Pineapple Energy Inc. 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Exhibit 10.1
PINEAPPLE ENERGY INC.
2022 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
1. Purpose of Plan. The purpose of this Pineapple Energy Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “Plan”) is to encourage stock ownership by all eligible Employees of the Company and by eligible Employees of any Subsidiaries authorized by the Board of Directors to participate hereunder. The Plan is further intended to incent Employees to remain in employment, improve operations, increase profits, and contribute more significantly to the Company’s success by providing the employees of the Company and its participating Subsidiaries with a convenient means of purchasing shares of Company common stock from time to time at a discount to market prices through the use of payroll deductions. The Company intends that the Plan shall qualify as an “Employee Stock Purchase Plan” under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and shall be construed in a manner consistent with the requirements of Code § 423 and the regulations thereunder.
2. Administration.
(a) The Plan shall be administered by a stock purchase committee (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee”) consisting of not less than three directors or employees of the Company, as designated by the Board of Directors of the Company (hereinafter referred to as the “Board of Directors”). The Board of Directors shall fill all vacancies in the Committee and may remove any member of the Committee at any time, with or without cause.
(b) Unless the Board of Directors limits the authority of the Committee, the Committee shall be vested with full authority to adopt, amend and rescind any rules deemed desirable and appropriate for the administration of the Plan, to construe and interpret the Plan, and to make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan. Decisions of the Committee will be final and binding on all parties who have an interest in the Plan. The Committee may delegate ministerial duties to such of the Company’s employees, outside entities and outside professionals as the Committee so determines. For all purposes of this Plan other than the Plan’s Section 2(b), references to the Committee shall also refer to the Board of Directors.
(c) The Company shall pay all expenses of administering the Plan, other than costs associated with either any required tax withholding or the sale or other disposition of shares purchased under the Plan.
(d) No member of the Board of Directors or the Committee shall be liable for any action or determination made in good faith with respect to the Plan or any option granted under it.
3. Duration and Phases of the Plan.
(a) The Plan will become effective on the date it is approved by the shareholders of the Company, which approval must be within twelve (12) months of the date the Plan is adopted by the Board, and will terminate when all shares authorized for issuance under Section 9 of this Plan, are issued or at such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s Board of Directors, except that any Phase commenced prior to such termination shall, if necessary, be allowed to continue beyond such termination until completion. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any amendment of this Plan to increase the number of shares authorized for issuance under Section 9 of this Plan shall be considered of no force or effect and any options granted thereafter shall be considered null and void unless the holders of a majority of all the issued and outstanding shares of the common stock of the Company approve such amendment of the Plan within twelve (12) months after the date Section 9 is amended by the Board of Directors to increase the number of shares authorized for issuance.
(b) The Plan shall be carried out in one or more phases, as determined by the Board of Directors or Committee, provided that no phase shall be for a period of longer than twenty-seven (27) months (“Phases”). Phases may run concurrently or overlap with any other Phase. The existence and date of commencement of a Phase (the “Commencement Date”) shall be determined by the Committee and shall terminate on a date (the “Termination
Date”) determined by the Committee consistent with the limitations specified above. In the event all of the stock reserved for grant of options hereunder is issued pursuant to the terms hereof prior to the commencement of one or more Phases scheduled by the Committee or the number of shares remaining is so small, in the opinion of the Committee, as to render administration of any succeeding Phase impracticable, such Phase or Phases shall be cancelled. Phases shall be numbered successively as Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, etc.
(c) In the event of (i) any consolidation or merger of the Company in which the Company is not the continuing or surviving corporation or pursuant to which shares would be converted into cash, securities or other property, other than a merger of the Company in which shareholders immediately prior to the merger have the same proportionate ownership of stock in the surviving corporation immediately after the merger; or (ii) any sale, exchange or other transfer (in one transaction or a series of related transactions) of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, each option pursuant to a Phase with a Termination Date that is scheduled to occur after the date of the consummation of such transaction may be continued or assumed or an equivalent right may be substituted by the surviving or successor corporation or a parent or subsidiary of such corporation, or the Board of Directors may elect to accelerate the Termination Date of any Phase. Subject to any required action by the shareholders, if the Company shall be involved in any merger or consolidation, in which it is not the surviving corporation, and if the Board of Directors does not accelerate the Termination Date of the Phase, each outstanding option shall pertain to and apply to the securities or other rights to which a holder of the number of shares subject to the option would have been entitled.
