EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This
Employment Agreement (the "Agreement"), effective as of January 1, 2005 (the
"Effective Date"), is between Century Casinos, Inc., a Delaware corporation,
whose principal executive offices are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado
("Employer"), and Xx. Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx ("Employee").
Recitals
A. Employee
has been employed by Employer since 1994 and wishes to continue employment by
Employer. Employer wishes to retain the services of Employee and Employer and
Employee wish to formalize the terms and conditions of their agreements and
understandings concerning Employee’s employment.
B. Employee’s
employment by Employer, the mutual covenants stated in this Agreement, and other
valuable consideration, the receipt of which is acknowledged by Employee, are
sufficient consideration for this Agreement.
C. This
Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior oral or written employment
agreements entered into by and between Employer and Employee, and the terms of
this Agreement shall be held confidential by Employee.
Agreement
The
parties agree as follows:
1. Employment. As of
the Effective Date, Employer shall employ Employee, and Employee agrees to
accept such employment.
2. Term
of Agreement. The
term of this Agreement will commence on the Effective Date and will continue
until terminated in accordance with the provisions of this
Agreement.
3. Actions
of Employer. All
actions by and decisions of Employer contemplated in this Agreement will be made
by Employer’s Executive Committee, which may from time to time appoint one of
its members under this Agreement to carry out its functions. Nevertheless,
Employee understands that Employer’s Compensation Committee must approve all
decisions concerning Employee’s salary.
4. Duties
of Employee.
Employee's main duties on behalf of Employer as of the Effective Date shall be
to act as Senior Vice President of Century Casinos, Inc. Employee also serves as
Secretary and Treasurer of Employer. Employee will undertake and assume the
responsibility of performing for and on behalf of Employer whatever duties are
necessary and required in such position. Employee will devote Employee's full
time and energies and best efforts to the performance of such duties, to the
exclusion of all other activities that conflict in any material way with
Employee's duties under this Agreement. Specific duties, and limitations on
authority, of Employee may be addressed by separate memoranda or other
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instructions.
In performing his duties, Employee recognizes and agrees that he will abide by
the Employer’s Code of Ethics.
5. Location
of Work; Payment for Various Expenses. The
parties contemplate that Employee’s primary duty location will be in Colorado
Springs, Colorado. Nevertheless, Employee recognizes and agrees that his duties
will require extensive traveling, including international travel, for meetings
and to assist all entities operated by Century Casinos Inc.
6. Compensation.
(a) Salary.
Employer will pay to Employee a yearly salary (“Base Salary”) of one hundred and
twenty thousand Dollars ($120,000), payable on the payroll dates established by
Employer from time to time. The amount of the Base Salary can be reviewed by
Employer annually.
(b) Bonus.
Employee shall be eligible to receive a yearly bonus of up to fifty six thousand
Dollars ($56,000), based upon satisfactorily reaching various budget, financial
and other criteria that are established for each calendar year in question.
Employee shall only be eligible for such a bonus if he is employed on the last
day of the calendar year to which the bonus applies. The Bonus amount can be
reviewed by Employer annually.
(c) Vacations/Sick
Days.
Employee
will be entitled to paid vacations of four weeks per calendar year, in
accordance with the procedures established by Employer. Any specific vacation of
more than one week's duration is subject to the advance approval of Employer. No
more than ten vacation days are allowed to be carried over from one year to the
next. Employee is entitled to six paid
sick days per calendar year. Employee may accrue unused sick time from year to
year up to a limit of eight days total sick days. No payments shall be made for
accumulated sick days.
(d) Additional
Benefits.
Currently, Employee will be entitled to the following benefits: 401(k) and
medical/hospitalization
insurance (for Employee and his immediate family) in accordance with Employer’s
normal policies, and the holidays observed by Employer pursuant to its normal
policies by which employees are granted a day off with pay. In addition,
Employee will be entitled to additional benefits in accordance with Employer's
policies, as they may be established and modified by Employer from time to time,
for persons holding similar positions with Employer, as determined by Employer
in its sole discretion.
(e) Reimbursement of
Business Expenses.
Employer will reimburse all reasonable expenses incurred by Employee on behalf
of Employer in connection with Employee’s performance of duties under this
Agreement, in accordance with the Employer’s Travel Policy, and subject in each
case to compliance by Employee with any reasonable requirements imposed by
Employer concerning submission of invoices, prior approval, tax deductibility of
expenses, and similar matters.
