4. Forfeiture of Unvested RSUs Upon Cessation of Service.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement or an effective written employment, separation, or other agreement between the Participant and the Company, in the event that the Participant ceases to perform services to the Company, all of the RSUs that are unvested as of the time of such cessation shall be forfeited immediately and automatically to the Company, without the payment of any consideration to the Participant, effective as of such cessation. The Participant shall have no further rights with respect to the unvested RSUs or any Common Stock that may have been issuable with respect thereto. If the Participant provides services to a subsidiary of the Company, any references in this Agreement to provision of services to the Company shall instead be deemed to refer to service with such subsidiary.
(b) In the event Participant ceases to be employed by the Company due to a Good Leaver Termination prior to a Change in Control Event (each as defined below), any unvested RSUs that would have vested during the one-year period following the cessation of employment had the Good Leaver Termination not occurred shall not be forfeited but instead will vest upon such cessation, subject to the Participant’s compliance with Section 6 of the Company’s Severance Benefits Plan (as modified for the Participant pursuant to the Employment Agreement between the Participant and the Company). Any unvested RSUs that do not vest pursuant to the foregoing sentence shall be forfeited immediately and automatically to the Company, without the payment of any consideration to the Participant, effective upon the Good Leaver Termination.
(c) For purposes of this Agreement, “Good Leaver Termination” means termination of Participant’s employment with the Company due to death, disability (as defined in Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), or a Covered Termination (as defined in the Participant’s written employment agreement).
5. Restrictions on Transfer.
The Participant shall not sell, assign, transfer, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of, by operation of law or otherwise (collectively “transfer”) any RSUs, or any interest therein. The Company shall not be required to treat as the owner of any RSUs or issue any Common Stock to any transferee to whom such RSUs have been transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may permit or provide for the gratuitous transfer of the RSUs by the Participant to or for the benefit of any immediate family member, family trust, or other entity established for the benefit of the Participant and/or an immediate family member thereof if the Company would be able to use a Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), for the registration of the sale of the Common Stock subject to the RSUs to such proposed transferee; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to recognize any such permitted transfer until such time as such permitted transferee shall, as a condition to such transfer, deliver to the Company a written instrument in form and substance satisfactory to the Company confirming that such transferee shall be bound by all of the terms and conditions of this Award Agreement. References herein to “Participant” shall include references to authorized transferees. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 5 shall prohibit a transfer of the option to the Company.