(d) A dissolution or liquidation of the Company shall cause each outstanding option to terminate, provided that in such event, immediately prior to such dissolution or liquidation, each Participant shall be repaid the payroll deductions credited to the Participant’s account without interest.
4. Eligibility. All Employees, as defined in Section 17 hereof, who are employed by the Company at least one day prior to the Commencement Date of a Phase shall be eligible to participate in such Phase. For any Phase, the Company may choose to further exclude one or more of the following categories of employees, so long as the exclusions are applied in an identical manner:
(a) Employees employed less than two years.
(b) Employees whose customary employment is not more than five months a calendar year.
(c) Highly compensated employees (as defined in Treasury Reg. § 1.423-2(e)).
(d) Employees who are citizens or residents of a foreign jurisdiction (without regard to whether they are also citizens of the United States or resident aliens).
5. Participation.
(a) Participation in the Plan is voluntary. An eligible Employee may elect to participate in any Phase of the Plan, and thereby become a “Participant” in the Plan, by completing the Plan payroll deduction form provided by the Company and delivering it to the Company or its designated representative during the enrollment period specified by the Committee, and no later than the day prior to the Commencement Date of that Phase.
(b) Once enrolled in the Plan, a Participant will continue to participate in the Plan until the Participant withdraws from the Plan pursuant to Section 8(a), or until contributions are discontinued, or the Participant is no longer an eligible Employee pursuant to Section 8(e). A Participant who withdraws from the Plan pursuant to Section 8(a) or is no longer an eligible Employee pursuant to Section 8(e) may again become a Participant, if the Participant is then an eligible Employee, by proceeding as provided in Section 5(a) above, which shall be effective as of the next Commencement Date. A Participant whose payroll deductions were discontinued because of Section 7(a)(v)(A) will automatically resume participation at the Commencement Date of the next Phase of the Plan that ends in the next calendar year, if the Participant is then an eligible Employee at the same level as in effect at the time of the discontinuation.
6. Payroll Deductions.
(a) Upon enrollment, a Participant shall elect to make contributions to the Plan by payroll deductions in increments based on a dollar amount or percentage of Base Pay (rounded to whole dollar amounts and in amounts calculated to be as uniform as practicable throughout the period of the Phase), in the aggregate amount not in excess of 20% of such Participant’s Base Pay for the term of the Phase (or such other maximum percentage as the Committee may establish from time to time prior to the commencement of a Phase), nor in excess of the limit specified in Section 7(a)(v)(A) below. Payroll deductions for a Participant shall commence on the first payday after the Commencement Date of the Phase and shall terminate on the last payday immediately prior to or coinciding with the Termination Date of that Phase unless sooner terminated by the Participant as provided in Section 8 hereof. Except for payroll deductions, a Participant may not make any separate cash payments into the Participant’s account under the Plan. The minimum authorized payroll deduction is $10 per payroll period. Any election submitted shall remain in effect for subsequent Phases until the Plan is terminated or such Participant withdraws from the Plan, modifies his or her authorization, or ceases to be an Employee eligible to participate in the Plan.
(b) In the event that the Participant’s Base Pay for any pay period is terminated or reduced from the Base Pay for such a period as of the Commencement Date of the Phase for any reason so that the amount actually withheld on behalf of the Participant as of the Termination Date of the Phase is less than the amount anticipated to be withheld over the Phase as determined on the Commencement Date of the Phase, then the extent to which the Participant may exercise the Participant’s option shall be based on the amount actually withheld on the Participant’s behalf. In the event of a change in the pay period of any Participant, such as from bi-weekly to monthly, an appropriate adjustment shall be made to the deduction in each new pay period so as to ensure the deduction of the proper amount authorized by the Participant.
