Employee Arrangements Except as set forth on Section 8.2(h) of the UWWH Disclosure Schedules, pursuant to the terms of any collective bargaining agreements in effect as of the date hereof and disclosed on Section 6.15(a) of the UWWH Disclosure Schedules, as contemplated by this Agreement, as set forth in the Employee Matters Agreement or as otherwise required by applicable Law, UWWH shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to:
(i) grant any material increases in the compensation (including bonus and incentive compensation) or fringe benefits of any UWWH Employee except any increases that would not reasonably be expected to become a Liability of the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries;
(ii) pay or agree to pay to any UWWH Employee any pension, retirement allowance, severance benefit or other material employee benefit not required by any of the existing UWWH Benefit Plans as in effect on the date hereof, except as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability of the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries;
(iii) except in the ordinary course of business, enter into any new, or terminate or materially amend any existing collective bargaining agreement or relationship, employment, severance or termination Contract or other arrangement with any UWWH Employee or his or her representative, provided, that any such new collective bargaining agreement or any termination of or material amendment to any such existing collective bargaining agreement in the ordinary course of business shall be subject to review by xpedx senior management reasonably in advance of the conclusion of such negotiations, and xpedx senior management shall have been informed periodically of the status of negotiations with respect thereto;
(iv) (A) become obligated under any new pension plan, welfare plan, employee benefit plan (including any equity incentive plan), severance plan, benefit arrangement or similar plan or arrangement sponsored or maintained by UWWH or any of its Subsidiaries that was not in existence on the date hereof, or (B) amend any such plan or arrangement in existence on the date hereof, except in the case of (B) (x) as would not result in a material increase in the annual aggregate cost (based on UWWH’s historical annual aggregate cost) of maintaining such pension plan, welfare plan, employee benefit plan, severance plan, trust, fund, policy or arrangement or (y) as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability of the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries;
(v) grant any equity-based compensation to any UWWH Employee or director or independent contractor of UWWH or any of its Subsidiaries;
(vi) make any offer for the employment or engagement of any UWWH Employee or other individual on a full-time, part-time, or consulting basis providing for an annual compensation in excess of $250,000;
(vii) implement any distribution center, facility, warehouse or business unit closing or mass layoff that could implicate WARN; or
(viii) make any loan to (x) any director, officer or member of senior management of UWWH or any of its Subsidiaries or (y) except in the ordinary course of business and in compliance with applicable Law, to any other UWWH Employee.
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.
Collective Agreements There are no collective agreements affecting your terms and conditions of employment.
Employment Arrangements (a) Except as required by Law, Seller has no obligation, contingent or otherwise, under any employment agreement, collective bargaining or other labor agreement, any agreement containing severance or termination pay arrangements, retainer or consulting arrangements, or purchase plan or other employee contract or non-terminable (whether with or without penalty) arrangement with respect to any person employed by Seller in connection with the businesses operated at the Restaurants (including but not limited to district managers) (collectively “Subject Employees”).
(b) Except as set forth on Schedule 2.11(b), within the last five (5) years Seller has not experienced any labor disputes, union organization attempts or any work stoppage due to labor disagreements. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.11(b), (i) Seller is in substantial compliance with all applicable Laws, including all Federal and state labor laws, rules and regulations, respecting employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, and is not engaged in any unfair labor practice; (ii) there is no unfair labor practice, charge or complaint against Seller pending or threatened before the National Labor Relations Board; (iii) there is no labor strike, dispute, request for representation, slowdown or stoppage actually pending or threatened against or affecting Seller; (iv) no question concerning representation has been raised or is threatened respecting the employees of Seller; and (v) no grievance which might have an adverse effect on Seller or the conduct of its business nor any arbitration proceeding arising out of or under collective bargaining agreements is pending and no claims therefor exist.
(c) Schedule 2.11(c) sets forth a true and complete list of (i) the names of all manager and assistant managers employed by Seller at the Restaurants as of the date hereof, including both salaried and hourly managers, the date such individuals were first employed by Seller, how long such individuals have been at the particular Restaurants and the salary or hourly wage payable to such persons; (ii) the names of all other persons employed by Seller at the Restaurants as of the date hereof, and the salary or hourly wage payable to each such person; and (iii) the total number of vacation days earned and/or accrued by all persons employed by Seller and the total monetary value of such accrued vacation for all such persons (“Accrued Vacation Pay”). As of the Closing, Seller shall have terminated all Subject Restaurant Employees and no additional payments shall be due and owing to any Subject Restaurant Employee with respect to any period prior to and including the Closing Date (except for any amount claimed by any Subject Restaurant Employee but which has being denied or contested by the Seller in good faith, which shall be an Excluded Liability) or amounts that Seller shall be obligated to pay (including, without limitation, payments relating to such employees' Accrued Vacation). Seller has complied with all requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 and has not incurred, nor is reasonably expected to incur, any Losses under such Act.
