Severance Package If the Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company pursuant to subsection 8.2 or if the Executive resigns pursuant to subsection 8.3.2, the Executive shall be entitled to receive:
(a) (i) a severance payment equivalent to one and a half (1.5) times the sum of the Base Salary then in effect on the date of termination; and (ii) payments by the Company of the premiums required to continue the Executive’s group health care coverage for one (1) year, under the applicable provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”), provided that the Executive elects to continue and remains eligible for these benefits under COBRA, and does not become eligible for health coverage through another employer during this period, and provided, further, however, that the Executive’s continued participation is permissible under the terms and provisions of such plans and programs, and the Company’s payment of COBRA premiums does not violate the nondiscrimination rules of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Subject to the separation agreement, as described in subsection 8.2.2 below, becoming effective and irrevocable in accordance with its terms, commencing on the first payroll date next following or coincident with the 60th day following the termination of employment, (i) the severance payments will be paid in substantially equal installments in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll practices over a period of twelve (12) consecutive months, and (ii) COBRA payments will be paid in installments in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll practices over a period of twelve (12) consecutive months provided that at the first payment date next following or coincident with the 60th day following the termination of employment, the Executive shall receive COBRA payments relating to such 60 day period (or longer, as the case may be) that elapsed since the termination of employment; and
(b) outplacement services by qualified consultants selected by the Company, at the Company’s expense, in an amount not to exceed $10,000. The expenses for outplacement services shall be paid by the Company directly to the entity providing such services to the Executive promptly following the Company’s receipt of appropriate invoices documenting such expenses. All outstanding equity awards shall be treated in accordance with the documentation governing such awards.
Severance Benefits In addition, if a Change in Control Severance Payment Event (as defined below) occurs, then the Company shall pay to Employee the Accrued Payments, and contingent upon Employee satisfying the Severance Conditions, the Company shall also provide Employee the following payments and other benefits (the “Change in Control Severance Package”):
(i) Payment of an amount equal to 2.0 times the sum of (i) Employee’s annual rate of Base Salary as of the Termination Date or as of the date of the Change in Control, whichever is greater, plus (ii) Employee’s Target STI Payment, calculated based on Employee’s Base Salary as of the Termination Date or, if greater, as of the date of the Change in Control, payable to Employee on the 30th day following the Termination Date in a lump sum payment; plus
(ii) Payment of a Pro-Rata Bonus for the calendar year of termination, payable as soon as administratively feasible following preparation of the Company’s audited financial statements for the applicable calendar year, but in no event later than March 31 (or earlier than January 1) of the calendar year following the calendar year to which such STI Payment relates; and
(iii) The Company shall pay or reimburse on a monthly basis the premiums required to continue Employee’s group health care coverage for a period of eighteen (18) months following Employee’s Termination Date, under the applicable provisions of COBRA, provided that Employee or his dependents, as applicable, elect to continue and remain eligible for these benefits under COBRA. If necessary to avoid inclusion in taxable income by Employee of the value of in-kind benefits, such health care continuation premiums shall be provided in the form of taxable payments to Employee, which payments shall be made without regard to whether Employee elects to continue and remain eligible for such benefits under COBRA, and in which event Company shall pay to Employee, with each monthly reimbursement, an additional amount of cash equal to A/(1-R)-A, where A is the amount of the reimbursement for the month, and R is the sum of the maximum federal individual income tax rate then applicable to ordinary income and the maximum individual Colorado income tax rate then applicable to ordinary income;
(iv) Provided, however, that the sum of (i) and (ii) above shall be reduced, but not below zero, by the sum of any actually benefits provided to Employee pursuant to Section 5(a)(i), (ii), or (iii) and any payments otherwise required pursuant to Section 5(a)(i), (ii), and (iii) shall not be made. Nothing in this Section 6 shall relieve the Company or any successor-in-interest thereof of its obligation to continue, following any Change in Control, to provide Employee with the compensation due pursuant to Section 3 of this Agreement or to otherwise comply with its obligations hereunder in the event Employee’s service continues pursuant to this Agreement following the occurrence of such Change in Control.
Severance Payments 5.1 The Company shall pay the Executive the payments described in this Section 5.1 ("Severance Payments") upon the termination of the Executive's employment following a Change in Control during the term of this Agreement, including the Executive's termination of employment for Good Reason, unless such termination is (a) by the Company for Cause, or (b) by reason of the Executive's Death or Disability. The Executive's employment shall be deemed to have been terminated following a Change in Control by the Company without Cause if the Executive's employment is terminated prior to a Change in Control without Cause at the direction (or action which constitutes a direction) of a Person who has entered into an agreement with the Company the consummation of which will constitute a Change in Control.
