(a)
Whistleblower Protections and Trade Secrets. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, nothing in this Agreement or the Confidential Information Agreement prohibits Executive from reporting possible violations of federal law or regulation to any United States governmental agency or entity in accordance with the provisions of and rules promulgated under Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or any other whistleblower protection provisions of state or federal law or regulation (including the right to receive an award for information provided to any such government agencies). Furthermore, in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 1833, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement: (i) Executive shall not be in breach of this Agreement, and shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law (A) for the disclosure of a trade secret that is made in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official or to an attorney solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law, or (B) for the disclosure of a trade secret that is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal; and (ii) if Executive files a lawsuit for retaliation by the Company for reporting a suspected violation of law, Executive may disclose the trade secret to Executive’s attorney, and may use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, if Executive files any document containing the trade secret under seal, and does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order.
13.
Dispute Resolution. Except as excluded herein below, any controversy, dispute or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or breach thereof, (each, a “Covered Claim”) shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by JAMS. The arbitration shall be conducted by a single, neutral arbitrator, pursuant to JAMS’s Employment Arbitration Rules & Procedures, available at https://www.jamsadr.com/rules-employment-arbitration/English, as in effect at the time of the initiation of arbitration, which the Company will provide to Employee upon reasonable request, in Sunnyvale, California. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the arbitration provisions of this Agreement shall be governed by and enforceable pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act, and, in all other respects, the arbitrator shall apply the substantive laws of the state as provided in Section 14(e) or applicable Federal law, with the same statutes of limitation and available remedies that would apply if the claims were brought in a court of law of competent jurisdiction. The costs unique to arbitration, including the arbitration administrative fees, arbitrator compensation and expenses, and any costs of any witnesses call by the arbitrator, that would not be incurred in a court proceeding shall be borne by the Company. Unless otherwise ordered by the arbitrator under applicable law, the Company and Employee shall each bear its, their, his, or her own expenses, such as expert witness fees, filing fees, and attorneys’ fees and costs. Nothing herein shall prevent the Company or Employee from seeking a statutory award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs under applicable law. THE COMPANY AND EMPLOYEE RECOGNIZE THAT, BY AGREEING TO ARBITRATE THEIR DISPUTES, EACH WAIVE ITS, THEIR, HIS, OR HER RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OF ANY COVERED CLAIM. THE COMPANY AND EMPLOYEE WAIVE ITS, THEIR, HIS, OR HER RIGHT TO BRING ANY COVERED CLAIM AS PART OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH A CLASS OR COLLECTIVE ACTION. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section shall not preclude either party from seeking a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction from a court of competent jurisdiction if such relief is not available in a timely fashion through arbitration. Further, this arbitration agreement shall not apply to: (a) claims for unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits; (b) sexual harassment and sexual assault disputes arising under federal, state, local, or tribal law, unless Employee elects to arbitrate such disputes; (c) claims