(c) A Participant may withdraw from participation in the Phase and terminate the Participant’s payroll deduction authorized at such times as determined by the Committee and shall have the rights provided in Section 8.
(d) All payroll deductions made for Participants shall be credited to their respective accounts under the Plan.
(e) Except for the Participant’s right to discontinue participation in the Plan as provided in Paragraph 8, no Participant shall be entitled to increase or decrease the amount to be deducted in a given Phase after the Commencement Date unless the Committee in its discretion allows all Participants to increase or decrease their deductions during a particular Phase as communicated to Employees prior to the Commencement Date of a Phase.
7. Options.
(a) Grant of Option.
| (i) | A Participant who is employed by the Company as of the Commencement Date of a Phase shall be granted an option as of such date to purchase a number of full shares of Company common stock to be determined by dividing the total amount to be credited to that Participant’s account under Section 6 hereof by the applicable option price set forth in Section 7(a)(ii) hereof, subject to the limitations of Sections 7(a)(v)(A), 7(a)(v)(B), 7(a)(v)(C) and 9 hereof. |
| (ii) | Prior to the commencement of a Phase, the Board or Committee shall determine the option price for shares of common stock to be purchased during that Phase, as a percentage of (i) the fair market value of such shares of common stock on the Termination Date of the Phase, which shall not be less than eighty-five percent (85%) of such fair market value, or (ii) the lower of (A) the fair market value of such shares of common stock on the Termination Date of the Phase, or (B) the fair market value of such shares of common stock on the on the Commencement Date, which shall not be less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the fair market values on the relevant date. |
| (iii) | The fair market value of a share of common stock of the Company means, as of any date, the closing sale price for a share on the principal securities market on which the shares trade on said date. In the absence of an established market for the shares, the fair market value shall be determined in good faith by the Committee and such determination shall be conclusive and binding on all persons. |
| (iv) | All Employees granted options pursuant to the Plan shall have the same rights and privileges, except as may be provided for in this Plan and pursuant to Treas. Reg. § 1.423-2(f). The Committee may impose uniform additional conditions and restrictions not inconsistent with Code § 423 with respect to all options granted during a Phase, including but not limited to restrictions on the hold and resale of shares received upon exercise of the option. |
| (v) | Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, no Employee shall be granted an option hereunder: |
| A. | Which permits the Participant’s rights to purchase shares of stock under all employee stock purchase plans of the Company, its Subsidiaries or its parent, if any, to accrue at a rate which exceeds Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) of the fair market value of such stock (determined at the time such option is granted) for each calendar year in which such option is outstanding at any time. In the case of shares purchased during a Phase that commenced in the current calendar year, the limit shall be equal to $25,000 minus the fair market value of the shares that the Participant previously purchased in the current calendar year under the Plan and all other employee stock purchase plans of the Company. |
| B. | Which permits the Participant’s rights to purchase the number of shares of stock under all employee stock purchase plans of the Company, its Subsidiaries or its parent, if any, that per Phase exceed the number of shares equal to Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) divided by the fair market value of the stock on the Commencement Date. |
| C. | If immediately after the grant such Participant would own and/or hold outstanding options to purchase stock possessing five percent (5%) or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of stock of the Company, its parent, if any, or of any Subsidiary of the Company. For purposes of determining stock ownership under this Section, the rules of Code § 424(d) shall apply. |
| (vi) | The grant of an option pursuant to this Plan shall not affect in any way the right or power of the Company to make adjustments, reclassifications, reorganizations or changes of its capital or business structure or to merge or to consolidate or to dissolve, liquidate or sell, or transfer all or any part of its business or assets. |
(b) Exercise of Option.