(i) Within three (3) business days after the Date of Termination, the Company shall make a lump sum or monthly, at the Executive's option, cash severance payment to the Executive in an amount equal to: (x) the Executive's annual base salary in effect immediately prior to the occurrence of the event or circumstance upon which the Notice of Termination is based or in effect immediately prior to the Change in Control; and (y) a pro-rated portion of Executive's Targeted Annual Bonus for the fiscal year in which the Date of Termination occurs.
(ii) For a twelve (12) month period after the Date of Termination, the Company shall arrange to provide the Executive with medical and dental insurance benefits substantially similar to those that the Executive is receiving immediately prior to the Notice of Termination. Benefits otherwise receivable by the Executive pursuant to this Section 5.1(ii) shall be reduced to the extent comparable benefits are actually received by or made available to the Executive without cost during the twelve (12) month period following the Executive's termination of employment (and any such benefits actually received by the Executive shall be reported to the Company by the Executive).
5.2 The Company also shall pay to the Executive all legal fees and expenses incurred by the Executive in disputing the non-payment of Severance Payments in connection with a termination which entitles the Executive to Severance Payments. Such payments shall be made within five (5) business days after delivery of the Executive's written request for payment accompanied with such evidence of fees and expenses incurred as the Company reasonably may require.
Severance Pay Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 62 (Severance Pay) of this Agreement, where the period of continuous employment in respect of which severance benefit is to be paid consists of both full and part-time employment or varying levels of part-time employment, the benefit shall be calculated as follows: the period of continuous employment eligible for severance pay shall be established and the part-time portions shall be consolidated to equivalent full-time. The equivalent full-time period in years shall be multiplied by the full-time weekly pay rate for the appropriate group and level to produce the severance pay benefit.
Change of Control Severance Benefits (a) If during the Change of Control Period Cascade shall terminate Executive’s employment other than for Cause, or Executive shall terminate employment with Cascade for Good Reason, Cascade shall: (i) pay Executive (or in the event of Executive’s subsequent death, Executive’s beneficiary or estate, as the case may be), as severance pay, a sum equal to two (2) times the salary and bonus paid by Cascade to Executive during the twelve (12) month period ending on the last day of the month preceding the effective date of a Change of Control (excluding any gains resulting from exercise of stock options or vesting of restricted stock awards or other similar forms of stock compensation); (ii) cause to be continued for twenty-four (24) months after the effective date of a Change of Control, life, medical, dental, and disability coverage substantially identical to the coverage maintained by Cascade for Executive prior to the effective date of a Change of Control, except to the extent such coverage may be changed in its application to all Cascade employees on a nondiscriminatory basis; and (iii) accelerate any unvested stock-based compensation so any such stock-based compensation shall be 100% vested and immediately exercisable in full as of the date of such termination. Payments due under (i) above shall be paid to Executive in a lump sum no sooner than six (6) months after the date of Executive’s termination.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1(a) above, if a payment to Executive who is a “disqualified individual” shall be in an amount which includes an “excess parachute payment,” the payment hereunder to Executive shall be reduced to the maximum amount which does not include an “excess parachute payment.” The terms “disqualified individual” and “excess parachute payment” shall have the meaning defined in Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(c) Executive shall not be required to mitigate the amount of any payment or benefit provided for in Section 1(a) of this Agreement by seeking other employment or otherwise, nor shall the amount of any payment or benefit provided for in Section 1(a) of this Agreement be reduced by any compensation earned or benefit received by Executive as the result of employment by another employer. This Agreement shall not be construed as a contract of employment or as providing Executive any right to be retained in the employ of Cascade or any affiliate thereof.
(d) Prior to Executive’s gaining the right to receive, and in exchange for, the severance compensation, benefits and option acceleration provided in Section 3(a), above, to which Executive would not otherwise be entitled, Executive shall first enter into and execute a release substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Release”) upon Executive’s termination of employment. Unless the Release is executed by Executive and delivered to Cascade within twenty-one (21) days after the termination of Executive’s employment with Cascade, Executive shall not receive any severance benefits provided under this Agreement, acceleration, if any, of Executive’s equity grants/benefits as provided in this Agreement shall not apply and Executive’s equity grants/benefits in such event may be exercised following the date of Executive’s termination only to the extent provided under their originals terms in accordance with the applicable equity plans and agreements.
