Separation Agreement between the Registrant and Kimi Iguchi, dated October 31, 2024
Exhibit 10.30
October 17, 2024
By Email
Kimi Iguchi
Dear Ms. Iguchi:
Given recent developments, we have made the difficult decision to restructure the business and reduce the size of our workforce. Unfortunately, your position will be directly affected. We appreciate your service and contributions and want to thank you for your dedication to always doing what’s best for patients. We would like to make this transition as smooth as possible for you.
Your employment at Sage Therapeutics, Inc. (“Sage” or the “Company”)1 will end on October 31, 2024 (the “Separation Date”) in connection with a reorganization. This letter proposes a separation agreement between you and the Company (the “Agreement”) that will provide you the opportunity to receive certain severance benefits in connection with the ending of your employment in exchange for you entering into, not revoking and complying with this Agreement.
The time period between the date of this letter and the Separation Date shall be the “Notice Period.” During the Notice Period, the Company shall continue to pay your salary and benefits, and you will continue to (a) work your normal schedule and receive your same level of compensation in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll cycle; (b) perform any assigned tasks and otherwise assist the Company in the orderly transition of your duties and responsibilities; and (c) continue to comply with all Company policies and reasonable directives. However, if you resign or engage in conduct that causes the Company to terminate your employment for Cause2 before the Separation Date, you will not be eligible to receive the severance benefits set forth in this Agreement. As a reminder, except for Permitted Disclosures, as defined below, or as specifically approved by the Company, you should not download, copy, take with you or share with any third party any Company documents, data, materials or other information, even if created by you in the course of your employment, or otherwise take or misuse any Company documents, data, materials or other information or other Company
1 Except for the obligations set forth in Section 2, which, except as set forth in Section 7(ii), shall be the obligations solely of Sage Therapeutics, Inc., whenever the terms “Sage Therapeutics, Inc.,” “Sage” or the “Company” are used in this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 5), they shall be deemed to include Sage Therapeutics, Inc. and any and all of its divisions, affiliates and subsidiaries and all related entities and its and their directors, officers, employees, agents, successors and assigns.
2 “Cause” shall mean, as determined by the Company in good faith: (i) your indictment for any felony, any crime involving the Company, or any crime involving fraud, moral turpitude or dishonesty; (ii) except for Permitted Disclosures (as defined below), your unauthorized use or disclosure of the Company’s proprietary information which has an adverse effect on the Company’s business or reputation (as used in this paragraph, “proprietary information” means any information in whatever form, tangible or intangible, related to the business of the Company unless the information is publicly available in hard copy or electronic format, through lawful means); (iii) any intentional misconduct or gross negligence on your part which has a materially adverse effect on the Company’s business or reputation; or (iv) your repeated and willful failure to perform the duties, functions and responsibilities of your position after a written warning from the Company.
property, per your Agreement Concerning Loyalty, Confidential Business Information, Inventions and Post-Employment Activity with the Company (the “Employee Agreement”).
The Company is offering employees severance benefits that exceed the 60-days of notice pay under the Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (“WARN”) in exchange for a waiver of claims, including claims under WARN. If an employee who has been selected for layoff elects not to enter into this Agreement and that employee would otherwise have been entitled to a WARN notice, the employee will forfeit the severance, benefits and extended exercise opportunity offered by this Agreement and Sage will instead provide that employee with a payment equal to 60 days of salary and benefits in lieu of the WARN notice. To be clear, in no event will an employee be entitled to both receive a payment in lieu of a WARN notice and receive the severance, benefits and extended exercise opportunity provided for in this Agreement.
1. Employment Status; Final Payments; Benefits Cessation:
2. Consideration. In exchange for and in consideration of your executing this Agreement and complying with the terms of this Agreement, your Employee Agreement and any other agreement between you and the Company, the Company will provide you with the payments and/or benefits set forth below (collectively, the “Consideration”).
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3. Acknowledgments. You acknowledge and agree that:
(i) this Agreement and the Consideration do not constitute a severance plan and shall confer no benefit on anyone other than Sage and you;
(ii) you will not be eligible for, nor shall you have a right to receive, any payments or benefits from the Company following the Separation Date other than the Consideration. For the avoidance of doubt, you acknowledge that no additional payments or benefits are due to you under the terms of the Severance and Change in Control Agreement between you and the Company dated September 30, 2014, as amended on February 15, 2023 (as amended and/or restated to date, the “Severance and Change in Control Agreement”), and the Severance and Change in Control Agreement is hereby deemed to have been terminated;
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4. Return of Company Property; Confidentiality; Trade Secrets; Non-Disparagement. You hereby agree as a condition to your receipt of the Consideration to:
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Your breach of this Section 4 will constitute a material breach of this Agreement and, in addition to any other legal or equitable remedy available to Sage, will relieve Sage of the obligation to provide any Consideration not already paid or provided, including, for the avoidance of doubt, any extension of the option exercise period, continuation of vesting of equity awards, and continuation of the Consulting Agreement and/or entitle Sage to recover any Consideration already paid or provided.