| (i) | Unless a Participant gives written notice to the Company pursuant to Section 7(b)(ii) or Section 8 prior to the Termination Date of a Phase, the Participant’s option for the purchase of shares will be exercised automatically for the Participant as of such Termination Date for the purchase of the number of full shares of Company common stock which the accumulated payroll deductions in the Participant’s account at that time will purchase at the applicable option price set forth in Section 7(a)(ii), and subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 7(a)(v)(A), 7(a)(v)(B) and 9 hereof. |
| (ii) | A Participant may, by written notice to the Company at any time during the thirty (30) day period immediately preceding the Termination Date of a Phase, elect, effective as of the Termination Date of that Phase, to exercise the Participant’s option for a specified number of full shares less than the maximum number which may be purchased under the Participant’s option. |
| (iii) | As promptly as practicable after the Termination Date of any Phase, the Company will deliver to each Participant herein the common stock purchased upon the exercise of the Participant’s option. Any balance in Participant’s account not used for the purchase of common stock as of the Termination Date of a Phase shall be carried over (without interest) and credited to Participant’s account for the next Phase of the Plan, subject to Participant’s right to be paid such amount (without interest) in the event Participant subsequently withdraws from or terminates participation in the Plan as provided in Section 8. |
| (iv) | The Committee may appoint a registered broker dealer to act as agent for the Company in holding and performing ministerial duties in connection with the Plan, including, but not limited to, maintaining records of stock ownership by Participants and holding stock in its own name for the benefit of the Participants. No trust or escrow arrangement shall be expressed or implied by the exercise of such duties by the agent. A Participant may, at any time, request of the agent that any shares allocated to the Participant be registered in the name of the Participant, in which event the agent shall issue a certificate for the whole number of shares in the name of the Participant. |
8. Withdrawal or Termination of Participation.
(a) A Participant may, at any time prior to the Termination Date of a Phase, discontinue making contributions and withdraw all payroll deductions then credited to the Participant’s account by giving written notice to the Company. Promptly upon receipt of such notice of withdrawal, all payroll deductions credited to the Participant’s account will be paid to the Participant without interest and no further payroll deductions will be made during that Phase. In such event, the option granted the Participant under that Phase of the Plan shall lapse immediately. Partial withdrawals of payroll deductions hereunder may not be made. A Participant who withdraws his or her payroll deductions pursuant to this Section 8(a) will no longer be a Participant in the Plan unless and until the individual, if he or she is then an eligible Employee, again becomes a Participant in the Plan by proceeding as provided in Section 5(a) above, which shall be effective as of the next Commencement Date. A Participant’s withdrawal of payroll deductions will not have any effect upon the Participant’s eligibility to participate in any succeeding Phase of the Plan or in any similar plan that may hereafter be adopted by the Company.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8(a) above, if a Participant is obligated to file reports pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (whether at the commencement of a Phase or during a Phase) then such a Participant shall not have the right to withdraw all or a portion of the accumulated deductions except in accordance with Section 8(c) and (d) below.
(c) In the event of the death of a Participant, the person or persons specified in Section 13 may give notice to the Company within sixty (60) days of the death of the Participant electing to purchase the number of full shares which the accumulated payroll deductions in the account of such deceased Participant will purchase at the option price specified in Section 7(a)(ii) and have the balance in the account distributed in cash without interest to the person or persons specified in Section 13. If no such notice is received by the Company within said sixty (60) days, the accumulated payroll deductions will be distributed in full in cash without interest to the person or persons specified in Section 13.
(d) Upon termination of Participant’s employment for any reason other than death of the Participant, the payroll deductions credited to the Participant’s account without interest shall be returned to the Participant.
(e) In the event the Participant ceases to be an eligible Employee, although still employed by the Company, the Participant shall be deemed to have discontinued participation in the Plan and all payroll deductions shall be discontinued. Participant shall have the right to purchase the number of full shares, which the accumulated payroll deductions in the Participant’s account as of the date the employee ceases to be an eligible Employee will purchase at the option price and time specified in Section 7 above. The balance remaining in Participant’s account after such purchase shall be distributed to Participant without interest.
