Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement and Terms and Conditions
Exhibit 10.31
NOTICE OF GRANT OF RESTRICTED STOCK AWARD
ZUMIEZ INC.
2023 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
FOR GOOD AND VALUABLE CONSIDERATION, Zumiez Inc. (the Company) hereby grants this Restricted Stock Award (the Award) of the number of shares of the Companys common stock, no par value per share, (the Common Stock or Restricted Stock) set forth in this Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock Award (the Notice) to the Grantee designated in this Notice, pursuant to the provisions of the Companys 2023 Equity Incentive Plan (the Plan) and subject to certain restrictions as outlined below in this Notice and the additional provisions set forth in the attached Terms and Conditions of Restricted Stock Award (the Terms). Together, this Notice and the attached Terms constitute the Agreement.
Grantee: [ ] |
Grant Date: [ ] |
Number of Shares of Common Stock subject to Award: [ ] |
Vesting Schedule: Subject to the terms of the Plan and this Agreement, the Restricted Stock shall become earned and vested evenly over [ ] years, with a [ ]% vesting annually at the anniversary date of the Grant Date, in the event the Grantee does not have a Separation from Service prior to the applicable vesting date(s).
Only a whole number of shares of Restricted Stock will become vested as of any given vesting date. If the number of shares of Restricted Stock determined as of a vesting date is a fractional number, the number vesting will be rounded down to the nearest whole number with any fractional portion carried forward.
No Restricted Stock shall become earned and vested following Grantees Separation from Service, except as expressly provided in the Notice below, as applicable, or as otherwise provided pursuant to the terms of the Plan.
Impact of Separation from Service on Vesting: If the Grantee has a Separation from Service before all of the shares of Restricted Stock have become vested, then any unearned Restricted Stock shall become immediately earned and vested or be canceled depending on the reason for Separation from Service as follows.
(a) Death or Disability. If the Grantee has a Separation from Service due to the Grantees death or Disability, any unearned Restricted Stock shall become immediately earned and vested on the date of the death or Disability, as applicable.
(b) Any other Separation from Service. If the Grantee has a Separation from Service for any reason other than as specified in subparagraph (a) above, any Restricted Stock that were not already earned and vested pursuant to the vesting schedule specified above as of the date of the Separation from Service shall be immediately canceled as of that date.
Acceleration of Vesting on or following a Change in Control: Vesting upon Change in Control, in accordance with Section 15.3.1 of the Plan
By signing below, the Grantee agrees that this Award is granted under and governed by the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Agreement.
Grantee | Zumiez Inc. | |||||||
By: | ||||||||
Title: | CEO | |||||||
Date: | Date: |
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RESTRICTED STOCK AWARD
The Restricted Stock Award (the Award) granted by Zumiez Inc. (the Company) to the Grantee specified in the Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock Award (the Notice) to which these Terms and Conditions of Restricted Stock Award (the Terms) are attached, is subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, the Notice, and these Terms. The terms and conditions of the Plan are incorporated by reference in their entirety into these Terms. Together, the Notice and these Terms constitute the Agreement. A Prospectus describing the Plan has been delivered and/or made available to the Grantee. The Plan itself is available upon request. When used in this Agreement, the terms which are defined in the Plan shall have the meanings given to them in the Plan, as modified herein (if applicable).
This Award is conditioned upon the Grantees acceptance of the provisions set forth in this Agreement within 30 days after the Agreement is presented to the Grantee for review. If the Grantee fails to accept the Award within such 30-day period, the Award shall be null and void, and the Grantees rights in the Award shall immediately terminate without any payment of consideration by the Company. For purposes this Agreement, any reference to the Company shall include a reference to any Affiliate.
1. | Grant of Restricted Stock. |
(a) As of the Grant Date set forth in the Notice, the Company grants to the Grantee the number of shares of Restricted Stock set forth in the Notice.