5. Release of Claims.
(i) You hereby acknowledge and agree that by signing this Agreement and accepting the Consideration, you are waiving your right to assert any form of legal claim against Sage (as defined in footnote number 1) of any kind whatsoever from the beginning of time through and including the Effective Date, as defined below, except for (i) claims related to the Company’s failure to perform its obligations under this Agreement and (ii) claims arising from the Company’s failure to perform its obligations under your Officer Indemnification Agreement or to provide you with the indemnification and expense advancement or reimbursement available to a former officer of the Company under your Officer Indemnification Agreement, the Company’s bylaws, or under Delaware law (the “Excepted Claims”). Your waiver and release is intended to bar any form of legal claim, charge, complaint or any other form of action other than Excepted Claims (jointly referred to as “Claims”, which such term shall specifically exclude Excepted Claims) against
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Sage seeking any form of relief including, without limitation, equitable relief (whether declaratory, injunctive or otherwise), the recovery of any damages or any other form of monetary recovery whatsoever (including, without limitation, back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and any other costs) against Sage up to and including the Effective Date. You understand that there could be unknown or unanticipated Claims resulting from your employment with Sage and the termination thereof and agree that such Claims are intended to be, and are, included in this waiver and release.
(ii) Without limiting the foregoing general waiver and release, you specifically waive and release the Company from any Claims arising from or related to your employment relationship with the Company or the termination thereof, including without limitation:
(a) Claims under any local, state or federal discrimination, harassment, fair employment practices or other employment related statute, regulation or executive order, including, without limitation, the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act (also known as Chapter 151B), the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, §§ 11H and 11I), the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act (Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 93, § 102), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1C (Massachusetts right to be free from sexual harassment law), the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (43 P.S. § 951 et seq.), the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.), the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 et seq.), the New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 354-A:1 et seq., N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:36 et seq. (New Hampshire workplace discrimination law), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act (“OWBPA”), the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Executive Order 11246, and Executive Order 11141, each as they may have been amended through the Effective Date;
(b) Claims under any local, state or federal employment related statute, regulation or executive order relating to wages, hours, whistleblowing, leaves of absence or any other terms and conditions of employment, including, without limitation, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149, §§ 148, 150), the Massachusetts Labor and Industries Act (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 1 et seq.), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B (Massachusetts right of privacy law), the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 105D), the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 175m, § 1, et seq.), the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148c), the Massachusetts Small Necessities Leave Act (Mass. Gen. Laws
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ch. 149, § 52D), Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149 in its entirety and Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151 in its entirety (including, without limitation, the sections concerning payment of wages, minimum wage and overtime), N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275-42 et seq. (New Hampshire wage payment law), N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:37 (New Hampshire equal pay law), N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:57 (New Hampshire reimbursement of employee expenses law), the New Hampshire Crime Victim Employment Leave Act (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:61 et seq.), N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:73 et seq. (New Hampshire online privacy law), the New Hampshire Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275-E:1 et seq.), N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 141-H:1 et seq. (New Hampshire genetic testing law), the New Jersey Family Leave Act (N.J.S.A. 34:11B-1 et seq.), the New Jersey Temporary Disability Leave Law (N.J.S.A. 43:21-25 et seq.), the New Jersey Equal Pay Act (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.2 et seq.), the New Jersey Wage Payment Law (N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.1 et seq.), the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a et seq.), each as they may have been amended through the Effective Date. You specifically acknowledge that you are waiving any Claims for unpaid wages under these and other statutes, regulations and executive orders;
(c) Claims under any local, state or federal common law theory;
(d) Claims for breach of contract, including, without limitation, all claims arising out of or related to your Separation and Change in Control Agreement; and
(e) any other Claim arising under other local, state or federal law.
(iii) The general release in this Section 5 is not affected or limited by the recitation of the specific releases in this Section 5.