(f) The Committee shall be entitled to make such rules, regulations and determination as it deems appropriate under the Plan in respect of any leave of absence taken by or disability of any Participant. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Committee shall be entitled to determine:
| (i) | Whether or not any such leave of absence shall constitute a termination of employment for purposes of the Plan; and | |
| (ii) | The impact, if any, of any such leave of absence on options under the Plan theretofore granted to any Participant who takes such leave of absence. |
9. Stock Reserved for Options. Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) shares of the Company’s $.05 par value common stock are reserved for issuance upon the exercise of options to be granted under the Plan. Shares subject to the unexercised portion of any lapsed or expired option may again be subject to options under the Plan.
(b) If the total number of shares of Company common stock for which options are to be granted for a given Phase as specified in Section 7 exceeds the number of shares then remaining available under the Plan (after deduction of all shares for which options have been exercised or are then outstanding) and if the Committee does not elect to cancel such Phase pursuant to Section 3, the Committee shall make a pro rata allocation of the shares remaining available in as uniform and equitable a manner as it shall consider practicable. In such event, the options to be granted and the payroll deductions to be made pursuant to the Plan which would otherwise be effected may, in the discretion of the Committee, be reduced accordingly. The Committee shall give written notice of such reduction to each Participant affected.
(c) The Participant (or a joint tenant named pursuant to Section 9(d) hereof) shall have no rights as a shareholder with respect to any shares subject to the Participant’s option until the date until the Company delivers the shares of common stock purchased upon the exercise of the Participant’s option as provided in Section 7(b)(3). No adjustment shall be made for dividends (ordinary or extraordinary, whether in cash, securities or other property), distributions or other rights for which the record date is prior to the date such stock certificate is actually issued, except as otherwise provided in Section 11 hereof.
(d) The shares of Company common stock to be delivered to a Participant pursuant to the exercise of an option under the Plan will be registered in the name of the Participant or, if the Participant so directs by written notice to the Committee prior to the Termination Date of that Phase of the Plan, in the names of the Participant and one other person the Participant may designate as the Participant’s joint tenant with rights of survivorship, to the extent permitted by law.
10. Accounting and Use of Funds. Payroll deductions for each Participant shall be credited to an account established for the Participant under the Plan. Such account shall be solely for bookkeeping purposes and no separate fund or trust shall be established hereunder and the Company shall not be obligated to segregate such funds. All funds from payroll deductions received or held by the Company under the Plan may be used, without limitation, for any corporate purpose by the Company.
11. Adjustment Provisions.
(a) Subject to any required action by the shareholders of the Company, the number of shares covered by each outstanding option, and the price per share thereof in each such option, shall be proportionately adjusted for any increase or decrease in the number of issued shares of the Company common stock resulting from a subdivision or consolidation of shares or the payment of a share dividend (but only on the shares) or any other increase or decrease in the number of such shares effected without receipt of consideration by the Company.
(b) In the event of a change in the shares of the Company as presently constituted, which is limited to a change of all its authorized shares with par value into the same number of shares with a different par value or without par value, the shares resulting from any such change shall be deemed to be the shares within the meaning of this Plan.
(c) To the extent that the foregoing adjustments relate to shares or securities of the Company, such adjustments shall be made by the Committee, and its determination in that respect shall be final, binding and conclusive, provided that each option granted pursuant to this Plan shall not be adjusted in a manner that causes the option to fail to continue to qualify as an option issued pursuant to an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Code § 423.
(d) Except as hereinbefore expressly provided in this Section 11, no Participant shall have any right by reason of any subdivision or consolidation of shares of any class or the payment of any stock dividend or any other increase or decrease in the number of shares of any class or by reason of any dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation or spin-off of assets or stock of another corporation, and any issue by the Company of shares of any class, or securities convertible into shares of any class, shall not affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to, the number or price of shares subject to the option.
12. Non-Transferability of Options.
(a) Options granted under any Phase of the Plan shall not be transferable except under the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable only by the Participant during the Participant’s lifetime and after the Participant’s death only by the Participant’s beneficiary of the representative of the Participant’s estate as provided in Section 8(c) hereof.