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(f) Stock
Options.
Employee will be eligible to participate in any stock option plan and bonus plan
or policy for persons holding similar positions with Employer that may be
established by Employer. The number of options granted to Employee, if any, and
the terms of such options are solely within the discretion of Employer’s Board
of Directors and/or Employer’s Executive Committee, Incentive Plan Committee
and/or Compensation Committee, as the legal requirements may be.
7. Termination,
Severance Pay and Restrictions Against Competition and
Solicitation.
(a) Voluntary
Termination by Employee.
(i) |
Employee
agrees to give Employer at least sixty (60) days' notice prior to any
voluntary termination of employment by
Employee. |
(ii) If
Employee terminates employment voluntarily,
(A) |
Employee
will receive all earned Base Salary only through the last day of
Employee's employment with Employer (as well as reimbursement of expenses
incurred through the last day of Employee's
employment); |
(B) |
The
Noncompetition and Nonsolicitation Periods under Section 8 will end on the
first anniversary of the last day of Employee's employment with
Employer. |
(iii) |
Employee
and Employer acknowledge that Employee's knowledge of the particular
operations of Employer will be difficult to replace and that the giving of
60 days' notice by Employee is necessary to enable Employer to obtain
transition assistance. |
(b) Termination
by Employer Without Cause.
(i) |
Employer
may terminate Employee's employment at any time, without Cause (as defined
below). |
(ii) If
Employer terminates Employee's employment without Cause:
(A) |
Employee
will receive all earned Base Salary through the last day of Employee's
employment with Employer (as well as reimbursement of expenses incurred
through the last day of Employee's
employment); |
(B) |
Employee's
medical/hospitalization insurance will be continued for a period of six
months; |
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(C) |
The
Noncompetition and Nonsolicitation Period under Section 8 will end six
months after the last day of Employee’s employment with
Employer; |
(D) |
Employer
will pay Employee a severance amount equal to six months of his Base
Salary; |
(E) |
Employee
will also receive a payment equal to 50% of the bonus received by Employee
for the year preceding his termination under this section.
|
|
(i) |
Employer
may terminate Employee's employment with Employer at any time, for Cause,
upon notice to Employee. "Cause" means: (A) any fraud, theft or
intentional misappropriation perpetrated by Employee against Employer; (B)
conviction of Employee of a felony; (C) a material and willful breach of
this Agreement by Employee, if Employee does not correct such breach
within a reasonable period after Employer gives written notice to Employee
(with such notice to specify in reasonable detail the action or inaction
that constitutes such breach); (D) willful or gross misconduct by Employee
in the performance of duties under this Agreement; (E) failure by Employee
to maintain in good standing any license that Employee must hold based on
the requirements of any regulatory body; (F) the chronic, repeated, or
persistent failure of Employee in any material respect to perform
Employee’s obligations as an Employee of Employer (other than by reason of
a disability as determined under common law or any pertinent statutory
provision, including without limitation the Americans With Disabilities
Act), if Employee does not correct such failure within a reasonable period
after Employer gives written notice to Employee (with such notice to
specify in reasonable detail the action or inaction that constitutes such
failure). Employer and Employee agree that the provisions of (F) are not
intended to provide grounds for a termination for Cause merely because of
an isolated failure on the part of Employee to satisfy performance goals
set by Employer. |
(ii) If
Employee is terminated for Cause,
|
(A) |
Employee
will receive Base Salary only through the last day of Employee's
employment with Employer (as well as reimbursement of expenses incurred
through the last day of Employee's
employment); |
(B) |
The
Noncompetition and Nonsolicitation Periods under Section 8 will end on the
first anniversary of the last day of Employee's employment with
Employer. |
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(iii) If
Employee is terminated within three years
from a Change of Control (as defined
below),
|
(A) |
Employer
will pay Employee a severance amount equal to twelve months of his Base
Salary; |
|
(B)
|
Employee
will also receive a payment equal to the bonus received by Employee for
the year preceding his termination under this
section; |
|
|
(C) |
All
stock options Employee has received under Employer’s equity incentive plan
shall vest immediately. |
For the
purpose of this Section 7 (c) (iii), “Change of Control” shall
mean any of the following: (a) any person or entity (not affiliated with the
Employee or with other employees or the members of the board of directors of
Employer as of the Effective Date of this Agreement) becoming the beneficial
owner of a majority of the voting rights of Employer’s then outstanding
securities; (b) the triggering of the issuance of stock rights to shareholders
pursuant to Employer’s stock rights agreement, as amended from time to time; (c)
the replacement, or rejection (i.e. through a proxy fight), of one or more
person(s), nominated to be director(s) by the Employer’s board of directors
before any Change of Control; (d) the election of one or more persons to the
Employer’s board of directors that have not been nominated by the Employer’s
board of directors before any Change of Control; (e) holders of the Employer’s
securities approve a merger, consolidation or liquidation of the
Employer.
