EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.1
This Employment Agreement (this “Agreement”) is entered into as of October 29, 2008,
to be effective November 1, 2008 (the “Effective Date”) between BLUELINX CORPORATION, a
Georgia corporation (the “Company”), and Xxxxxx X. Xxxx (“Executive”).
RECITALS:
WHEREAS, the Company desires to employ Executive as the Chief Executive Officer and President
of the Company, and Executive desires to accept employment as the Chief Executive Officer and
President of the Company; and
WHEREAS, as of the Effective Date, the Company shall employ Executive on the terms and
conditions set forth in this Agreement, and Executive shall be retained and employed by the Company
to perform such services under the terms and conditions of this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein and other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties
hereto agree as follows:
1. Certain Definitions. Certain words or phrases with initial capital letters not
otherwise defined herein are to have the meanings set forth in Section 8.
2. Employment. The Company shall employ Executive, and Executive accepts employment
with the Company, as of the Effective Date, upon the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement for the period beginning on the Effective Date and ending as provided in Section 5 (the
“Employment Period”).
3. Position and Duties.
(a) During the Employment Period, Executive shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer and
President of the Company and BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (“BHI”) and shall have the normal
duties, responsibilities and authority of an executive serving in such position, subject to the
power of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Company Board”) and the Board of
Directors of BHI (the “BHI Board”), to provide oversight and direction with respect to
such duties, responsibilities and authority, either generally or in specific instances. The
Executive also shall hold similar titles, offices and authority with BHI’s direct and indirect
subsidiaries, as requested by the BHI Board from time to time, subject to the oversight and
direction of the respective boards of directors of such entities.
(b) During the Employment Period, the Executive shall be included in the management’s slate
for election as a member of the BHI Board. Subject, as required, to reelection by BHI’s
stockholders, Executive shall serve as a member of the BHI Board with no additional remuneration
payable to Executive for that service. Upon the Date of Termination, Executive shall, at the BHI
Board’s request, resign from the Board, the BHI Board and any other board or committee of the
Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates.
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(c) During the Employment Period, Executive shall devote Executive’s reasonable best efforts
and Executive’s full professional time and attention (except for permitted vacation periods and
reasonable periods of illness or other incapacity) to the business and affairs of the Company, BHI
and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. Executive shall perform Executive’s duties and
responsibilities to the best of Executive’s abilities in a diligent, trustworthy and business-like
manner. During the Employment Period, Executive shall not serve as a director or a principal of
another company or any charitable or civic organization without the Company Board’s prior consent.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, during the Employment Period, Executive may render charitable and
civic services so long as such services do not materially interfere with Executive’s ability to
discharge his or her duties hereunder.
(d) Executive shall perform Executive’s duties and responsibilities with his or her principal
office located in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area.
4. Compensation and Benefits.
(a) Salary. The Company agrees to pay Executive a salary during the Employment
Period in installments based on the Company’s payroll practices as may be in effect from time to
time. The Executive’s salary shall be at the rate of $600,000 per year (“Base Salary”).
The Base Salary shall be reviewed at least annually and may be increased at the sole discretion of
the BHI Board or Compensation Committee.
(b) Annual Bonus.
(i) Executive shall be eligible to receive an annual bonus, with the annual bonus target to be
100% of Base Salary (i.e., 100% upon achievement of annual “target” performance goals) and a
maximum of 200% of Base Salary (i.e., 200% upon achievement of annual “maximum” performance goals),
with the “target” and “maximum” based upon satisfaction of performance goals and bonus criteria to
be defined and approved by the Compensation Committee of the BHI Board in advance for each fiscal
year. The Company shall pay any such annual bonus earned to Executive in accordance with the terms
of the applicable bonus plan.
(ii) Beginning with fiscal year 2009 and during the Employment Period hereunder, the Executive
will be eligible to participate in long term incentive programs of the Company and BHI now or
hereafter made available to senior executives, in accordance with the provisions thereof as in
effect from time to time, and as deemed appropriate by the Compensation Committee to be applicable
to this position.
