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We continue our blog series on COVID-19 implications on executive compensation matters with a post that addresses considerations relating to amending performance goals under equity and other incentive awards.

Setting meaningful and effective performance goals often requires significant focus and analysis by compensation committees with the assistance of their advisors…

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) (H.R. 748).

In this blog post we (1) lay out an initial action plan for employers considering obtaining relief under the CARES Act, (2) summarize the compensation-related provisions of the CARES Act, and (3) identify the key questions that the CARES Act leaves unanswered.

CARES Act – An Employer Action Plan to Comply with Compensation-Related Provisions

Any employer considering obtaining loans, loan guarantees or payroll assistance under the CARES Act should:

  • Review the CARES Act compensation-related provisions and workforce maintenance requirements, which are summarized in further detail in the next section.
  • Identify affected officers and employees and compensation arrangements (for those employers accepting loans, loan guarantees or other relief).
    • Identify all officers and employees with total compensation in excess of $425,000 for calendar year 2019 (an “Applicable Employee”).
    • Identify all Applicable Employees with total compensation in excess of $3 million in calendar year 2019.
    • Identify last-12-months’ compensation levels for all Applicable Employees as of latest practicable date (the “LTM Compensation”).
    • Identify and review all compensation arrangements between the business and each Applicable Employee, focusing on: (1) dollar amounts; (2) guaranteed increases / guaranteed compensation; and (3) amendment and termination provisions.
    • For purposes of provisions requiring workforce and compensation/benefits maintenance, identify workforce and compensation and benefits levels as of relevant dates.
    • Identify and review collective bargaining agreements (if any).
  • Act to comply with the CARES Act compensation provisions (once the loan or loan guarantee has been executed or other relief has been received).
    • Mobilize resources to track ongoing compliance (e.g., GC / Deputy GC; CHRO or HR team leaders; stock plan administrators; benefits administrators).
    • Establish administrative framework to track compensation on a rolling 12-month basis and to track benefit levels.
    • If current LTM Compensation for any Applicable Employee exceeds maximum levels, amend any applicable agreements, plans, programs or policies to implement required reductions and obtain any required consents from any such Applicable Employee.
    • For all other plans, programs or policies between the business and an Applicable Employee, amend to include prospective cutback provisions, as needed.
    • For all new agreements with Applicable Employees, include savings language that would allow changes to compensation as may be required to comply with federal requirements without triggering any rights for the Applicable Employee (e.g., severance rights upon a “good reason” termination or breach of any such agreement).
    • Restore workforce and compensation / benefits levels as necessary to comply with workforce maintenance requirements as described below.

We continue our blog series on COVID-19 implications on executive compensation matters with a post that addresses salary or wage reductions on a company-wide or targeted basis.

Companies impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the concomitant widespread shelter in place orders, may be considering pay cuts for some or all of their workforce, either in addition to or instead of furloughs and layoffs.  In implementing salary or wage reductions, companies should be mindful of federal, state and local wage and hour and labor laws, consent and notice requirements under contractual agreements with individual employees or groups of employees, tax implications on subsequent “make-whole” or “make-up” payments, impact on employee benefit plan participation, governance considerations, and disclosure requirements for public companies.

Prior to implementing salary or wage reductions, companies should:

  • IDENTIFY affected employees and applicable state or local law:
    • Who are the employees affected by potential salary or wage reductions? Are they exempt or non-exempt? Are they part-time or full-time? How many employees are affected at any single location? Will company executives be impacted?
    • Is the salary or wage reduction being undertaken in connection with a reduction in hours? If so, is the reduction proportionate?
    • What state or local law is applicable to the employee’s employment?
    • What are the state and local requirements for the notice, if any, that must be provided to employees prior to or following a wage reduction?
    • Would a reduction result in the employee’s wage falling below the threshold level for exempt classification (currently $684 per week under federal law)?
  • REVIEW the potential effects of a salary or wage reduction under applicable law, contract, agreements, offer letters, and employee benefit plans:
    • Is the employee a party to an employment agreement, offer letter, or other agreement or arrangement that sets base salary? If so, does it expressly provide that base salary cannot be reduced, such that it would need to be amended?
    • Is the employee covered by an agreement, offer letter, or plan with a “good reason” or similar definition that would trigger severance, equity award accelerated vesting, or other rights as a result of a salary reduction? Is there an exception for across-the-board salary reductions and, if so, whether a limit or such reduction applies?
    • Does the employee participate in employee benefit plans and programs (e.g., group health plans, retirement plans, 401(k) plans, severance benefits, and vacation programs) that may be impacted by a reduction in hours and/or salary or wage reduction? For example, salary reductions may reduce an employee’s severance entitlement, pension accrual or matching contribution.
    • Does the company’s employee handbook address salary or wages during a leave of absence or furlough?
  • ACT to execute waivers, deliver notices, take action with respect to employee benefit plans and, for publicly traded companies, provide disclosure of the salary reduction where necessary:
    • Obtain consents to salary or wage reductions and waivers of “good reason” from employees as needed.
    • Provide advance notice in accordance with applicable state and local requirements.
    • Take any necessary actions under employee benefit plans and programs to continue or end coverage/participation, as applicable.
    • Prepare and file disclosure if/as required for public companies (e.g., Form 8-K, press release).
    • Consider creating a working group including representatives from HR, legal, and investor relations to coordinate actions and communications to internal and external interested parties.