8. Noncompetition,
Nonsolicitation, Disparagement.
(a) Covenant
not to Compete. During
the period that Employee is employed by Employer and thereafter for the
pertinent Noncompetition Period, Employee (i) will not directly or indirectly
own, control, operate, manage, consult for, own shares in, be employed by, or
otherwise participate in any sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership, or
other entity whose primary business is the Business (as defined below), within
100 miles of any location in which Employer operates, or has any interest in,
any casino or other entity in which legal gambling is permitted or undertaken
and (ii) will not solicit any actual or potential customers of Employer, any
consultants to any such actual or potential customers, or any suppliers of
Employer. The “Business” means any of the following: the operation or management
of any casino or other entity in which legal gambling of any form is permitted
or undertaken. (The restrictions in 8(a)(i) above, shall also include any
location in which the Employer has proposed to do Business, or has made plans to
make such a proposal.) Notwithstanding the foregoing restriction, Employee may
own beneficially, or of record, less than two percent of the outstanding shares
or other equity interests of any entity in the Business whose stock is traded
publicly on NASDAQ or another nationally recognized stock exchange. The parties
specifically agree that the Noncompetition Periods specified in paragraph 7 and
the geographical scope discussed above are reasonably necessary to protect
Employer’s interests, including Employer’s trade secrets.
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(b) Nonsolicitation. During
the period that Employee is employed by Employer and thereafter for the
pertinent Nonsolicitation Period, Employee will not solicit or attempt to
solicit for employment, for any other employer, any person while such person is
an employee or consultant of Employer or of any subsidiary or parent company of
Employer, and Employee will not solicit for employment or employ any such person
within six months after such person ceases to be an employee or consultant of
Employer.
(c) Disparagement. During
the Nonsolicitation Period, Employee will not disparage, criticize, or demean
Employer, its reputation, employees, directors, Officers, services, products,
manner of conducting business, customers, or suppliers, or any other aspect of
Employer, by any communication whatsoever. Likewise, during this Period, the
Employer will respond to requests for information concerning Employee’s
employment with a neutral response reflecting Employee’s dates of employment,
positions held and ending pay rate.
9. Confidential
Information, Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property.
(a) Confidential
Information.
Employee acknowledges that information, observations, and data (including but
not limited to customer/client lists) obtained by Employee, both prior to the
Effective Date and after the Effective Date, concerning the business or affairs
of Employer, constitute confidential information, are trade secrets, are the
property of Employer, and are essential and confidential components of
Employer's business. Employee will not at any time, either during or after
employment with Employer, directly or indirectly disclose to any person or use
any of such information, observations or data, except as required by Employee’s
duties in the course of Employee's employment with Employer, and except to the
extent that:
(i) |
the
information was within the public domain at the time it was provided to
Employee; |
(ii) |
the
information was published or otherwise became part of the public domain
after it was provided to Employee through no fault of
Employee; |
(iii) |
the
information already was in Employee's possession at the time Employer
disclosed it to Employee, was not acquired by Employee directly or
indirectly from anyone with a duty of confidentiality to Employer, and was
not acquired by Employee under circumstances in which Employee already was
an employee of or a consultant to Employer, or had a duty of
confidentiality to Employer; or |
(iv) |
the
information is required to be disclosed (A) by any federal or state law
rule or regulation, (B) by any applicable judgment, order, or decree of
any court, governmental agency or arbitrator having or purporting to have
jurisdiction in the matter, or (C) pursuant to any subpoena or other
discovery
request in any litigation, arbitration or other proceeding, but if
Employee proposes to disclose the information in accordance with (A), (B),
or (C), Employee will first give Employer reasonable prior notice of the
proposed disclosure of any such information so as to provide Employer an
opportunity to consult with Employee as to the applicability of such law,
rule, or regulation or to appear before any court, governmental agency, or
arbitrator in order to contest the disclosure, as the case may be, and
prior to any such disclosure will redact confidential information to the
maximum extent permissible. |
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(b) Return
of Documents, Etc.