Severance Pay and Benefits Upon Termination by the Company without Cause or by the Executive for
Separation Benefits If this Agreement is terminated either by the Company without Cause in accordance with Section 6(c) (including the Company’s non-renewal of this Agreement) or by Employee resigning his employment for Good Reason in accordance with Section 6(d), the Company shall have no further obligation to Employee under this Agreement, except the Company shall provide the Accrued Obligations to Employee in accordance with Section 7(a) plus the following payments and benefits (collectively, the “Separation Benefits”) to Employee: (i) an amount equal to one times the sum of the Base Salary in effect immediately before the Termination Date plus the Annual Bonus received by Employee for the fiscal year preceding the Termination Date (or if Employee was employed for less than one full fiscal year prior to the Termination Date, the Annual Bonus for purposes of this Section 7 shall be the Annual Bonus payable during the current fiscal year at the target amount provided above) (together, the “Separation Pay”); and (ii) during the six-month period commencing on the Termination Date that Employee is eligible to elect and elects to continue coverage for himself and his eligible dependents under the Company’s group heath insurance plan pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (“COBRA”), or similar state law, the Company shall reimburse Employee on a monthly basis for the difference between the amount Employee pays to effect and continue such coverage under COBRA and the employee contribution amount that active employees of the Company pay for the same or similar coverage; provided, however, that Employee shall notify the Company in writing within five days after he becomes eligible after the Termination Date for group health insurance coverage, if any, through subsequent employment or otherwise and the Company shall have no further reimbursement obligation after Employee becomes eligible for group health insurance coverage due to subsequent employment or otherwise. The Separation Pay shall be paid to Employee in a lump sum within 60 days of the Termination Date; provided, however, that no Separation Pay shall be paid to Employee unless the Company receives, on or within 55 days after the Termination Date, an executed and fully effective copy of the Release (as defined below). Any COBRA reimbursements due under this Section shall be made by the last day of the month following the month in which the applicable premiums were paid by Employee. For the avoidance of doubt, Employee shall not be entitled to the Separation Benefits if this Agreement is terminated (i) due to Employee’s death; (ii) by the Company due to Employee’s Inability to Perform; (iii) by the Company for Cause; (iv) by Employee without Good Reason; or (v) by non-renewal by Employee in accordance with Sections 4(b) and 6(f).
Change in Control Benefits In the event there is a Change in Control, as defined below, and the Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated by the Executive for Good Reason or by the Employer without Cause (other than on account of the Executive’s death or disability), in each case within twelve (12) months either (a) after Executive’s employment has terminated or (b) following a Change in Control, the Executive shall be entitled to be paid, in a single lump sum, severance equal to two (2) years’ salary at that salary rate being paid to Executive as of the date of the Executive’s termination together with an amount equal to one times (1.0x) the average of the Annual Bonus paid to Executive for services during the preceding three (3) calendar years (or the Executive’s period of employment, if less than three (3) years), provided; that, in the event the Executive’s employment has terminated and Executive has been paid a severance benefit under Section 6 of this Agreement, such change in control benefit under this Section 7 shall be reduced by the amount of the severance benefit previously paid. Executive acknowledges and agrees that such payment is in lieu of all damages, payments and liabilities on account of the early termination of this Agreement and is the sole and exclusive remedy for Executive (other than rights, if any, to exercise any of the stock options vested prior to such termination), and shall only be paid, within 60 days after his separation from service with Employer, subject to Executive’s execution and delivery to Employer, within such 60-day period, of a complete release of all claims Executive may have against the Employer, its officers, directors, agents, employees, predecessors, successors, parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates. If the 60-day period referred to in the immediately preceding sentence begins in one calendar year and ends in the following calendar year, then the payment shall be made in the latter calendar year. If upon termination of employment Executive chooses to arbitrate any claims pursuant to Section 18, Executive shall be deemed to have waived Executive’s right, if any, to severance.