COVID-19 has had significant impacts on all aspects of business.  While employers are assessing how to handle immediate employee needs related to sick leave, family leave and benefits claims, employers should also consider the impact that changes in their workforce or economic conditions will have on their compensation plans and programs.

This blog post addresses one of those compensation issues that many companies are currently grappling with – whether a temporary leave of absence or furlough triggers forfeiture, payment, vesting, or other treatment under compensation arrangements.

In following blog posts, we will address other compensation issues, including:

  • Effect of salary reductions on compensation arrangements (including “good reason” triggers);
  • Limitations on amendment of equity awards and performance goals; and
  • Funding and termination of nonqualified deferred compensation plans (“NQDC plans”) and limitations on such actions.

Is a leave of absence or furlough a “termination of employment” or “separation from service”?

Many employment agreements, severance plans, equity awards and other compensation arrangements provide for partial or full vesting or payment of amounts upon an employee’s termination of employment or separation from service.

Although many employees have experienced a significant decline or cessation of work in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak, such employees may not have necessarily had a separation from service or termination of employment under the terms of the applicable compensation arrangement.

As a general matter, employers with compensation arrangements with separation from service or termination of employment triggers who have employees who are being placed on leave, reduced hours or furlough should take the following steps, preferably before or as soon as possible after implementing any workforce changes:

First Circuit reverses District Court’s decision that co-investing funds were in de facto partnership which controlled portfolio company and could be held liable for portfolio company’s withdrawal liability; decision may be significant for multiemployer pension funds and private investment funds. Read the full alert.

On December 2, 2017, the Senate approved its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which contains proposals modifying certain executive compensation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The Senate’s approval of the executive compensation provisions follows substantively the same provisions proposed by the Senate Finance Committee’s bill, and…

Yesterday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) (the “House bill”). The House bill is identical to the draft bill approved by the House Ways and Means Committee on November 10. Late last night the Senate Finance Committee approved its own conceptual version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. An initial, descriptive version of the Senate Finance Committee bill (for which actual statutory text is still forthcoming) prepared by the Joint Committee on Taxation (the “JCT”) was released on Thursday, November 9. The Senate Finance Committee subsequently revised the bill significantly, as reflected in the JCT descriptions of the modifications released on Tuesday, November 12, and a further amendment[1] released late last night (as modified, the “modified Senate bill” and generally, the “Senate bill”). The modified Senate bill varies in certain important respects from the House’s bill.

The modified Senate bill introduces significant changes to the Senate bill released last week. Perhaps most significantly, the modified Senate bill would repeal the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requiring individuals without minimum health coverage to make “shared responsibility payments” (commonly referred to as the “individual mandate”). The modified Senate bill also provides for most changes to individual taxation to sunset after December 31, 2025, including the repeal of the individual AMT, the reduced rate for pass-through entities, the reductions in ordinary income tax rates and brackets, the repeal of itemized deductions, the increased standard deduction, and the expanded exemption for estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Notably, the reduced corporate rate cut of 20% (reduced from 35%) effective in 2019 would be permanent.

We have outlined below some of the significant changes in the latest draft of the Senate bill, and summarized the key differences between the modified Senate bill and the House bill. Because the Senate has not yet released legislative text, this summary is based only on the JCT’s descriptions of the Senate Finance Committee’s bill (in its original and modified form) and the November 16 amendment (as published on the Senate Finance Committee website).