THIS IS AN IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENT. PLEASE CONFER WITH A LAWYER OR OTHER TRUSTED ADVISOR BEFORE SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT.
Exhibit 10.2
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENT. PLEASE CONFER WITH A LAWYER OR OTHER TRUSTED ADVISOR BEFORE SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT.
December 11, 2023
VIA EMAIL DELIVERY
Xxxxx X. Xxxx
Re: Severance Agreement and Release
Dear Xxxx:
This letter summarizes the terms of your separation from employment with Azenta, Inc. (the “Company”). The purpose of this Agreement is to establish an amicable arrangement for ending your employment relationship, to release the Company from all legally waivable claims and to permit you to receive severance pay.
By signing this Agreement, you will be giving up valuable legal rights. For this reason, it is very important that you carefully review and understand the Agreement before signing it. The deadline for accepting this Agreement is Friday, January 5, 2024, and should not be signed before December 31, 2023. If you do not sign and return this document between December 31, 2023 and January 5, 2024, this offer of severance pay will expire. The Company encourages you to take advantage of this period of time by consulting with a lawyer, or other trusted advisor, before signing the document.
1.Employment Status and Final Payments:
(a)Termination Date: Your termination from employment with the Company will be effective as of December 31, 2023 (the “Termination Date”). As of the Termination Date, your salary will cease, and any entitlement you have or might have under a Company-provided benefit plan, program, contract or practice will terminate, except as required by federal or state law.
(b)You hereby acknowledge that you have been paid all earned wages and for all accrued but unused vacation time as of the Termination Date.
(c)The Termination Date shall be the date of the “qualifying event” under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”). If you are enrolled in the Company’s medical plans, you will be provided a benefits packet containing information on your COBRA rights and how to elect to convert to a direct pay plan under COBRA.
(d)You hereby acknowledge (i) receipt of all compensation and benefits due through the Termination Date as a result of services performed for the Company with the receipt of a final paycheck except as provided in this Agreement; (ii) having reported to the Company any and all work-related injuries incurred during employment; (iii) the Company properly provided any leave of absence because of your or a family member’s health condition and you have not been subjected to any improper treatment, conduct or actions due to a request for or taking such leave; (iv) you have had the opportunity to provide the Company with written notice of any and all concerns regarding suspected ethical and compliance issues or violations on the part of the Company or any other Company Releasees.
2.Consideration: In exchange for, and in consideration of, your full execution of this Agreement, and after the expiration of the Revocation Period set out in Section 10 below, the Company agrees as follows:
(a)Severance Pay: The Company will pay you a severance payment of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00), which is the equivalent of six (6) months of your current base salary. This severance amount will be paid to you in biweekly installments in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll cycles. The first installment will be paid to you commencing on the next payroll cycle after the expiration of the Revocation Period as set forth in Section 10, or such earlier date as may be determined in Company’s sole discretion. You agree that you will exercise reasonable efforts to seek, obtain and accept comparable employment. If you have not secured new employment within six months from the Termination Date, you will be eligible for additional severance of up to two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00), which is the equivalent of six (6) months of your current base salary. This additional severance amount will be paid to you in biweekly installments in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll cycles until the earlier of (i) the date you obtain new employment, or (ii) Company’s fulfillment of the additional severance of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00). You agree to notify the Company if you accept new employment, which is understood to mean full-time, salaried third-party employment and excludes independent hourly consulting and board compensation.
(b)COBRA Premiums: If you elect in a timely manner to continue medical and dental insurance coverage after the Termination Date in accordance with the provisions of COBRA, and you timely remit the employee portion of premiums for such coverage, then the Company will maintain such coverage in effect until the end of the period during which you are receiving payments under paragraph 2(a) above (the “Severance Period”). During the Severance Period the employee portion of your premiums for such coverage will be at the same rates for current active employees and consistent with your elections. The Severance Period runs concurrently with the COBRA period. Thereafter, you may continue receiving group health, dental and flexible spending account coverage at your own expense as provided by COBRA law for the remainder of the COBRA period. Eligibility to continue this coverage ends upon the termination of any period allowed by law. If you fail to make timely payment of your portion of the premiums it will result in termination of coverage. You agree to notify the Company promptly when you are covered by another plan. If you are a “highly compensated individual” (as defined in Section 105(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), the Company-paid portion of the group health and dental coverage, as determined by reference to the total COBRA premium, will be reported to the IRS as taxable income. Please note that if the Company, in its sole discretion, subsequently determines that all or some of its payment of the COBRA premiums are discriminatory under the Internal Revenue Code, any remaining COBRA payments shall instead be paid to you as additional severance pay over the same period that the subsidy would have been provided.