Immediately upon termination of Employee's employment with Employer or at any
time upon notice to Employee from Employer, Employee will deliver to Employer
all memoranda, notes, plans, records, reports, and other documents and
information provided to Employee by Employer or created by Employee in
connection with Employee's employment, including, but not limited to information
stored in electronic format on PCs, laptops, external hard disks, CDs, etc. and
all copies of all such documents in any tangible form which Employee may then
possess or have under Employee's control, and will destroy all of such
information in intangible form which is in Employee's possession or under
Employee's control.
10. Survival
of Obligations Upon Employee's Termination. The
obligations of Employee in Sections 8 and 9 will survive the termination of
Employee's employment with Employer. The obligations of Employee in Section 9
will survive the termination of Employee's employment with Employer without
limitation, whether termination is initiated by Employee or by Employer, and
will continue until Employer consents in writing to the release of Employee's
obligations under Section 9 this Agreement.
11. Remedy
for Breach. Both
Employee and Employer expressly acknowledge that the subject matter of this
Agreement is unique, and that any breach of Employee's obligations under
Sections 8 and 9 is likely to result in irreparable injury to Employer, and the
parties therefore expressly agree that Employer will be entitled to obtain
specific performance of this Agreement through injunctive relief and such
ancillary remedies of an equitable nature as a court may deem appropriate. Such
equitable relief will be in addition to, and the availability of such equitable
relief will not preclude, any legal remedies or other remedies, which might be
available to such party. If Employee breaches any provisions in Sections 8 or 9,
Employer is entitled to apply for equitable relief in the Colorado District
Court, Fourth Judicial District, prior to initiation of mediation. Employer's
application for temporary injunctive relief will not limit Employer from
pursuing any other available remedies for such breach. Employee specifically
agrees with the designation of this court and waives any objection or defense
based on forum non-conveniens, improper venue or lack of personal
jurisdiction.
12. Severability. Each
provision of this Agreement is intended to be severable, and if any portion of
this Agreement is held invalid, illegal, unenforceable or void for any reason,
the remainder of this Agreement will nonetheless remain in full force and
effect. Any portion held to be invalid, unenforceable, or void will, if
possible, be deemed amended or reduced in scope, but such amendment or reduction
in scope will be made only to the minimum extent required for causing such
portion to be valid and enforceable.
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13. General
Acknowledgments.
Employee and Employer expressly agree that the restrictions on Employee's
activities imposed under Section 8 are reasonable in their temporal and
geographic scope and with respect to the nature of the activities so restricted
and that the restrictions on Employee's activities imposed under Section 9 are
reasonable and necessary to protect the trade secrets and other Confidential
Information of Employer. The parties expressly agree that (i) Employee is
benefited by these restrictions, insofar as other persons in similar managerial
positions with Employer have entered or will enter into similar agreements with
Employer, (ii) these restrictions are reasonable and necessary to protect
Employer and its subsidiaries from loss of property rights and from competing
efforts, and (iii) because of these restrictions Employer is willing to share
its trade secrets and confidential information with Employee to enable Employee
to perform his or her duties. The parties further expressly agree that, if any
court of competent jurisdiction determines that any provision of Section 8 or
Section 9 is unreasonable, the court will not declare the provision
invalid, but rather will reform and modify the provision, and enforce the
provision as reformed and modified, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The
existence of any claim or cause of action of Employee against Employer, whether
predicated on this Agreement or otherwise, will not constitute a defense to the
enforcement by Employer of the provisions of Section 8 or Section
9.
14. Non-Waiver. The
failure to enforce any right arising under this Agreement or any similar
agreement on one or more occasions will not be deemed or construed to be a
waiver of that right under this Agreement or any other agreement on any other
occasion, or of any other right on that occasion or any other
occasion.
15. Employee
Warranties.
Employee warrants to Employer that, as of the Effective Date, (a) Employee is
not employed and is not a party to another employment contract, express or
implied; (b) Employee has no other obligation, contractual or otherwise, which
would prevent Employee from entering into this Agreement and from complying with
its provisions; (c) Employee does not possess, and will not utilize during
Employee's employment with Employer, any confidential information obtained by
Employee through or in connection with any prior employment, relating to any
prior employer's business, products, services, techniques, methods, systems,
plans, policies, prices, customers, prospective customers, or employees; and (d)
Employee has given Employer timely written notice of any of Employee's prior
employment agreements or patent rights that might conflict with any interest of
Employer and has provided Employer with a copy of such agreements or patent
rights, including any applications for such rights.
