Employment Agreement between OneMedNet Corporation and Lisa Embree, Chief Financial Officer

Contract Categories: Human Resources - Employment Agreements
EX-10.9 5 ex10-9.htm

 

Exhibit 10.9

 

OneMedNet Corporation

October 19, 2023

 

Dear Lisa Embree,

 

OneMedNet Corp. (the “Company”) is pleased to offer you employment on the following terms:

 

1. Position. Your title will be Chief Financial Officer, reporting to the CEO. This is a full-time, exempt position. While you render services to the Company, you will not engage in any other employment, consulting or other business activity (whether full-time or part-time) that would create a conflict of interest with the Company. By signing this letter agreement, you confirm to the Company that you have no contractual commitments or other legal obligations that would prohibit you from performing your duties for the Company.

 

2. Cash Compensation. The Company will pay you a starting salary at the rate of $225,000 USO per year, payable in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll schedule and subject to applicable deductions and withholdings. This salary will be subject to periodic review and adjustments at the Company’s discretion.

 

3. Annual Bonus. You will also be eligible to receive an annual cash performance bonus of 25% of your annual salary based on achievement of the performance goals set by the Company’s CEO. The Target Bonus, or any portion thereof, will be paid as soon as practicable after the Company’s CEO and Board of Directors determines that the applicable performance goals have been achieved, provided that you must remain an employee of the Company through the date the Target Bonus is paid out in order to receive the Target Bonus.

 

4. Employee Benefits. As an employee of the Company, you will be eligible to receive certain employee benefits. Refer to benefit plan for further detail. You should note that the Company may modify job titles, salaries and benefits from time to time as it deems necessary.

 

5. Equity. Subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors, you are eligible to receive 260,000 of the company’s outstanding shares at closing, as part of the Company’s Restricted Stock Unit Plan.

 

6. Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement. Like all Company employees, you will be required, as a condition of your employment with the Company, to sign the Company’s standard Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A, requires, among other provisions, the assignment of patent rights to any invention made during your employment at the Company.

 

 
 

 

Lisa Embree

Page 2

 

7. Employment Relationship. Employment with the Company is for no specific period of time. Your employment with the Company will be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. Any contrary representations that may have been made to you are superseded by this letter agreement. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company on this term. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures, may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment may only be changed in an express written agreement signed by you and a duly authorized officer of the Company (other than you).

 

8. Termination.

 

In the event that your employment with the Company is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined below) or is terminated by you for Good Reason (as defined below). After the date of your termination of employment (the “Termination Date”) you will receive 6 months’ salary as a Severance Payment.

 

If the Release does not become effective and irrevocable by the Release Deadline, you will forfeit any right to Severance. In no event will Severance be paid or provided hereunder until the Release becomes effective and irrevocable.

 

The following terms referred to in this offer letter shall have the following meanings:

 

“Cause” shall mean: (i) your material failure to perform your stated duties, and your continued failure to cure such failure to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company within ten (10) days following written notice of such failure to you from the Company’s Board of Directors; (ii) your material violation of a written Company policy (including any insider trading policy) or any written agreement or covenant with the Company; (iii) your conviction of, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony (other than motor vehicle offenses the effect of which do not materially impair your performance of your employment duties); (iv) a willful act by you that constitutes gross misconduct and which is injurious to the Company; (v) your commission of any act of fraud, embezzlement, dishonesty or any other willful misconduct that has caused or is reasonably expected to result in material injury to the Company; (vi) the unauthorized use or disclosure by you of any proprietary information or trade secrets of the Company or any other party to whom you owe an obligation of nondisclosure as a result of your relationship with the Company; or your willful failure to cooperate with an investigation by a governmental authority.

 

 
 

 

Lisa Embree

Page 3

 

“Good Reason” shall mean your voluntary termination, within thirty (30) days following the expiration of any Company cure period (discussed below) following the occurrence of one or more of the following, without your consent: (i) a material reduction of your duties, authority, or responsibilities, relative to your title, duties, authority, or responsibilities as in effect immediately prior to such reduction; provided that your title, duties, authority and responsibilities will not be deemed to be materially reduced if you have reasonably comparable duties, authorities and responsibilities as an employee with respect to the Company’s business following a Change of Control, regardless of any change in title or whether you provide services to a subsidiary, affiliate, business unit, division or otherwise; (ii) a material reduction by the Company of your annual base salary, except to the extent the base salaries of all other senior executives of the Company are similarly reduced; (iii) a material change in the location of the performance of your work, required by the Company, of more than fifty (50) miles from your principal place of residence. You may not resign for Good Reason without first providing the Company with written notice within ninety (90) days of the initial existence of the condition that you believe constitutes Good Reason specifically identifying the acts or omissions constituting the grounds for Good Reason and a reasonable cure period of not less than thirty (30) days following the date of such notice.

 

9. Tax Matters.

 

a. Withholding. All forms of compensation referred to in this letter agreement are subject to reduction to reflect applicable withholding and payroll taxes and other deductions required by law.