Change in Control Severance Benefits If there is a Change in Control, and within one (1) year of such Change in Control, the Executive’s employment is terminated under the circumstances described in Sections 4(a) through 4(f) above, the Executive shall be entitled to the following: (I) if such termination is a termination by the Company without Cause pursuant to Section 4(a) or the Executive resigns for Good Reason pursuant to Section 4(b), the Company shall pay the Executive the Accrued Obligations and the Pro Rata Bonus and, in addition, subject to the provisions of Section 19, (A) an amount equal to twenty-four (24) months of the Executive’s Base Salary at the rate in effect on the date of termination or resignation, payable in a lump sum within sixty (60) calendar days of the date of termination or resignation; and (B) provided the Executive timely elects continuation coverage under COBRA, the Company shall also pay, on the Executive’s behalf, the portion of monthly premiums for the Executive’s group health insurance, including coverage for the Executive’s dependents, that the Company paid immediately prior to the date of termination or resignation, during the eighteen (18) month period following the date of termination or resignation, subject to the Executive’s continued eligibility for COBRA coverage. The Company will pay for such COBRA coverage for eligible dependents only for those dependents who were enrolled immediately prior to the date of termination or resignation. The Executive will continue to be required to pay that portion of the premium for the Executive’s health coverage, including coverage for the Executive’s eligible dependents, that the Executive was required to pay as an active employee immediately prior to the date of termination or resignation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that under applicable guidance the reimbursement of COBRA premiums causes the Company’s group health plan to violate any applicable nondiscrimination rule, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith a mutually agreeable alternative arrangement; and (II) if such termination is a termination or resignation under the circumstances described in Sections 4(c), 4(d), 4(e) or 4(f), the Executive shall be entitled to the compensation and benefits for which the Executive is eligible under such sections.
Description of Severance Benefits In the event Executive becomes entitled under Sections 2.1 and 2.2 herein to receive Severance Benefits, the Company shall pay to Executive and provide him or her with the following benefits:
(a) A lump sum payment of accrued and unpaid Base Salary, any annual bonus award earned by Executive for a fiscal year of the Company that ended prior to Executive’s Effective Date of Termination that has not yet been paid, unused vacation or paid time off, and other accrued benefits through the Effective Date of Termination (together, the “Accrued Obligations”), paid on the same basis as paid upon any voluntary termination of employment. Such lump sum amount shall be paid in accordance with the Company’s normal payroll procedures.
(b) A lump sum amount equal to Executive’s annual bonus award earned as of the Effective Date of Termination, based on target performance (excluding any special bonus payments), except that the bonus will be prorated for the portion of the fiscal year during which Executive was actively employed. This payment will be in lieu of any other payment to be made to Executive under the annual bonus plan for such fiscal year in which Executive is then participating.
(c) A lump sum amount equal to two (2) multiplied by the sum of the following: (i) the higher of: (A) Executive’s Base Salary in effect upon the Effective Date of Termination, or (B) Executive’s Base Salary in effect on the date of the Change in Control; and (ii) the higher of: (A) Executive’s annual target bonus opportunity for the fiscal year of the Company in which Executive’s Effective Date of Termination occurs, or (B) the average of the actual annual bonuses earned (whether or not deferred) by Executive under the annual bonus plan (excluding any special bonus payments) in which Executive participated in the three (3) fiscal years of the Company preceding the fiscal year of the Company in which Executive’s Effective Date of Termination occurs. If Executive has less than three (3) years of annual bonus participation preceding the fiscal year of the Company in which Executive’s Effective Date of Termination occurs, then Executive’s annual target bonus established under the annual bonus plan in which Executive is then participating for the fiscal year of the Company in which Executive’s Effective Date of Termination occurs shall be used for each fiscal year that Executive did not participate in the annual bonus plan, up to a maximum of three (3) years, to calculate the three (3) year average bonus payment.
(i) Upon the consummation of the Change in Control, with respect to Executive’s equity-based long-term incentive awards that are outstanding on the Effective Date, immediate full vesting and lapse of all restrictions on any and all such awards (including but not limited to stock options, stock appreciation rights and restricted stock awards) held by Executive, and any performance conditions applicable to any such awards shall be deemed satisfied at target performance without proration. This provision shall override any conflicting language contained in Executive’s respective award agreements outstanding on the Effective Date and such award agreements are hereby deemed amended.
(ii) Upon the consummation of the Change in Control, with respect to Executive’s equity-based long-term incentive awards that are granted to Executive after the Effective Date, immediate full vesting and lapse of all restrictions on any and all such awards (including but not limited to stock options, stock appreciation rights and restricted stock awards) held by Executive and any performance conditions applicable to any such awards shall be deemed satisfied at target performance without proration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that a Replacement Award (as defined below) is provided to Executive to replace any then outstanding award (“Replaced Award”) in connection with the Change in Control, the Replaced Award held by Executive shall not become immediately vested and nonforfeitable.