(b) The Restricted Stock covered by this Award shall become earned and vested in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Notice, subject to the requirements of Section 4 (Withholding), Section 6 (Regulatory Restrictions on the Shares Issued Upon Settlement), and Section 7(m) (Recovery of Compensation) of this Agreement.
(c) The Grantee may designate a beneficiary to receive payment in connection with the Restricted Stock in the event of the Grantees death in accordance with the Companys beneficiary designation procedures, as in effect from time to time. If the Grantee does not designate a beneficiary, or if the Grantees designated beneficiary does not survive the Grantee, then the Grantees beneficiary will be the Grantees estate.
(d) The Grantee shall have no dividend rights until the Restricted Stock becomes vested.
2. | Restrictions. Subject to any exceptions set forth in this Agreement, until such time as the Restricted Stock becomes earned and vested, the Restricted Stock may not be assigned, alienated, pledged, attached, sold or otherwise transferred or encumbered by the Grantee. Any attempt to assign, alienate, pledge, attach, sell or otherwise transfer or encumber the Restricted Stock shall be wholly ineffective and, if any such attempt is made, the Restricted Stock will be forfeited by the Grantee and all of the Grantees rights to such Restricted Stock shall immediately terminate without any payment of consideration by the Company. |
3. | Cancellation of Rights. If any portion of the Restricted Stock fails to become earned and vested (for example, because the Grantee fails to satisfy the vesting conditions specified in the Notice prior to a Separation from Service), then such Restricted Stock shall be immediately forfeited as of the date of such failure and all of the Grantees rights to such Restricted Stock shall immediately terminate without any payment of consideration by the Company. |
4. | Withholding. |
(a) Regardless of any action the Company takes with respect to any or all income tax, payroll tax or other tax-related withholding with respect to the Award (Tax-Related Items), the Grantee acknowledges that the ultimate liability for all Tax-Related Items owed by the Grantee is and remains the Grantees responsibility and that the Company (i) makes no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the Award, including the grant or vesting of the Restricted Stock or the subsequent sale of shares of Common Stock acquired upon vesting; and (ii) does not commit to structure the terms of the grant or any aspect of the Award to reduce or eliminate the Grantees liability for Tax-Related Items.
(b) Prior to vesting of the Restricted Stock, the Grantee shall pay or make adequate arrangements satisfactory to the Company to satisfy all withholding obligations of the Company. In this regard, the Grantee authorizes the Company to withhold all applicable Tax-Related Items legally payable by the Grantee from the Grantees wages or other cash compensation paid to the Grantee by the Company or any other payments otherwise due to the Grantee by the Company or from proceeds of the sale of the shares of Common Stock. Alternatively, or in addition, to the extent permissible under applicable law, the Company may (i) sell or arrange for the sale of shares of Common Stock that the Grantee acquires to meet the withholding obligation for Tax-Related Items, and/or (ii) withhold in shares of Common Stock, provided that the Company only withholds the amount of shares of Common Stock necessary to satisfy the minimum withholding amount. Finally, the Grantee shall pay to the Company any amount of Tax-Related Items that the Company may be required to withhold as a result of the Grantees participation in the Plan that cannot be satisfied by the means previously described. The Company may refuse to deliver shares of Common Stock in connection with any earned and vested Restricted Stock if the Grantee fails to comply with the Grantees obligations in connection with the Tax-Related Items as described in this Section 4.