(d) Except as set forth on Schedule 2.11(d): (1) no charge against Seller or any of the employees of the Restaurants is pending before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, or any other Governmental Authority responsible for the prevention of unlawful employment practices related to the Restaurants; (2) no actions relating to employment or loss of employment from Seller, directly or indirectly, are pending in any Governmental Authority and no such Actions have been threatened against Seller related to the Restaurants; and (3) no notice of intent of any Governmental Authority responsible for the enforcement of labor or employment regulations to conduct an investigation has been received, and no such investigation is in progress.
(e) Each of the employees at the Restaurants is employed at will and may be terminated at any time by Seller without the payment of any severance or other penalty and without any requirement that any advance notice be given in connection with such termination.
(f) The Accrued Vacation has been earned and accrued in the ordinary course of Seller's business consistent with past practices.
(g) Seller is not, and has not been, a party to, bound by, or negotiating any collective bargaining agreement or other Contract with a union, works council or labor organization (collectively, "Union"), and there is not, and has not been, any Union representing or purporting to represent any employee of Seller, and no Union or group of employees is seeking or has sought to organize employees for the purpose of collective bargaining. There has never been, nor has there been any threat of, any strike, slowdown, work stoppage, lockout, concerted refusal to work overtime or other similar labor disruption or dispute affecting Seller or any employees of the Business. Seller has no duty to bargain with any Union.
Employee Protection Nothing in this Agreement or otherwise limits Executive’s ability to communicate directly with and provide information, including documents, not otherwise protected from disclosure by any applicable law or privilege to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), any other federal, state or local governmental agency or commission (“Government Agency”) or self-regulatory organization regarding possible legal violations, without disclosure to the Company. The Company may not retaliate against Executive for any of these activities, and nothing in this Agreement or otherwise requires Executive to waive any monetary award or other payment that Executive might become entitled to from the SEC or any other Government Agency or self-regulatory organization.
Protective Arrangements In the event that a Party or any member of its Group either determines on the advice of its counsel that it is required to disclose any information pursuant to applicable Law or receives any request or demand under lawful process or from any Governmental Authority to disclose or provide information of the other Party (or any member of the other Party’s Group) that is subject to the confidentiality provisions hereof, such Party shall notify the other Party (to the extent legally permitted) as promptly as practicable under the circumstances prior to disclosing or providing such information and shall cooperate, at the expense of the other Party, in seeking any appropriate protective order requested by the other Party. In the event that such other Party fails to receive such appropriate protective order in a timely manner and the Party receiving the request or demand reasonably determines that its failure to disclose or provide such information shall actually prejudice the Party receiving the request or demand, then the Party that received such request or demand may thereafter disclose or provide information to the extent required by such Law (as so advised by its counsel) or by lawful process or such Governmental Authority, and the disclosing Party shall promptly provide the other Party with a copy of the information so disclosed, in the same form and format so disclosed, together with a list of all Persons to whom such information was disclosed, in each case to the extent legally permitted.
Employee Agreements The Company will cause each person now or hereafter employed by it or by any subsidiary (or engaged by the Company or any subsidiary as a consultant/independent contractor) with access to confidential information and/or trade secrets to enter into a nondisclosure and proprietary rights assignment agreement.
Employee Matters; Benefit Plans (a) Subject to applicable Legal Requirements, the employment of each of the Company’s employees is terminable by the Company at will. The Company is not a party to, nor is currently negotiating in connection with entering into, any collective bargaining agreement or other Contract with a labor organization or work council representing any of its employees and there are no labor organizations representing, purporting to represent or, to the knowledge of the Company, seeking to represent any employees of the Company. Since January 1, 2019, there has not been any strike, slowdown, work stoppage, lockout, material labor dispute or any union organizing activity, or any threat thereof, in each case, involving any of the Company’s employees. There is not now pending, and, to the knowledge of the Company, no Person has threatened in writing to commence, any such strike, slowdown, work stoppage, lockout, material labor dispute or union organizing activity or any similar activity or dispute.