(b) Neither payroll deductions credited to a Participant’s account, nor any rights with regard to the exercise of an option or to receive common stock under any Phase of the Plan may be assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise disposed of in any way by the Participant. Any such attempted assignment, transfer, pledge or other disposition shall be null and void and without effect, except that the Company may, at its option, treat such act as an election to withdraw funds in accordance with Section 8.
13. Designation of Beneficiary.
(a) A Participant may file a written (or if available electronic) designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any cash credited to the Participant’s account under any Phase of the Plan in the event of such Participant’s death prior to exercise of the Participant’s option pursuant to Section 9 hereof, or to exercise the Participant’s option and become entitled to any stock and/or cash upon such exercise in the event of the Participant’s death prior to exercise of the option pursuant to Section 7 hereof. The beneficiary designation may be changed by the Participant at any time by written notice (or if available electronic) to the Company.
(b) Upon the death of a Participant and upon receipt by the Company of proof deemed adequate by it of the identity and existence at the Participant’s death of a beneficiary validly designated under the Plan, the Company shall in the event of the Participant’s death under the circumstances described in Section 8(c) hereof, allow such beneficiary to exercise the Participant’s option pursuant to Section 8(c) if such beneficiary is living on the Termination Date of the Phase and deliver to such beneficiary the appropriate stock and/or cash after exercise of the option. In the event there is no validly designated beneficiary under the Plan who is living at the time of the Participant’s death under the circumstances described in Section 8(c) or in the event the option lapses, the Company shall deliver the cash credited to the account of the Participant without interest to the executor or administrator of the estate of the Participant, or if no such executor or administrator has been appointed to the knowledge of the Company, it may, in its discretion, deliver such cash to the spouse (or, if no surviving spouse, to any one or more children of the Participant). If no spouse or child is known to the Company, then to such relatives of the Participant known to the Company as would be entitled to such amounts, under the laws of intestacy in the deceased Participant’s domicile as though named as the designated beneficiary hereunder. The Company will not be responsible for or be required to give effect to the disposition of any cash or stock or the exercise of any option in accordance with any will or other testamentary disposition made by such Participant or in accordance with the provision of any law concerning intestacy, or otherwise. No designated beneficiary shall, prior to the death of a Participant by whom the beneficiary has been designated, acquire any interest in any stock or in any option or in the cash credited to the Participant’s account under any Phase of the Plan.
14. Amendment and Termination. The Plan may be terminated at any time by the Board of Directors provided that, except as permitted in Section 3(c) with respect to an acceleration of the Termination Date of any
Phase, no such termination will take effect with respect to any options then outstanding. Also, the Board may, from time to time, amend the Plan as it may deem proper and in the best interests of the Company or as may be necessary to comply with Code § 423, or other applicable laws or regulations; provided, however, that no such amendment shall, without prior approval of the shareholders of the Company (1) increase the total number of shares for which options may be granted under the Plan (except as provided in Section 11 herein), (2) permit aggregate payroll deductions in excess of ten percent (10%) of a Participant’s compensation as of the Commencement Date of a Phase, (3) impair any outstanding option, (4) materially expand the class of individuals eligible to become Participants and receive options under the Plan, (5) materially increase the benefits accruing to Participants under the Plan or materially reduce the price at which shares of Common Stock may be purchased under the Plan, (6) expand the types of awards available for issuance under the Plan, or (7) change the sponsoring corporation or the stock available for purchase under the Plan; but only to the extent that shareholder approval is required by applicable law or listing requirements
15. Notices. All notices or other communications in connection with the Plan or any Phase thereof shall be in the form specified by the Committee and shall be deemed to have been duly given when received by the Participant or the Participant’s designated personal representative or beneficiary or by the Company or its designated representative, as the case may be.
16. Participation of Subsidiaries. The Board of Directors may from time to time, by written resolution, authorize the employees of any of its Subsidiaries to participate hereunder. Effective as of the date of coverage of any such Subsidiary, any references herein to the “Company” shall be interpreted as referring to such Subsidiary as well as to Pineapple Energy Inc. In the event that any Subsidiary which is covered under the Plan ceases to be a Subsidiary of Pineapple Energy Inc., the employees of such Subsidiary shall be considered to have terminated their employment for purposes of Section 8 hereof as of the date such Subsidiary ceases to be such a Subsidiary.