(c) Expense Reimbursement. The Company shall reimburse Executive for all reasonable
expenses incurred by Executive during the Employment Period in the course of performing
Executive’s duties under this Agreement in accordance with the Company’s policies in effect from
time to time with respect to travel, entertainment and other business expenses, and subject to the
Company’s requirements applicable generally with respect to reporting and documentation of such
expenses. In order to be entitled to expense
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reimbursement, the Executive must be employed as Chief Executive Officer and President on the
date the Executive incurred the expense.
(d) Standard Executive Benefits Package. Executive is entitled during the Employment
Period to participate, on the same basis as the Company’s other senior executives, in the
Company’s Standard Executive Benefits Package. The Company’s “Standard Executive Benefits
Package” means those benefits (including insurance, vacation and other benefits, but
excluding, except as hereinafter provided in Section 6, any severance pay program or policy of the
Company) for which substantially all of the executives of the Company are from time to time
generally eligible, as determined from time to time by the Board. A summary of such benefits
available to Executive as in effect on the date of this Agreement is attached hereto as
Exhibit A.
(e) Additional Compensation/Benefits. The Compensation Committee of the BHI Board,
in its sole discretion, will determine any compensation or benefits to be provided to Executive
during the Employment Period other than as set forth in this Agreement, including, without
limitation, any future grant of stock options or other equity awards.
(f) Disgorgement of Compensation. If BHI or the Company is required to prepare an
accounting restatement due to material noncompliance by BHI or the Company, as a result of
misconduct, with any financial reporting requirement under the federal securities laws, to the
extent required by law Executive will reimburse the Company for (i) any bonus or other
incentive-based or equity-based compensation received by Executive from the Company (including such
compensation payable in accordance with this Section 4 and Section 6) during the 12-month period
following the first public issuance or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(whichever first occurs) of the financial document embodying that financial reporting requirement;
and (ii) any profits realized by Executive from the improper or unlawful sale of BHI’s securities
during that 12-month period.
5. Employment Period.
(a) Subject to subparagraph 5(b), the Employment Period will commence on the Effective Date
and will continue until, and will end upon, November 1, 2010 (the “Renewal Date”); except
that on the Renewal Date, unless either party shall have given the other 90-days’ written notice
otherwise, the Employment Period will be extended automatically for one additional year.
(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph 5(a), the Employment Period will end upon the first to occur
of any of the following events: (i) Executive’s death; (ii) the Company’s termination of
Executive’s employment on account of Disability; (iii) the Company’s termination of Executive’s
employment for Cause (a “Termination for Cause”); (iv) the Company’s termination of
Executive’s employment without Cause or expiration of this Employment Period as a result of
Company’s notification not to renew as provided in Section 5 (a) above, (a “Termination without
Cause”); (v) Executive’s termination of Executive’s employment for Good Reason (a
“Termination for Good Reason”); or (vi) Executive’s termination of Executive’s employment for any reason other than Good Reason (a “Voluntary Termination”).
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(c) Any termination of Executive’s employment under subparagraph 5(b) (other than 5(b)(i))
must be communicated by a Notice of Termination delivered by the Company or Executive, as the case
may be, to the other party.
(d) Executive will be deemed to have waived any right to a Termination for Good Reason based
on the occurrence or existence of a particular event or circumstance constituting Good Reason
unless Executive delivers a Notice of Termination within 45 days from the date the BHI Board first
made Executive aware of the event or circumstance.