(c)Payments: The payments set forth in this Section 2 shall be subject to all applicable federal, state and/or local withholding and/or payroll taxes.
(d)Section 409A Requirements: Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the following provisions shall apply to any payments and benefits otherwise payable to or provided to you under this Agreement:
(i) | For purposes of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Section 409A”), (1) each “payment” (as defined by Section 409A) made under this Agreement shall be considered a “separate payment,” and (2) payments shall be deemed exempt from the definition of deferred compensation under Section 409A to the fullest extent possible under (a) the “short-term deferral” exemption of Treasury Regulation § 1.409A-1(b)(4), and (b) (with respect to amounts paid as separation pay no later than the second calendar year following the calendar year containing your “separation from service” (as defined for purposes of Section 409A)) the |
“two years/two-times” separation pay exemption of Treasury Regulation § 1.409A-1(b)(9)(iii), which are hereby incorporated by reference.
(ii) | If you are a “specified employee” as defined in Section 409A (and as applied according to procedures of the Company) as of your separation from service, to the extent any payment under this Agreement constitutes deferred compensation (after taking into account any applicable exemptions from Section 409A), and to the extent required by Section 409A, no payments due under this Agreement may be made until the earlier of: (1) the first day of the seventh month following your separation from service, or (2) your date of death; provided, however, that any payments delayed during this six-month period shall be paid in the aggregate in a lump sum, without interest, on the first day of the seventh month following your separation from service. |
(iii) | If this Agreement fails to meet the requirements of Section 409A, the Company shall not have any liability for any tax, penalty or interest imposed on you by Section 409A, and you shall have no recourse against the Company for payment of any such tax, penalty or interest imposed by Section 409A. |
3.Release: This section of the Agreement is a release of legal claims. Please carefully review this section with your attorney, or other trusted advisor, and do not sign this document unless you understand what this section says.
(a)In exchange for the amounts described in Section 2, which are in addition to anything of value to which you are entitled to receive, you and your representatives, agents, estate, heirs, successors and assigns, absolutely and unconditionally release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the “Company Releasees” from any and all legally waivable claims that you have against the Company Releasees. Other than as permitted in Section 3(e) and (f) below, this means that by signing this Agreement, you are agreeing to forever waive, release and discharge the Company Releasees from any type of claim arising from conduct that occurred any time in the past and up to and through the date you sign this document. Company Releasees is defined to include the Company and/or any of its parents, subsidiaries or affiliates, predecessors, successors or assigns, and its and their respective current and/or former directors, shareholders/stockholders, officers, employees, attorneys and/or agents, all both individually and in their official capacities.
(b)This release includes, but is not limited to, any waivable claims you have against the Company Releasees based on conduct that occurred any time in the past and up to and through the date you sign this Agreement that arises from any federal, state or local law, regulation, code or constitution dealing with either employment, employment benefits or employment discrimination. By way of example, this release includes the release of claims against the Company Releasees under the laws or regulations concerning discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sex harassment, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, genetic carrier status, handicap or disability, veteran status, any military service or application for military service, or any other category protected under federal, state or local law. This release also includes any claim you may have against the Company Releasees for breach of contract, whether oral or written, express or implied; any tort claims(such as claims for wrongful discharge, tortious interference with advantageous relations, misrepresentation and defamation); any claims for equity or employee benefits of any other kind; or any other legally waivable statutory and/or common law claims.
(c)For avoidance of doubt, by signing this Agreement you are agreeing not to bring any waivable claims against the Company Releasees (other than as permitted in Section 3(e) and (f) below) under the following nonexclusive list of discrimination and employment statutes: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII”), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), the Americans
With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the ADA Amendments Act, the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”), the Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx Fair Pay Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”), the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (“XXXX”), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Law (M.G.L. ch. 151B), the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act, the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, The Massachusetts Earned Sick Leave law, the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the Massachusetts Privacy Statute, the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, the Massachusetts Domestic Violence Leave Act, the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, the Massachusetts Labor and Industries Act, the anti-retaliation provisions of the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, M.G.L. c. 175M, s. 9, and the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Statute, all as amended, as well as any other federal, state and local statutes, regulations, codes or ordinances that apply to you.
