall not, at any time during the Restricted Period (as defined below), without the prior written consent of the Company, engage in the following conduct (a "Solicitation"):
(i) directly or indirectly, contact, solicit, recruit or employ (whether as an employee, officer, director, agent, consultant or independent contractor) any person who was or is at any time during the previous six months an employee, representative, officer or director of the Company; or
(ii) take any action to encourage or induce any employee, representative, officer or director of the Company to cease his or her relationship with the Company for any reason. A "Solicitation" does not include any recruitment of employees for the Company.
Non-Solicitation of Employees During employment and for a period of twelve (12) months after termination, Executive agrees not to hire, employ, solicit, divert, recruit, or attempt to induce, directly or indirectly, any existing or future employee of the Company to leave their position with the Company or to become associated with a competing business.
Confidentiality, Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Employee agrees, as a condition to Employee’s employment with the Company, to execute the Company’s standard form of Employee Non-Disclosure, Invention Release and Non-Competition Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A.
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreement Without the prior written consent of the Company, Employee shall not, during the term of this Agreement, or for a two (2) year period of time following the date of termination of this Agreement or the termination of Employee's employment with the Company:
a. Solicit business from, attempt to do business with, or do business with any customer of the Company which either: (1) Employee initially called on, initially serviced, initially did business with or had initial contact with during his/her employment at the Company; or (2) Employee became initially acquainted with or received Confidential Information regarding as a result of his/her employment at the Company. This restriction applies only to businesses that are within the scope of services or products provided by the Company.
b. Induce, solicit or attempt to solicit or induce any employee of the Company (or any affiliate of the Company) to leave their employment with the Company and/or accept employment elsewhere.
Employee Non-Solicitation During the term of Executive's employment with the Company and for one (1) year thereafter, Executive shall not directly or indirectly encourage any Company employee to terminate his employment with the Company unless Executive does so in the course of performing his duties for the Company and such encouragement is in the Company's best interests. For purposes of this Article VII, the term “Company” means Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. and its parent companies, subsidiaries and other affiliates.
Non Competition Non Solicitation and Confidentiality As a condition to the receipt of this Award, you must agree to the Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A by executing that Agreement. Failure to execute and return the Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreement within 120 days of the Grant Date shall constitute your decision to decline to accept this Award.
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Covenants a. The Executive acknowledges that i) he will be employed as a high-level employee in an executive and managerial capacity; ii) his employment with the Company gives him access to confidential and proprietary information concerning the Company; iii) his prior employment with South West gave him access to confidential and proprietary information concerning South West; iv) the agreements and covenants contained in this Section 6 (the "Covenants") are essential to protect the business of the Company and to protect the Company's investment in South West; and v) the Executive is to receive consideration pursuant to this Agreement and the Merger Agreement.
b. During the period of the Executive's employment, the Executive agrees that he will not, on behalf of anyone other than the Company, engage in any managerial, executive, sales, or marketing activities related to any business in which the Company is or becomes engaged during the Executive's employment. The Executive acknowledges the competitive nature of the business and the extensive geographic markets served by the Company. The Executive acknowledges that because of his position with the Company his duties will require him to perform, supervise, or assist in performing work throughout the markets served by the Company. The Executive further acknowledges that because of his position with the Company and the broad scope of his duties, he will be in a position to cause substantial harm to the Company were he to compete in the business of the Company or any other business in which the Company is or becomes engaged during Executive's employment in the Company's markets. Given the broad scope of Executive's duties, he acknowledges that the geographic scope of the covenants in this paragraph shall be limited to the continental United States.
c. Should the Executive (i) be terminated with or without cause following the first 90 days of this Agreement, or (ii) resign from his employment or otherwise terminate this Agreement at any time, he agrees that for a twelve (12) month period following the termination of his employment with the Company, the Executive shall not hire or solicit any employee of the Company employed at the time of his termination, or encourage any such employee to leave such employment.
d. If the Executive commits a material breach of, the Covenants, the Company shall have the rights and remedy (in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other rights and remedies available to the Company at law or in equity) to seek injunctive relief, including permanent injunctions; (ii) to have the Covenants specifically enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction (it being agreed that any breach or threatened breach of the Covenants would cause irreparable injury to the Company and that money damages would not provide an adequate remedy to the Company; and (iii) to cease any severance payments or benefits which the Executive or his eligible dependents may otherwise be due.
e. The Executive agrees that the Covenants are necessary for the reasonable and proper protection of the Company and that the Covenants are reasonable in respect of subject matter, length of time, and geographic scope. The Executive further acknowledges that the Covenants will not unreasonably restrict him from earning a livelihood following the termination of his employment with the Company.
f. If any court of competent jurisdiction determines that the Covenants, or any part thereof, are invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of the Covenants shall not thereby be affected and shall be given full effect, without regard to the invalid portions. In such event, the court shall have the power (and the parties hereto request the court) to reduce or modify the duration or scope, or any other unenforceable aspect of such provision, as the case may be, and, in its reduced or modified form, enforce such provision to the maximum extent permissible.
g. The provisions of this Section 6 so far as they relate to the period after the end of the term of this Agreement shall continue to have effect and shall operate as a separate agreement between the Company and the Executive; provided, however, that the provisions of Section 6 (b) shall terminate.