6. Post-Employment Period Payments.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in 6(c) below, at the Date of Termination, Executive will be
entitled to (i) any Base Salary that has accrued but is unpaid, any annual bonus that has been
earned for the fiscal year prior to the year in which the Date of Termination occurs, but is
unpaid, any reimbursable expenses that have been incurred but are unpaid, and any unexpired
vacation days that have accrued under the Company’s vacation policy but are unused, as of the end
of the Employment Period, which amount shall be paid in a lump sum in cash within 30 days of the
Date of Termination, (ii) any plan benefits that by their terms extend beyond termination of
Executive’s employment (but only to the extent provided in any such benefit plan in which Executive
has participated as a Company employee and excluding, except as hereinafter provided in Section 6,
any Company severance pay program or policy) and (iii) any benefits to which Executive is entitled
in accordance with Part 6 of Subtitle B of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974, as amended (“COBRA”). Except as specifically described in this subparagraph 6(a)
and in the succeeding subparagraphs of this Section 6 (under the circumstances described in those
succeeding subparagraphs), from and after the Date of Termination Executive shall cease to have any
rights to salary, bonus, expense reimbursements or other benefits from the Company, BHI or any of
their subsidiaries or affiliates.
(b) If Executive’s employment terminates on account of Executive’s death, Disability,
Voluntary Termination, or Termination for Cause in accordance with Section 5(a), the Company will
make no further payments to Executive except as contemplated in subparagraph 6(a).
(c) If Executive’s employment terminates on account of a Termination without Cause or a
Termination for Good Reason, or at the end of the Employment Period Executive shall be entitled to
the following:
(i) payment equal to one (1) time the Executive’s annual Base Salary in effect immediately
prior to the Date of Termination, plus one (1) time the cash bonus amount received by the
Executive for the fiscal year prior to the year of termination of Executive’s employment, payable
in twelve equal monthly installments commencing six months after the Date of Termination;
(ii) continued participation in the Company’s medical and dental plans, on the same basis as
active employees participate in such plans, until the earlier of (i) Executive’s eligibility for
any such coverage under another employer’s or any other medical or dental insurance plans or (ii)
the first anniversary of the Date of Termination; except that in
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the event that participation in any such plan is barred,
the Company shall reimburse Executive on
a monthly basis for any premiums paid by Executive to obtain benefits (for Executive and his or her
dependents) equivalent to the benefits he is entitled to receive under the Company’s benefit plans.
Executive agrees that the period of coverage under such plans (or the period of reimbursement if
participation is barred) shall count against the plans’ obligation to provide continuation coverage
pursuant to COBRA;
(iii) up to $25,000 in aggregate outplacement services to be used within one year of the Date
of Termination, the scope and provider of which shall be selected by Executive in his or her or her
sole discretion; and
(iv) to the extent not theretofore paid or provided, any other amounts or benefits required to
be paid or provided or which the Executive is eligible to receive under any plan, program, policy
or practice or contract or agreement of the Company (such other amounts and benefits shall be
hereinafter referred to as the “Other Benefits”).
(d) The Company shall have no obligation to make any payments in accordance with subparagraph
6(c) if Executive declines to sign and return a Release Agreement or revokes the Release Agreement
within the time provided in the Release Agreement.
(e) Executive is not required to mitigate the amount of any payment or benefit provided for in
this Agreement by seeking other employment or otherwise.
7. Competitive Activity; Confidentiality; Non-solicitation.
(a) Confidential Information and Trade Secrets.
(i) The Executive shall hold in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of the Company and BHI
all Confidential Information and Trade Secrets. During his or her employment with the Company and
for a period of five years following the termination of the Executive’s employment for any reason,
the Executive shall not, without the prior written consent of the Company or BHI or as may
otherwise be required by law or legal process, communicate or divulge Confidential Information. In
addition, except as necessary to perform his or her duties for the Company, during Executive’s
employment and thereafter, Executive will not, directly or indirectly, transmit or disclose any
Trade Secrets to any person or entity, and will not, directly or indirectly, make use of any Trade
Secrets, for himself or herself or any other person or entity, without the express written consent
of the Company. This provision will apply for so long as a particular Trade Secret retains its
status as a trade secret under applicable law. The protection afforded to Trade Secrets and/or
Confidential Information by this Agreement is not intended by the parties hereto to limit, and is
intended to be in addition to, any protection provided to any such information under any applicable
federal, state or local law.