(d)You release the Company Releasees from any and all wage and hour related claims to the maximum extent permitted by state law. This release of legal claims includes the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Act (M.G.L. ch. 149 §§148 and 150), the Massachusetts Overtime regulations (M.G.L. ch.151 §§ 1A and 1B), the Meal Break regulations (M.G.L. ch.149 §§ 100 and 101), and the Earned Sick Time Law (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148C), and any other state wage and hour related claims arising out of or in any way connected with your employment with the Company, including any claims for unpaid or delayed payment of wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, incentive payments or severance, missed or interrupted meal periods, as well as interest, attorneys’ fees, costs, expenses, liquidated damages, treble damages or damages of any kind relating to a wage and hour claim, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
(e)Nothing in this Section 3 or elsewhere in this Agreement (including but not limited to the accord & satisfaction, confidentiality, non-disparagement, and return of property provisions) (i) prevents you from filing a claim under the workers compensation, paid family and medical leave, or unemployment compensation statutes; (ii) limits or affects your right to challenge the validity of this Agreement under the ADEA or the Older Worker Benefits Protection Act; (iii) prevents you from filing a charge or complaint with or from participating in an investigation or proceeding conducted by the EEOC, the National Labor Relations Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any other federal, state or local agency charged with the enforcement of any laws, including providing documents or other information to such agencies; (iv) limits or affects your right to disclose or discuss sexual harassment or sexual assault disputes; or (v) prevents you from exercising your rights under Section 7 of the NLRA to engage in protected, concerted activity with other employees; although, by signing this Agreement you are waiving your right to recover any individual relief (including any backpay, frontpay, reinstatement or other legal or equitable relief) in any charge, complaint, or lawsuit or other proceeding brought by you or on your behalf by any third party, except for any right you may have to receive an award from a government agency.
(f)For avoidance of doubt, and to ensure clarity, while you acknowledge not having raised a claim of sexual harassment or abuse with the Company, or asserted such a claim outside the Company, nothing in this Agreement waives your right to testify in an administrative, legislative, or judicial proceeding concerning alleged criminal conduct or alleged sexual harassment on the part of the Company, or on the part of the agents or employees of the Company, whether because you are cooperating in an investigation or other legal proceeding on your own initiative or whether you have been required or requested to attend such an investigation or proceeding pursuant to a court order, subpoena, or written request from an administrative agency or the legislature.
(g)For avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Agreement waives any rights or coverages you may have due to your role as an officer or named executive officer under the Company’s Director & Officer liability policies, or as described in indemnification agreements or bylaways of the Company.
4.Accord and Satisfaction: The amounts described in Sections 1 and 2 shall be complete and unconditional payment, accord and/or satisfaction with respect to all obligations and liabilities of the Company Releasees to you, including, without limitation, all claims for back wages, salary, vacation pay, draws, incentive pay, bonuses, stock and stock options, commissions, severance pay, reimbursement of expenses, any and all other forms of compensation or benefits, attorney's fees, or other costs or sums.
5. | Waiver of Rights and Claims Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967: |
Since you are 40 years of age or older, you are being informed that you have or may have specific rights and/or claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (“ADEA”) and you agree that:
(a)in consideration for the amounts described in Section 2 of this Agreement, which you are not otherwise entitled to receive, you specifically and voluntarily waive such rights and/or claims under the ADEA you might have against the Company Releasees to the extent such rights and/or claims arose on or prior to the date this Agreement was executed;
(b)you understand that rights or claims under the ADEA which may arise after the date this Agreement is executed are not waived by you;
(c)you have carefully read and fully understand all of the provisions of this Agreement, and you knowingly and voluntarily agree to all of the terms set forth in this Agreement; and
(d)in entering into this Agreement you are not relying on any representation, promise or inducement made by the Company Releasees or their attorneys with the exception of those promises described in this document.
6.Period for Review and Consideration of Agreement:
(a)You acknowledge that you have twenty-one (21) days to review this Agreement and consider its terms before signing it.
(b)The 21-day review period will not be affected or extended by any revisions, whether material or immaterial, that might be made to this Agreement.
0.Xxxxxxx Files, Documents and Other Property: Other than as permitted in Section 3(e) and 3(f), you represent that you have returned to the Company all Company property and materials, including but not limited to, (if applicable) personal computers, laptops, fax machines, scanners, copiers, cellular phones, Company credit cards and telephone charge cards, Company keys and passes, intangible information stored on hard drives or thumb drives, software passwords or codes, security passwords or codes, tangible copies of trade secrets and confidential information, names and addresses of Company customers, and any and all other information or property previously or currently held or used by you that is or was related to your employment with the Company (“Company Property”). You agree that in the event that you discover any other Company Property in your possession after the Termination Date of this Agreement you will immediately return such materials to the Company.