(b) Since January 1, 2019, there has been no material Legal Proceeding pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing relating to the employment or engagement of any Company Associate. Since January 1, 2019, the Company has complied with all applicable Legal Requirements related to employment, including employment practices, payment of wages and hours of work, leaves of absence, plant closing notification, privacy rights, labor dispute, workplace safety, retaliation, immigration, and discrimination matters, except any lack of compliance which has not had and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(c) Section 3.16(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete and accurate list of each Employee Plan. The Company has either delivered or made available to Parent or Parent’s Representatives prior to the execution of this Agreement with respect to each Employee Plan, accurate and complete copies of the following, as relevant: (i) all plan documents and all amendments thereto, and all related trust, insurance or other funding documents, and all amendments thereto; (ii) the most recent determination letter or opinion letter received from the IRS; (iii) for the three most recent plan years, (A) the annual actuarial or other valuation reports, (B) the IRS Form 5500 and all schedules thereto and (C) audited financial statements; (iv) the most recent summary plan descriptions and any material modifications thereto; (v) the most recent nondiscrimination tests required to be performed under the Code; and (vi) any material non-routine communications with any Governmental Body regarding any Employee Plan.
(d) Neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates has at any time sponsored, maintained, contributed to, or been required to contribute to, or had any liability in respect of, (i) an “employee pension benefit plan” (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA) subject to Title IV of ERISA, Code Section 412 or Section 302 of ERISA, including any “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 4001 of ERISA. No Employee Plan is a (i) a “multiple employer plan” as defined in Section 413(c) of the Code, or (ii) a “multiple employer welfare arrangement” within the meaning of Section 3(40) of ERISA.
(e) Each Employee Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has obtained a favorable determination letter (or opinion letter, if applicable) as to its qualified status under the Code. Each Employee Plan is now and has been operated, maintained, and administered in compliance in all material respects with its terms and all applicable Legal Requirements, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code. No non-exempt “prohibited transaction” (within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the code) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any Employee Plan.
(f) Except to the extent required under Section 601 et seq. of ERISA or 4980B of the Code (or any other similar state or local Legal Requirement) at the participant’s sole expense, neither the Company nor any Employee Plan has any present or future obligation to provide post-employment welfare benefits to or make any payment to, or with respect to any Company Associate.
(g) Since January 1, 2019, all individuals who perform or have performed services for the Company have been properly classified under applicable law as (i) employees or independent contractors and (ii) for employees, as an “exempt” employee or a “non-exempt” employee (within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and applicable state laws), and no such individual has been improperly included or excluded from any Employee Plan, except for misclassifications, non-compliance or exclusions which would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect and the Company has not received notice of any pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened inquiry or audit from any Governmental Body concerning such classifications.
(h) The Company maintains no obligations to gross-up or reimburse any individual for any tax or related interest or penalties incurred by such individual under Sections 409A or 4999 of the Code.
(i) Each “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” maintained by the Company has been at all times in material documentary and operational compliance with the requirements of Code Section 409A and the guidance provided thereunder.
(j) The consummation of the Transactions (including in combination with other events or circumstances) will not (i) result in any payment or benefit becoming due to any Company Associate or under any Employee Plan, (ii) increase any amount of compensation or benefits otherwise payable to any Company Associate or under any Employee Plan, (iii) result in the acceleration of the time of payment, funding or vesting of any benefits to any current or former employee, contractor or director of the Company or under any Employee Plan, (iv) limit the right to modify, amend or terminate any Employee Plan (except any limitations imposed by applicable Legal Requirements, if any).
(k) The consummation of the Transactions (including in combination with other events or circumstances) will not result in the payment of any amount that could, individually or in combination with any other payment or benefit, constitute an “excess parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code, result in the payment of an excise tax by any Person under Section 4999 of the Code or any amount that would not be deductible under Section 280G of the Code.
(l) With respect to any Employee Plan, (i) no Legal Proceeding (other than routine claims for benefits in the ordinary course) are pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against any Employee Plan, the assets of any of the trusts under such plans or the plan sponsor or administrator, or against any fiduciary of any Employee Plan with respect to the operation thereof, and (ii) no facts or circumstances exist that could reasonably be expected to give rise to any such Legal Proceeding.
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.
Collective Agreement All provisions of the Collective Agreement shall be applicable to Apprentices in this Program.