(ii) All files, records, documents, drawings, specifications, data, computer programs,
customer or vendor lists, specific customer or vendor information, marketing techniques, business
strategies, contract terms, pricing terms, discounts and management compensation of the Company,
BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, whether prepared by the Executive or
otherwise coming into the Executive’s possession, shall remain the exclusive property of the
Company, BHI or any of their respective
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subsidiaries and affiliates, and the Executive shall not remove any such items from the
premises of the Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, except in
furtherance of the Executive’s duties.
(iii) It is understood that while employed by the Company, the Executive will promptly
disclose to the Company in writing, and assign to the Company the Executive’s interest in any
invention, improvement, copyrightable material or discovery made or conceived by the Executive,
either alone or jointly with others, which arises out of the Executive’s employment (“Executive
Invention”). At the Company’s request and expense, the Executive will reasonably assist the
Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates during the period of the
Executive’s employment by the Company and thereafter in connection with any controversy or legal
proceeding relating to an Executive Invention and in obtaining domestic and foreign patent or other
protection covering an Executive Invention. As a matter of record, Executive hereby states that he
or she has provided below a list of all unpatented inventions in which Executive owns all or
partial interest. Executive agrees not to assert any right against BHI with respect to any
invention which is not patented or which is not listed.
(iv) As requested by the Company and at the Company’s expense, from time to time and upon the
termination of the Executive’s employment with the Company for any reason, the Executive will
promptly deliver to the Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates all
copies and embodiments, in whatever form, of all Confidential Information in the Executive’s
possession or within his or her control (including, but not limited to, memoranda, records, notes,
plans, photographs, manuals, notebooks, documentation, program listings, flow charts, magnetic
media, disks, diskettes, tapes and all other materials containing any Confidential Information)
irrespective of the location or form of such material. If requested by the Company, the Executive
will provide the Company with written confirmation that all such materials have been delivered to
the Company as provided herein.
(b) Non-Solicitation. During his or her employment with the Company and for a period
of two years following the termination of the Executive’s employment for any reason, the Executive
shall not solicit or attempt to solicit, (a) any party who is a customer of the Company, BHI or any
of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, for the purpose of marketing, selling or providing
to any such party any services or products offered by the Company, BHI or any of their respective
subsidiaries and affiliates to such customer other than general solicitations to the public and not
directed specifically at a customer of the Company, (b) any party who is a vendor of the Company,
BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates to sell similar products or (c) any
employee of the Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates to terminate
such employee’s employment relationship with the Company, BHI and any of their respective
subsidiaries and affiliates in order, in either case, to enter into a similar relationship with the
Executive, or any other person or any entity in competition with the Company, BHI or any of their
respective subsidiaries and affiliates (other than with respect to general employment solicitations
to the public and not directed specifically at employees of the Company, BHI and any of their
respective subsidiaries and affiliates).
(c) Non-Competition. During the Executive’s employment by the Company and, if the
Executive is terminated pursuant to Section 6(c) or in the event of Executive’s Voluntary
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Termination, for a period of eighteen (18) months following the termination of the Executive’s
employment, the Executive shall not, whether individually, as a director, manager, member,
stockholder, partner, owner, employee, consultant or agent of any business, or in any other
capacity, other than on behalf of the Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and
affiliates, organize, establish, own, operate, manage, control, engage in, participate in, invest
in, permit his or her name to be used by, act as a consultant or advisor to, render services for
(alone or in association with any person, firm, corporation or business organization), or otherwise
assist any person or entity that engages in or owns, invests in, operates, manages or controls any
venture or enterprise which engages or proposes to engage in the building products distribution
business in the United States or Canada (the “Business”). Notwithstanding the foregoing,
nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Executive from owning for passive investment purposes
not intended to circumvent this Agreement, less than five percent (5%) of the publicly traded
voting securities of any company engaged in the Business (so long as the Executive has no power to
manage, operate, advise, consult with or control the competing enterprise and no power, alone or in
conjunction with other affiliated parties, to select a director, manager, general partner, or
similar governing official of the competing enterprise other than in connection with the normal and
customary voting powers afforded the Executive in connection with any permissible equity
ownership).