5. | Grantee Representations. The Grantee hereby represents to the Company that the Grantee has read and fully understands the provisions of this Agreement, the Prospectus and the Plan, and the Grantees decision to participate in the Plan is completely voluntary. Further, the Grantee acknowledges that the Grantee is relying solely on his or her own advisors with respect to the tax consequences of this Award. |
6. | Regulatory Restrictions on the Shares Issued Upon Settlement. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Agreement, the Committee shall have the sole discretion to impose such conditions, restrictions and limitations on the issuance of shares of Restricted Stock with respect to this Award unless and until the Committee determines that such issuance complies with (i) any applicable registration requirements under the Securities Act or the Committee has determined that an exemption therefrom is available, (ii) any applicable listing requirement of any stock exchange on which the Stock is listed, (iii) any applicable Company policy or administrative rules, and (iv) any other applicable provision of state, federal or foreign law, including foreign securities laws where applicable. |
7. | Miscellaneous. |
(a) Notices. Any notice which either party hereto may be required or permitted to give to the other shall be in writing and may be delivered personally, by interoffice or intraoffice mail, by fax, by electronic mail or other electronic means, or via a postal service, postage prepaid, to such electronic mail or postal address and directed to such person as the Company may notify the Grantee from time to time; and to the Grantee at the Grantees electronic mail or postal address as shown on the records of the Company from time to time, or at such other electronic mail or postal address as the Grantee, by notice to the Company, may designate in writing from time to time.
(b) Waiver. The waiver by any party hereto of a breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any other or subsequent breach.
(c) Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the Plan constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. Any prior agreements, commitments or negotiations concerning the Award are superseded.
(d) Binding Effect; Successors. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and to the extent not prohibited herein, their respective heirs, successors, assigns and representatives. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer on any person other than the parties hereto and as provided above, their respective heirs, successors, assigns and representatives any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities.
(e) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of law, and applicable Federal law.
(f) Arbitration. The Company and the Grantee shall make a good faith attempt to resolve any and all claims and disputes regarding the Award or the Agreement in accordance with any dispute resolution adopted by the Company before resorting to any other dispute resolution procedure. If the claim or dispute is not resolved in that manner and involves any rights or obligations under the Agreement, then the claim or dispute will be determined by arbitration in accordance with the then-current American Arbitration Association
(AAA) national rules for the resolution of employment disputes by arbitration, except as modified herein. The arbitration will be conducted by a sole neutral arbitrator who has had both training and experience as an arbitrator of employee compensation matters. If the Company and the Grantee cannot agree on an arbitrator, then the arbitrator will be selected by the AAA applying the criteria in this provision. Reasonable discovery will be permitted and the arbitrator may decide any issue as to discovery. The arbitrator may decide any issue as to whether or as to the extent to which, any dispute is subject to the dispute resolution provisions of this Section 7(f). The arbitrator may award only relief at law contemplated under the Agreement and the Plan and the arbitrator may not award incidental, consequential or punitive damages, attorneys fees or any form or equitable relief, to either party. The arbitrator must base the arbitration award on the provisions of this Section 7(f) and applicable law and must render the award in writing, including an explanation of the reasons for the award. Judgment upon the award may be entered by any court having jurisdiction of the matter, and the decision of the arbitrator will be final and binding. The statute of limitations applicable to the commencement of a lawsuit will apply to the commencement of an arbitration. The arbitrators fees will be paid in equal portions by the Company and the Grantee, unless the Company agrees to pay all such fees.
(g) Venue. Any arbitration, legal or equitable action or any proceeding arising directly, indirectly, or otherwise in connection with, out of, related to or from the Agreement, or any provision hereof, shall exclusively be filed and adjudicated in King County, Washington and no other venue.
(h) Headings. The headings contained herein are for the sole purpose of convenience of reference, and shall not in any way limit or affect the meaning or interpretation of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement.
(i) Conflicts; Amendment. The provisions of the Plan are incorporated in this Agreement in their entirety. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of this Agreement and the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control. This Agreement may be amended at any time by the Committee, provided that no amendment may, without the consent of the Grantee, materially impair the Grantees rights with respect to the Award. The Committee shall have full authority and discretion, subject only to the terms of the Plan, to decide all matters relating to the administration or interpretation of the Plan, the Award, and the Agreement, and all such action by the Committee shall be final, conclusive, and binding upon the Company and the Grantee.