 

b. Tax Advice. You are encouraged to obtain your own tax advice regarding your compensation from the Company. You agree that the Company does not have a duty to design its compensation policies in a manner that minimizes your tax liabilities, and you will not make any claim against the Company or its Board of Directors related to tax liabilities arising from your compensation.

 

10. Interpretation, Amendment and Enforcement. This letter agreement and Exhibit A constitute the complete agreement between you and the Company, contain all of the terms of your employment with the Company and supersede any prior agreements, representations or understandings (whether written, oral or implied) between you and the Company. This letter agreement may not be amended or modified, except by an express written agreement signed by both you and a duly authorized officer of the Company. The terms of this letter agreement and the resolution of any disputes as to the meaning, effect, performance or validity of this letter agreement or arising out of, related to, or in any way connected with, this letter agreement, your employment with the Company or any 0th.er relationship between you and the Company (the “Disputes”) will be governed by Delaware law, excluding laws relating to conflicts or choice of law. You and the Company submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in Delaware in connection with any Dispute or any claim related to any Dispute.

 

 
 

 

Lisa Embree

Page 4

 

11. We also ask that, if you have not already done so, you disclose to the Company any and all agreements relating to your prior employment that may affect your eligibility to be employed by the Company or limit the manner in which you may be employed. It is the Company’s understanding that any such agreement will not prevent you from performing the duties of your position and you represent that such is the case. Moreover, you agree that, during the term of your employment with the Company, you will not engage in any other employment, occupation, consulting or other business activity directly related to the business in which the Company is now involved or becomes involved during the term of your employment, nor will you engage in any other activities that conflict with your obligations to the Company. Similarly, you agree not to bring any third-party confidential information to the Company, including that of your former employer, and that in performing your duties for the Company you will not in any way utilize any such information.

 

12. As a condition of your employment, you are also required to sign and comply with the Company’s standard Employee Non-Disclosure Agreement.

 

We hope that you will accept our offer to join the Company. You may indicate your agreement with these terms and accept this offer by signing and dating both the enclosed duplicate original of this letter agreement and the enclosed Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement and returning them to me. This offer, if not accepted, will expire at the close of business on October 31, 2023. As required by law, your employment with the Company is contingent upon your providing legal proof of your identity and authorization to work in the United States.

 

If you have any questions, please let me know. Very truly

 

yours,

 

/s/ Paul Casey  
Paul Casey  
Chief Executive Officer  

 

I have read and accept this employment offer:

 

/s/ Lisa Embree  
Lisa Embree  

 

 
 

 

Lisa Embree

Page 5

 

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND INVENTIONS AGREEMENT

 

The following confirms and memorializes an agreement that COMPANY NAME INC, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) and I have had since the commencement of my employment (which term, for purposes of this agreement, shall be deemed to include any relationship of service to the Company that I may have had prior to actually becoming an employee) with the Company in any capacity and that is and has been a material part of the consideration for my employment by Company:

 

1. I have not entered into, and I agree I will not enter into, any agreement either written or oral in conflict with this Agreement or my employment with Company. I will not violate any agreement with or rights of any third party or, except as expressly authorized by Company in writing hereafter, use or disclose my own or any third party’s confidential information or intellectual property when acting within the scope of my employment or otherwise on behalf of Company. Further, I have not retained anything containing any confidential information of a prior employer or other third party, whether or not created by me.

 

2. Company shall own all right, title and interest (including patent rights, copyrights, trade secret rights, mask work rights, sui generis database rights and all other intellectual property rights of any sort throughout the world) relating to any and all inventions (whether or not patentable), works of authorship, mask works, designs, know-how, ideas and information made or conceived or reduced to practice, in whole or in part, by me during the term of my employment with Company to and only to the fullest extent allowed (which is attached as Appendix A) (collectively “Inventions”) and I will promptly disclose all Inventions to Company. Without disclosing any third party confidential information, I will also disclose anything I believe is excluded so that the Company can make an independent assessment. I hereby make all assignments necessary to accomplish the foregoing. I shall further assist Company, at Company’s expense, to further evidence, record and perfect such assignments, and to perfect, obtain, maintain, enforce, and defend any rights specified to be so owned or assigned. I hereby irrevocably designate and appoint Company as my agent and attorney-in-fact, coupled with an interest and with full power of substitution, to act for and in my behalf to execute and file any document and to do all other lawfully permitted acts to further the purposes of the foregoing with the same legal force and effect as if executed by me. If I wish to clarify that something created by me prior to my employment that relates to Company’s actual or proposed business is not within the scope of the foregoing assignment, I have listed it on Appendix B in a manner that does not violate any third party rights or disclose any confidential information. Without limiting Section 1 or Company’s other rights and remedies, if, when acting within the scope of my employment or otherwise on behalf of Company, I use or (except pursuant to this Section 2) disclose my own or any third party’s confidential information or intellectual property (or if any Invention cannot be fully made, used, reproduced, distributed and otherwise exploited without using or violating the foregoing), Company will have and I hereby grant Company a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable right and license to exploit and exercise all such confidential information and intellectual property rights.