(d) Remedies; Specific Performance. The parties acknowledge and agree that the
Executive’s breach or threatened breach of any of the restrictions set forth in this Section 7 will
result in irreparable and continuing damage to the Company, BHI and their respective subsidiaries
and affiliates for which there may be no adequate remedy at law and that the Company and BHI shall
be entitled to equitable relief, including specific performance and injunctive relief as remedies
for any such breach or threatened or attempted breach. If the Company proves a breach to the
Court’s satisfaction, the Executive hereby consents to the grant of an injunction (temporary or
otherwise) against the Executive or the entry of any other court order against the Executive
prohibiting and enjoining him from violating, or directing him to comply with any provision of this
Section 7. The Executive also agrees that such remedies shall be in addition to any and all
remedies, including damages, available to the Company and BHI against him for such breaches or
threatened or attempted breaches. In addition, without limiting the remedies of the Company and
BHI for any breach of any restriction on the Executive set forth in this Section 7, except as
required by law, the Executive shall not be entitled to any payments set forth in Section 6 hereof
if the Executive breaches the covenant applicable to the Executive contained in this Section 7 and
the Company, BHI and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates will have no obligation to pay
any of the amounts that remain payable by the Company under Section 6.
(f) The existence of any claim, demand, action or cause of action of Executive against the
Company, whether predicated upon this Agreement or otherwise, is not to constitute a defense to the
Company’s enforcement of any of the covenants or agreements contained in Section 7. The Company’s
rights under this Agreement are in addition to, and not in lieu of, all other rights the Company
may have at law or in equity to protect its confidential information, trade secrets and other
proprietary interests.
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(g) Extension. If a court of competent jurisdiction finally determines that Executive
has violated any of Executive’s obligations under this Section 7, then the period applicable to
those obligations is to automatically be extended by a period of time equal in length to the period
during which those violations occurred.
8. Definitions.
(a) “Cause” means, as determined by the BHI Board in good faith:
(i) a material breach of the duties and responsibilities of Executive;
(ii) Executive’s (x) commission of a felony or (y) commission of any misdemeanor involving
willful misconduct (other than minor violations such as traffic violations) if such misdemeanor
causes material damage to the property, business or reputation of BHI or the Company or their
respective subsidiaries and affiliates;
(iii) acts of dishonesty by Executive resulting or intending to result in personal gain or
enrichment at the expense of the Company, BHI or their respective subsidiaries and affiliates;
(iv) Executive’s material breach of any provision of this Agreement;
(v) Executive’s failure to follow the lawful written directions of the Company Board or the
BHI Board;
(vi) conduct by Executive in connection with his or her duties hereunder that is fraudulent,
unlawful or willful and materially injurious to the Company, BHI or their respective subsidiaries
and affiliates;
(vii) Executive’s engagement in habitual insobriety or the use of illegal drugs or substances;
(viii) Executive’s failure to cooperate fully, or failure to direct the persons under
Executive’s management or direction, or employed by, or consultants or agents to, the Company (or
its subsidiaries and affiliates) to cooperate fully, with all corporate investigations or
independent investigations by the Board or the BHI Board, all governmental investigations of the
Company or its subsidiaries and affiliates, and all orders involving Executive or the Company (or
its subsidiaries and affiliates) entered by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(ix) Executive’s material violation of BHI’s Code of Conduct (including as applicable to
senior executive officers), or any successor codes;
(x) Executive’s engagement in activities prohibited by Section 7; or
(xi) Notwithstanding the foregoing, no termination of the Executive’s employment shall be for
Cause until (i) there shall have been delivered to the Executive a copy of a written notice setting
forth the basis for such termination in reasonable detail, and (ii) the
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Executive shall have been provided an opportunity to be heard in person by the Board (with the
assistance of the Executive’s counsel if the Executive so desires). No act, or failure to act, on
the Executive’s part shall be considered “willful” unless the Executive has acted or failed to act
with a lack of good faith and with a lack of reasonable belief that the Executive’s action or
failure to act was in the best interests of the Company. Any act, or failure to act, based upon
authority given pursuant to a resolution duly adopted by the BHI Board or the Company Board or
based upon the advice of counsel for BHI or the Company shall be conclusively presumed to be done,
or omitted to be done, by the Executive in good faith and in the best interests of the Company.