16. Dispute
Resolution. Subject
to Employer’s right to seek equitable relief under Section 11, which is not
affected by this Section, Employer and Employee agree to submit to final,
binding arbitration, any and all claims, disputes or controversies between
Employee and Employer, any business affiliated with Employer, or any of the
respective directors, managers, employees or agents of such businesses,
including, but not limited to, claims, disputes or controversies arising out of
or related to this Agreement or the breach thereof. The
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parties
agree that such arbitration is pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act. The
arbitration shall be governed by the then-existing rules of the American
Arbitration Association for Employment Arbitration and will be held in Colorado
Springs, Colorado. The arbitrator will be selected pursuant to the mutual
agreement of the parties, and, if the parties are unable to agree, the
arbitrator will be designated by the Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial District
Court, State of Colorado. The award rendered by the arbitrator shall be
enforced, if necessary, in the United States District Court for the District of
Colorado. The arbitrator shall apply the substantive law of the State of
Colorado and may award any relief recognized by Colorado law, which could be
awarded by a District Court of the State of Colorado, including injunctive
relief and attorney’s fees. The arbitrator shall award reasonable attorney’s
fees and costs to the prevailing party.
17. Integration
Clause and Modification. This
Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between the
parties and supersedes all proposals, prior agreements, and all other
communications between the parties, oral or in writing, relating to the subject
matter of this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended or superseded only by an
agreement in writing, signed by Employee and the CEO / Compensation Committee of
Employer.
18. Notices. All
notices, requests, demands, claims, and other communications under this
Agreement must be in writing. Any notice, request, demand, claim, or other
communication under this Agreement will be deemed duly given only if it is sent
by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or
by courier, by facsimile, or email message, and must be addressed to the
intended recipient as follows:
If to
Employer, to: Century
Casinos, Inc.
0000 Xxxx
Xxxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, XX 00000
If to
Employee: to Employee's residence, as shown on Employer's records.
Notices
will be deemed given and received three days after mailing if sent by certified
mail, when delivered if sent by courier, and one business day after receipt of
confirmation by person or machine if sent by telecopy, facsimile, or email
transmission. Either party may change the address to which notices, requests,
demands, claims and other communications under this Agreement are to be
delivered by giving the other party notice in the manner set forth
above.
19. Governing
Law and Forum. This
Agreement will be governed by and construed according to the internal laws of
the State of Colorado, without regard to conflict of law principles, except
Section 16, which will be governed and construed according to the Federal
Arbitration Act, except as otherwise provided in Section 16. The parties further
agree that any disputes arising under this Agreement and any action brought to
enforce this Agreement must be brought exclusively in the Colorado District
Court, Fourth Judicial District, and the parties consent to personal
jurisdiction of such court and waive any objection or defense of forum
non-conveniens,
improper venue or lack of personal jurisdiction.
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20. Acknowledgment by
Employee.
Employee has been afforded the opportunity to read, reflect upon and consider
the terms of this Agreement, has been afforded the opportunity to discuss this
Agreement with Employee's attorney or other advisor or counselor, has read this
entire Agreement, fully understands its terms, has voluntarily executed this
Agreement, and has retained one copy of this executed Agreement for Employee's
records. Furthermore, Employee acknowledges and agrees that should Employee
obtain employment after the termination of this Agreement, Employer may
communicate with a subsequent employer and show a copy of this Agreement to a
subsequent employer, for the purpose of informing a subsequent employer about
Employer’s rights and Employee’s obligations under this Agreement.
ACCEPTED
AND AGREED: |
ACCEPTED
AND AGREED: |
//s//Xxxxx
Haitzmann//s//Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx
Employer’s
Executive Committee
Date:
March 20, 2005/March 22, 2005 |
//s//Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx
Employee
Date:
February 28, 2005 |
ACCEPTED
AND AGREED: |
|
|
|
//s//Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Xx.
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
Compensation
Committee
Date:
March 15, 2005 |
|
|
|
//s//Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx
Mag.
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx
Compensation
Committee
Date:
March 15, 2005 |