(iv) Consistent with federal and state discrimination laws, nothing in this release shall be deemed to prohibit you from challenging the validity of this release under federal or state discrimination laws or from filing a charge or complaint of age or other employment-related discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) or similar state agency, or from participating in any investigation or proceeding conducted by the EEOC or similar state agency. Further, nothing in this release or Agreement shall be deemed to limit the Company’s right to seek immediate dismissal of such charge or complaint on the basis that your signing of this Agreement constitutes a full release of any individual rights under federal or state discrimination laws, or the Company’s right to seek restitution or other legal remedies to the extent permitted by law of the economic benefits provided to you under this Agreement in the event that you successfully challenge the validity of this release and prevail in any claim under federal or state discrimination laws.
(v) The general release in this Section 5 shall not limit any right you may have to receive a whistleblower award or bounty for information provided to the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Department of Justice.
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(vi) FOR CALIFORNIA EMPLOYEES ONLY: In addition to the foregoing, you hereby agree that you are waiving all rights under Section 1542 of the Civil Code of the State of California. Section 1542 provides that:
“A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, and that if known by him or her would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.”
Pursuant to Section 1542, you acknowledge that you may hereafter discover facts different from or in addition to facts which you now know or believe to be true with regard to the released claims, and further agree that this Agreement shall remain effective in all respects notwithstanding such discovery of new or different facts, including any such facts which may give rise to currently unknown claims, including but not limited to any claims or rights which you may have under Section 1542 of the California Civil Code or similar law or doctrine of any other state.
(vii) You have forty-five (45) days to consider and accept the provisions of this Agreement. You agree that any changes to this Agreement, whether material or immaterial, will not restart the running of this 45-day period. You will also be provided with certain information in a notice to be provided separately pertaining to the ages and job titles of employees in the relevant decisional unit who are affected and who are not affected by the group termination. Unless you rescind your assent as set forth in Section 5(viii) below, this Agreement shall be effective, final and binding upon the expiration of any applicable Revocation Period set forth in Section 5(viii) (the “Effective Date”).
(viii) You may rescind your assent to this Agreement if, within seven (7) days after you sign it, or, if you live in Minnesota, then within fifteen (15) days after you sign it (as applicable, the “Revocation Period”), you email a written notice of rescission to ***@***.
6. Cooperation.
(i) After the Separation Date, you agree to make yourself available to Sage, upon reasonable notice to assist Sage in any matter relating to the services performed by you during your employment with Sage including, but not limited to, transitioning your duties to others.
(ii) You further agree to reasonably cooperate with Sage (i) in the defense or prosecution of any claims or actions now in existence or which may be brought or threatened in the future against or on behalf of Sage or its successor(s), including any claim or action against its and their directors, officers and employees and (ii) with respect to the procurement, maintenance and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (as defined in your Employee Agreement) in Company-Related Developments (as defined in your Employee Agreement). Your cooperation in connection with such claims or actions shall include, without limitation, your being reasonably available
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(in a manner that does not unreasonably interfere with any employment obligations you may have) to speak or meet with Sage to prepare for any proceeding, to provide truthful affidavits, to assist with any audit, inspection, proceeding or other inquiry, and to act as a witness in connection with any litigation or other legal proceeding affecting Sage.
7. Consulting Agreement. You and the Company shall, upon the Separation Date, enter into the Consulting Agreement attached as Exhibit A (the “Consulting Agreement”). For the avoidance of doubt, you acknowledge that, should you fail to timely sign this Agreement or should you revoke this Agreement during the Revocation Period, the Consulting Agreement will immediately terminate, in accordance with the terms set forth in the Consulting Agreement.
8. Miscellaneous.
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Sage wants to ensure that you fully understand the terms and effects of this Agreement. To that end, you have been encouraged and given an opportunity to consult with legal counsel. By executing this Agreement, you are acknowledging that (a) you have been afforded sufficient time to understand this Agreement and consult with legal counsel; (b) your agreements and obligations under this Agreement are made voluntarily, knowingly and without duress; and (c) neither Sage nor its agents or representatives have made any representations inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement.
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth our arrangement, please sign, date and return this Agreement within the time frame set forth above, but in any event not before the Separation Date.
Very truly yours,
SAGE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
/s/ Barry Greene____________
Name: Barry Greene
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Accepted and Agreed To Under Seal:
NOT VALID IF SIGNED BEFORE THE SEPARATION DATE
/s/ Kimi Iguchi_____________
Kimi Iguchi
Dated: 10/31/2024__________
EXHIBIT A
Consulting Agreement
[Attached]