Any termination of the Executive’s employment by the Company hereunder shall be deemed to be a
termination other than for Cause unless it meets all requirements of this Section 8(a)(xi).
(b) “Confidential Information” means knowledge or data relating to the Company, BHI or
any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, and their respective businesses that is not
generally known to persons not employed by the Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries
and affiliates, is not generally disclosed by the Company, BHI or any of their respective
subsidiaries and affiliates, and is the subject of reasonable efforts to keep it confidential.
Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to, information regarding product or service
cost or pricing, information regarding personnel allocation or organizational structure,
information regarding the business operations or financial performance of the Company, BHI or any
of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, sales and marketing plans, and strategic
initiatives (independent or collaborative), information regarding existing or proposed methods of
operation, current and future development and expansion or contraction plans, sale/acquisition
plans and non-public information concerning the legal or financial affairs of the Company, BHI or
any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. Confidential Information does not include
information that has become generally available to the public by the act of one who has the right
to disclose such information without violating any right or privilege of the Company, BHI or any of
their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. This definition is not intended to limit any
definition of confidential information or any equivalent term under applicable federal, state or
local law.
(c) “Date of Termination” means (i) if Executive’s employment is terminated by the
Company for Disability, 30 days after the Company gives Notice of Termination to Executive
(provided that Executive has not returned to the performance of Executive’s duties on a full-time
basis during this 30-day period), (ii) if Executive’s employment is terminated by Executive for
Good Reason, the date specified in the Notice of Termination (but in no event prior to 30 days
following the delivery of the Notice of Termination), and (iii) if Executive’s employment is
terminated by the Company for any other reason, the date on which a Notice of Termination is given;
except that if within 30 days after any Notice of Termination is given to Executive by the Company,
Executive notifies the Company that a dispute exists concerning the termination, the Date of
Termination is to be the date the dispute is finally determined, whether by mutual written
agreement of the parties or upon final judgment, order or decree of a court of competent
jurisdiction (the time for appeal thereof having expired and no appeal having been perfected).
(d) “Disability” means the determination by the Company, in accordance with applicable
law, based on information provided by a physician selected by the Company or its insurers and
reasonably acceptable to Executive or Executive’s legal representative that, as a result of a
physical or mental injury or illness, Executive has been unable to perform the essential
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functions of his or her job with or without reasonable accommodation for a period of (i) 90
consecutive days or (ii) 180 days in any one-year period.
(e) “Good Reason” means, without the consent of Executive, (A) the assignment to
Executive of any duties inconsistent in any material adverse respect with Executive’s position
(including offices, titles and reporting requirements), authority, duties or responsibilities
immediately following the Effective Date, or any other action by the Company which results in a
material diminution in such position, authority, duties or responsibilities; (B) a material
reduction by the Company in Executive’s Base Salary or annual bonus opportunity, other than
pursuant to a reduction generally applicable to senior executives of the Company; (C) the Company’s
requiring Executive to be based at any office or location outside of the metropolitan area of
Atlanta, Georgia; or (D) any failure by the Company to comply with and satisfy the requirements for
any assignment of its rights and obligations under Section 13. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
“Good Reason” shall not be deemed to exist for purposes of (A) through (D) if the event or
circumstances are rescinded or remedied by the Company within thirty (30) days after receipt of
notice thereof given by Executive.