 

 
 

 

Lisa Embree

Page 6

 

3. To the extent allowed by law, paragraph 2 includes all rights of paternity, integrity, disclosure and withdrawal and any other rights that may be known as or referred to as “moral rights,” “artist’s rights,” “droit moral,” or the like (collectively “Moral Rights”). To the extent I retain any such Moral Rights under applicable law, I hereby ratify and consent to any action that may be taken with respect to such Moral Rights by or authorized by Company and agree not to assert any Moral Rights with respect thereto. I will confirm any such ratifications, consents and agreements from time to time as requested by the Company.

 

4. I agree that all Inventions and all other business, technical and financial information (including, without limitation, the identity of and information relating to customers or employees) I develop, learn or obtain during the term of my employment that relate to Company or the business or demonstrably anticipated business of Company or that are received by or for Company in confidence, constitute “Proprietary Information.” I will hold in confidence and not disclose or, except within the scope of my employment, use any Proprietary Information. However, I shall not be obligated under this paragraph with respect to information I can document is or becomes readily publicly available without restriction through no fault of mine. Upon termination of my employment, I will promptly return to Company all items containing or embodying Proprietary Information (including all copies), except that I may keep my personal copies of (i) my compensation records, (ii) materials distributed to shareholders generally and (iii) this Agreement. I also recognize and agree that I have no expectation of privacy with respect to Company’s telecommunications, networking or information processing systems (including, without limitation, stored computer files, embedded messages and voice messages) and that my activity and any files or messages on or using any of those systems may be monitored at any time without notice.

 

5. Until one year after the term of my employment, I will not encourage or solicit any employee or consultant of Company to leave Company for any reason (except for the bona fide firing of Company personnel within the scope of my employment).

 

6. I agree that during the term of my employment with Company (whether or not during business hours), I will not engage in any activity that is in any way competitive with the business or demonstrably anticipated business of Company, and I will not assist any other person or organization in competing or in preparing to compete with any business or demonstrably anticipated business of Company.

 

7. I agree that this Agreement is not an employment contract for any particular term and that I have the right to resign a11d the Company has the right to terminate my employment at will, at any time, for any or no reason, with or without cause. In addition, this Agreement does not purport to set forth all of the terms and conditions of my employment, and, as an employee of Company, I have obligations to Company which are not set forth in this Agreement. However, the terms of this Agreement govern over any inconsistent terms and can only be changed by a subsequent written agreement signed by the President of the Company.

 

 
 

 

Lisa Embree

Page 7

 

8. I agree that my obligations under paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Agreement shall continue in effect after termination of my employment, regardless of the reason or reasons for termination, and whether such termination is voluntary or involuntary on my part, and that Company is entitled to communicate my obligations under this Agreement to any future employer or potential employer of mine. My obligations under paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 also shall be binding upon my heirs, executors, assigns, and administrators and shall insure to the benefit of Company, its subsidiaries, successors and assigns.

 

9. Any dispute in the meaning, effect or validity of this Agreement shall be resolved in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the conflict of laws provisions thereof. I further agree that if one or more provisions of this Agreement are held to be illegal or unenforceable under applicable law, such illegal or unenforceable portion(s) shall be limited or excluded from this Agreement to the minimum extent required so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable in accordance with its terms. This Agreement is fully assignable and transferable by Company, but any purported assignment or transfer by me is void. I also understand that any breach of this Agreement will cause irreparable harm to Company for which damages would not be an adequate remedy, and, therefore, Company will be entitled to injunctive relief with respect thereto in addition to any other remedies and without any requirement to post bond.

 

10. I acknowledge receipt of the following notice under 18 U.S.C § 1833(b)(l): “An individual shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that (A) is made (i) in confidence to a Federal, State, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney; and (ii) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (B) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal.”

 

Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank

 

 
 

 

Lisa Embree

Page 8

 

I HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY AND I UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THE OBLIGATIONS WHICH IT IMPOSES UPON ME WITHOUT RESERVATION. NO PROMISES OR REPRESENTATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO ME TO INDUCE ME TO SIGN THIS AGREEMENT. I SIGN THIS AGREEMENT VOLUNTARILY AND FREELY, IN DUPLICATE, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE COMPANY WILL RETURN ONE COUNTERPART AND THE OTHER COUNTERPART WILL BE RETAINED BY ME.

 

Employee

 

/s/ Lisa Embree  
Lisa Embree  

 

/s/ Paul Casey  
Paul Casey, CEO ONEMEDNET  

 

 
 

 

APPENDIX A

 

Application of provision providing that employee shall assign or offer to assign rights in invention to employer.

 

(a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer’s equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information except for those inventions that either:

 

1. Relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the invention to the employer’s business, or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the employer; or

 

2. Result from any work performed by the employee for his employer.

 

(b) To the extent a provision in an employment agreement purports to require an employee to assign an invention otherwise excluded from being required to be assigned under subdivision (a), the provision is against the public policy of this state and is unenforceable.