(j) No Right to Continued Service. Nothing in this Agreement shall confer upon the Grantee any right to continue in the employ or service of the Company or affect the right of the Company to terminate the Grantees employment or service at any time.
(k) Further Assurances. The Grantee agrees, upon demand of the Company or the Committee, to do all acts and execute, deliver and perform all additional documents, instruments and agreements which may be reasonably required by the Company or the Committee, as the case may be, to implement the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and the Plan.
(l) Personal Data. By accepting the Award under this Agreement, the Grantee hereby consents to the Companys use, dissemination and disclosure of any information pertaining to the Grantee that the Company determines to be necessary or desirable for the implementation, administration and management of the Plan.
(m) Recovery of Compensation. In accordance with Section 3.3 of the Plan, the Award is subject to the requirements of (i) Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (regarding recovery of erroneously awarded compensation) and any implementing rules and regulations thereunder, (ii) any policies adopted by the Company to implement such requirements, and (iii) any other compensation recovery policies as may be adopted from time to time by the Company, all to the extent determined by the Committee in its discretion to be applicable to the Grantee.
(n) Change in Control. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary but subject to the provisions of Section 15.3.1(i) of the Plan, if (A) a Change in Control occurs and (B) on or after the Change in Control and on or before the first anniversary of the Change in Control either (1) the Grantee has a Separation from Service by action of the Company or the Grantees employing Subsidiary for any reason other than Cause (excluding due to the Grantees death or Disability) or (2) the Grantee has a Separation from Service for Good Reason, then any unearned shares of Restricted Stock shall become immediately earned and vested as of the date of such Separation from Service.
Cause shall be defined as that term is defined in the Grantees offer letter or other applicable employment agreement; or, if there is no such definition, Cause means any one or more of the following: (i) the Grantees gross neglect or willful material breach of the Grantees principal employment responsibilities or duties; (ii) a final judicial adjudication that the Grantee is guilty of any felony (other than a law, rule or regulation relating to a traffic violation or other similar offense that has no material adverse effect on the Company or any of its Subsidiaries); (iii) the Grantees breach of any non-competition or confidentiality covenant between the Grantee and the Company or any Subsidiary; (iv) fraudulent conduct as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in the course of the Grantees employment with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; or (v) the material breach by the Grantee of any other obligation which continues uncured for a period of 30 days after notice thereof by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Good Reason shall be defined as that term is defined in the Grantees offer letter or other applicable employment agreement; or, if there is no such definition, Good Reason means the occurrence of any of the following events without the Grantees consent, provided that the Grantee has complied with the Good Reason Process: (i) a material diminution in the Grantees responsibility, authority or duty; (ii) a material diminution in the Grantees base salary except for across-the-board salary reductions based on the Company and its Subsidiaries financial performance similarly affecting all or substantially all management employees of the Company and its Subsidiaries; or (iii) the relocation of the office at which the Grantee was principally employed immediately prior to a Change in Control to a location more than fifty (50) miles from the location of such office, or the Grantee being required to be based anywhere other than such office, except to the extent the Grantee was not previously assigned to a principal location and except for required travel on business to an extent substantially consistent with the Grantees business travel obligations at the time of the Change in Control.
Good Reason Process means that (i) the Grantee reasonably determines in good faith that a Good Reason condition has occurred; (ii) the Grantee notifies the Company and its Subsidiaries in writing of the occurrence of the Good Reason condition within 60 days of such occurrence; (iii) the Grantee cooperates in good faith with the Company and its Subsidiaries efforts, for a period of not less than 30 days following such notice (the Cure Period), to remedy the condition; (iv) notwithstanding such efforts, the Good Reason condition continues to exist following the Cure Period; and (v) the Grantee has a Separation from Service within 60 days after the end of the Cure Period. If the Company or its Subsidiaries cures the Good Reason condition during the Cure Period, and the Grantee has a Separation from Service due to such condition (notwithstanding its cure), then the Grantee will not be deemed to have had a Separation from Service for Good Reason.