(f) “Notice of Termination” means a written notice that indicates those specific
termination provisions in this Agreement relied upon and that sets forth in reasonable detail the
facts and circumstances claimed to provide a basis for termination of Executive’s employment under
the provision so indicated. For purposes of this Agreement, no purported termination by either
party is to be effective without a Notice of Termination.
(g) “Release Agreement” means an agreement, substantially in a form approved by the
Company, pursuant to which Executive releases all current or future claims, known or unknown,
arising on or before the date of the release against the Company, its subsidiaries and its
officers.
(h) “Standard Executive Benefits Package” means those benefits (including, without
limitation, retirement, insurance and other welfare benefits, but excluding, except as provided in
Section 6, any severance pay program or policy of the Company) for which substantially all of the
Company’s senior executives are from time to time generally eligible, as determined from time to
time by the Board.
(i) “Trade Secrets” means all secret, proprietary or confidential information
regarding the Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates or that meets the
definition of “trade secrets” under applicable law.
(j) “Material Breach” means an intentional act or omission by Executive which constitutes
substantial non-performance of Executive’s obligations under this Agreement and causes material
damage to the Company.
9. Executive Representations. Executive represents to the Company that (a) the
execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Executive does not and will not conflict
with, breach, violate or cause a default under any contract, agreement, instrument, order, judgment
or decree to which Executive is a party or by which Executive is bound, (b) Executive is not a
party to or bound by any employment agreement, noncompete agreement or
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confidentiality agreement with any other person or entity and (c) upon the execution and
delivery of this Agreement by the Company, this Agreement will be the valid and binding obligation
of Executive, enforceable in accordance with its terms.
10. Withholding of Taxes. The Company shall withhold from any amounts payable under
this Agreement all federal, state, city or other taxes that the Company is required to withhold
under any applicable law, regulation or ruling.
11. American Jobs Creation Act. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
Agreement, in the event that it is determined that any payment to be made under this Agreement is
considered “nonqualified deferred compensation” subject to Section 409A of the American Jobs
Creation Act of 2004, such payment will be delayed for six months following the Date of
Termination.
12. Excess Parachute Payments.
(a) In the event that it shall be determined, based upon the advice of the independent public
accountants for BHI or the Company (the “Accountants”), that any payment, benefit or
distribution by the Company, BHI or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates (a
“Payment”) constitute “parachute payments” under Section 280G(b)(2) of the Code, as
amended, then, if the aggregate present value of all such Payments (collectively, the
“Parachute Amount”) exceeds 2.99 times the Executive’s “base amount”, as defined in Section
280G(b)(3) of the Code (the “Executive Base Amount”), the amounts constituting “parachute payments”
which would otherwise be payable to or for the benefit of Executive shall be reduced to the extent
necessary so that the Parachute Amount is equal to 2.99 times the Executive Base Amount (the
“Reduced Amount”); provided that such amounts shall not be so reduced if the Executive
determines, based upon the advice of the Accountants, that without such reduction Executive would
be entitled to receive and retain, on a net after tax basis (including, without limitation, any
excise taxes payable under Section 4999 of the Code), an amount which is greater than the amount,
on a net after tax basis, that the Executive would be entitled to retain upon his or her receipt of
the Reduced Amount.
(b) If the determination made pursuant to clause (a) of this Section 12 results in a reduction
of the payments that would otherwise be paid to Executive except for the application of clause (a)
of this Section 12, Executive may then elect, in his or her sole discretion, which and how much of
any particular entitlement shall be eliminated or reduced and shall advise the Company in writing
of his or her election within ten days of the determination of the reduction in payments. If no
such election is made by Executive within such ten-day period, the Company may elect which and how
much of any entitlement shall be eliminated or reduced and shall notify Executive promptly of such
election.