8.Future Conduct:
(a)The Non-Competition Agreement dated November 7, 2016 and Employee Confidentiality Agreement and the Employee Non-Solicitation and Proprietary Information Agreement: By signing this Agreement you are acknowledging your post-employment obligations as set out in the Non-Competition Agreement dated November 7, 2016 and the Employee Non-Solicitation and Proprietary Information Agreement you signed as a condition of being hired, and you are agreeing to comply, and representing you will comply, with those obligations.
(b)Confidentiality of this Agreement: Other than as permitted in Section 3(e) and 3(f) above, you agree that you shall not disclose, divulge or publish, directly or indirectly, any information regarding the amount of the severance and benefits agreed to in this Agreement to any person or organization other than (i) your immediate family, (ii) your accountants or attorneys when such disclosure is necessary for the accountants or attorneys to render professional services, (iii) to the taxing authorities, (iv) the unemployment compensation agency; or (v) when otherwise compelled by law.
9.Representations and Governing Law:
(a)This Agreement sets forth the complete and sole agreement between the parties and supersedes any and all other agreements or understandings, whether oral or written, between you and the Company, except for the Agreements noted in paragraph 8(a), which shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms. This Agreement may not be changed, amended, modified, altered or rescinded except upon the express written consent of both the Company and you.
(b)If any provision of this Agreement, or part thereof, is held invalid, void or voidable as against public policy or otherwise, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions, or parts thereof, which may be given effect without the invalid provision or part. To this extent, the provisions and parts thereof of this Agreement are declared to be severable. Any waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any other provision of this Agreement unless expressly so indicated otherwise in writing by the waiving party. The language of all parts of this Agreement shall in all cases be construed according to its fair meaning and not strictly for or against either of the parties.
(c)This Agreement and any claims arising out of this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and shall in all respects be interpreted, enforced and governed under the internal and domestic laws of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of laws of such state. Any claims or legal actions by one party against the other may be commenced and maintained in state or federal court located in Massachusetts, and you hereby submit to the jurisdiction and venue of any such court.
(d)This Agreement does not constitute and shall not be construed as an admission by the Company that it has violated any law, interfered with any rights, breached any obligation or otherwise engaged in any improper or illegal conduct with respect to you, and the Company expressly denies that it has engaged in any such conduct.
(e)You may not assign any of your rights or delegate any of your duties under this Agreement. The rights and obligations of the Company shall inure to the benefit of the Company’s successors and assigns.
(f)This Agreement may be signed by the Parties in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original and all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Each counterpart may be delivered by facsimile transmission or e-mail (as a .pdf, .tif or similar un-editable attachment), which transmission shall be deemed delivery of an originally executed counterpart hereof. The Parties also agree that an electronic signature shall have the same effect as the use of a signature affixed by hand.
10.Effective Date: If this letter correctly states the agreement and understanding we have reached, please indicate your acceptance by countersigning the enclosed copy and returning it to me between December 31, 2023 and January 5, 2024. You may revoke this Agreement for a period of seven (7) days after signing it. In order to revoke the Agreement, you must submit a written notice of revocation to Xxxx Xxxxxxxx located at 000 Xxxxxx Xx., Xxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000 and Xxxx.Xxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx. This written notice may be sent by mail, overnight mail, email or hand-delivery but must be received no later than 11:59 pm on the seventh day. The Agreement will not become effective or enforceable, and no payments will be made, until the expiration of the revocation period without you exercising your right of revocation (“Effective Date”).
| Very truly yours, | |
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| | |
| By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxxx |
| | Xxxx Xxxxxxxx |
| | SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer. |
I REPRESENT THAT I HAVE READ THE FOREGOING AGREEMENT, THAT I FULLY UNDERSTAND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SUCH AGREEMENT AND THAT I AM KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY EXECUTING THE SAME. IN ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT, I DO NOT RELY ON ANY REPRESENTATION, PROMISE OR INDUCEMENT MADE BY THE COMPANY OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CONSIDERATION DESCRIBED IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Accepted and Agreed to: | | |
| | |
/s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxx | | |
Xxxxx X Xxxx | | |
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Date: | January 2, 2024 | |