17. Definitions.
(a) “Base Pay” is the regular base pay for employment for each employee as annualized for a twelve (12) month period, excluding overtime, commissions, bonuses, disability payments, shift differentials, employer contributions to a 401(k) or other retirement plan, amounts deferred to a non-qualified deferred compensation plan, incentives, equity awards, reimbursements, expense allowances, fringe benefits and other similar payments, and including contributions made by the Participant to a cafeteria plan maintained by the Company or a Subsidiary, or under any qualified transportation fringe benefit plan, determined as of the Commencement Date of each Phase.
(b) “Employee” shall mean any employee, including an officer, of the Company who as of the first day of the month immediately preceding the Commencement Date of a Phase is customarily employed by the Company for at least twenty (20) hours per week.
(c) “Subsidiary” shall include any corporation defined as a subsidiary of the Company in Code § 424(f).
18. Miscellaneous.
(a) The Plan shall not, directly or indirectly, create any right for the benefit of any Employee or class of Employees to purchase any shares of stock under the Plan, or create in any Employee or class of Employees any right with respect to continuation of employment by the Company, and it shall not be deemed to interfere in any way with the Company’s right to terminate, or otherwise modify, an Employee’s employment at any time.
(b) The provisions of the Plan shall, in accordance with its terms, be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, all successors of each Employee participating in the Plan, including, without limitation, such Employee’s estate and the executors, administrators or trustees thereof, heirs and legatees, and any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or representative of creditors of such Employee.
(c) As a condition of the obligations of the Company under this Plan, each Participant must, no later than the date as of which any part of the value of an option under this Plan first becomes includable as compensation in the gross income of the Participant for federal income tax purposes, pay to the Company, or make arrangements satisfactory to the Company regarding payment of, any federal, state, or local taxes of any kind required by law to be
withheld with respect to such value. The Company or any Subsidiary, to the extent permitted by law, may deduct any such taxes from any payment of any kind otherwise due to the Participant. If the Committee permits, a Participant may elect by written notice to the Company to satisfy part or all of the withholding tax requirements under this Section by (i) authorizing the Company to retain from the number of shares of Stock that would otherwise be deliverable to the Participant, or (ii) delivering (including by attestation) to the Company from shares of stock already owned by the Participant, that number of shares having an aggregate fair market value equal to part or all of the tax payable by the Participant under the this Section, and in the event shares of stock are withheld, the amount withheld will not exceed the minimum required federal, state and FICA withholding amount. Any such election will be in accordance with, and subject to, applicable tax and securities laws, regulations and rulings.
(d) The law of the State of Minnesota will govern all matters relating to this Plan except to the extent it is superseded by the laws of the United States.
(e) The offering of the shares hereunder shall be subject to the effecting by the Company of any registration or qualification of the shares under any federal or state law or the obtaining of the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory body which the Company shall determine, in its sole discretion, is necessary or desirable as a condition to or in connection with, the offering or the issue or purchase of the shares covered thereby. The Company shall make every reasonable effort to effect such registration or qualification or to obtain such consent or approval.
(f) It is intended that the Plan and any option granted under the Plan made to a person subject to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 meet all requirements of Rule 16b-3. If any provisions of the Plan or any option granted under the Plan would disqualify the Plan or such option, or would otherwise not comply with Rule 16b-3, such provision or option shall be construed or deemed amended to conform to Rule 16b-3.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision in this Plan to the contrary, payroll deduction elections and cancellations or amendments thereto, withdrawals decisions, beneficiary designations, and any other decision or election by a Participant under this Plan may be accomplished by electronic or telephonic means, which includes but is not limited to the Internet, and which are not otherwise prohibited by law and which are in accordance with procedures and/or systems approved or arranged by the Employer or its delegates.