(c) As a result of the uncertainty in the application of Section 280G of the Code at the time
of a determination hereunder, it is possible that payments will be made by the Company which
should not have been made under clause (a) of this Section 12 (“Overpayment”) or that
additional payments which are not made by the Company pursuant to clause (a) of this Section 12
should have been made (“Underpayment”). In the event that there is a final determination
by the Internal Revenue Service, or a final determination by a court of competent jurisdiction,
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that an Overpayment has been made, any such Overpayment shall be repaid by Executive to the
Company together with interest at the applicable Federal rate provided for in Section 7872(f)(2)
of the Code. In the event that there is a final determination by the Internal Revenue Service, a
final determination by a court of competent jurisdiction or a change in the provisions of the Code
or regulations pursuant to which an Underpayment arises, any such Underpayment shall be promptly
paid by the Company to or for the benefit of Executive, together with interest at the applicable
Federal rate provided for in Section 7872(f)(2) of the Code.
13. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement is to bind and inure to the benefit of and
be enforceable by Executive, the Company and their respective heirs, executors, personal
representatives, successors and assigns, except that neither party may assign any rights or
delegate any obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other party. Executive
hereby consents to the assignment by the Company of all of its rights and obligations under this
Agreement to any successor to the Company by merger or consolidation or purchase of all or
substantially all of the Company’s assets, provided that the transferee or successor assumes the
Company’s liabilities under this Agreement by agreement in form and substance reasonably
satisfactory to Executive.
14. Survival. Subject to any limits on applicability contained therein, Section 7
will survive and continue in full force in accordance with its terms notwithstanding any
termination of the Employment Period.
15. Choice of Law. This Agreement is to be governed by the internal law, and not the
laws of conflicts, of the State of New York.
16. Severability. Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement is to be
interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision
of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any
applicable law or rule in any jurisdiction, that invalidity, illegality or unenforceability is not
to affect any other provision or any other jurisdiction, and this Agreement is to be reformed,
construed and enforced in the jurisdiction as if the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision
had never been contained herein.
17. Notices. Any notice provided for in this Agreement is to be in writing and is to
be either personally delivered, sent by reputable overnight carrier or mailed by first class mail,
return receipt requested, to the recipient at the address indicated as follows:
Notices to Executive:
To the address listed in the personnel records of the Company.
Notices to the Company:
BlueLinx Corporation
0000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000
0000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000
Attention: General Counsel
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Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
or any other address or to the attention of any other person as the recipient party shall have
specified by prior written notice to the sending party. Any notice under this Agreement is to be
deemed to have been given when so delivered, sent or mailed.
18. Amendment and Waiver. The provisions of this Agreement may be amended or waived
only with the prior written consent of the Company and Executive, and no course of conduct or
failure or delay in enforcing the provisions of this Agreement is to affect the validity, binding
effect or enforceability of this Agreement.
19. Complete Agreement. This Agreement embodies the complete agreement and
understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and effective as of its
date supersedes and preempts any prior understandings, agreements or representations by or between
the parties, written or oral, that may have related to the subject matter hereof in any way,
including, but not limited to, any prior agreements with respect to Executive’s employment or
termination of employment with the Company.
20. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts, each of
which are to be deemed to be an original and both of which taken together are to constitute one and
the same agreement.
The parties are signing this Agreement as of the date stated in the introductory clause.
| BLUELINX CORPORATION | ||||||
| By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxx | |||||
| Name: Xxxx Xxxxxxx | ||||||
| Title: Chief Administration Officer & Vice | ||||||
| President — Human Resources | ||||||
| /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxx | ||||||
| [Executive] | ||||||
LIST OF UNPATENTED INVENTIONS
Executive represents that he or she has no such inventions by initialing below next to the word
“NONE.”
NONE: GRJ
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EXHIBIT A
EXECUTIVE BENEFITS PACKAGE
The following benefits will be provided as for other salaried employees
Salaried 401(k) Plan
Medical and Dental Insurance
Medical and Dental Insurance
The following benefits will be provided to Xx. Xxxx:
| • | Life Insurance — $1,000,000.00 | ||
| • | Executive Annual Physical | ||
| • | Annual Country Club dues/auto allowance — $10,000.00 | ||
| • | Annual tax/accounting allowance — up to $3,500.00 |
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