| (c) | Section 409A. The Company intends that this Plan and each Award granted hereunder that is subject to Section 409A shall comply with (or be exempt from) Section 409A and that this Plan shall be interpreted, operated and administered accordingly. If an Award is subject to Section 409A, (i) distributions shall only be made in a manner and upon an event permitted under Section 409A, (ii) payments to be made upon a termination of employment shall only be made upon a “separation from service” under Section 409A, (iii) unless the Award specifies otherwise, each installment payment shall be treated as a separate payment for purposes of Section 409A, and (iv) in no event shall a Participant, directly or indirectly, designate the calendar year in which a distribution is made except in accordance with Section 409A. Any Award granted under this Plan that is subject to Section 409A and that is to be distributed to a key employee (as defined below for this purpose) upon separation from service shall be administered so that any distribution with respect to such Award shall be postponed for six months following the date of the Participant’s separation from service, if required by Section 409A. If a distribution is delayed pursuant to Section 409A, the distribution shall be paid within 30 days after the end of the six-month period. If the Participant dies during such six-month period, any postponed amounts shall be paid within 90 days of the Participant’s death. The determination of key employees, including the number and identity of persons considered key employees and the identification date, shall be made by the Committee or its delegate each year in accordance with Section 416(i) of the Code and the “specified employee” requirements of Section 409A. If any provision of this Plan contravenes any regulations or guidance promulgated under Section 409A or could cause any Award to be subject to taxes, interest or penalties under Section 409A, the Board or the Committee may, in its sole discretion, modify this Plan to (i) comply with, or avoid being subject to, Section 409A, (ii) avoid the imposition of taxes, interest and penalties under Section 409A, and/or (iii) maintain, to the maximum extent practicable, the original intent of the applicable provision without violating the provisions of Section 409A. Neither the Board nor the Committee is obligated to modify this Plan and there is no guarantee that any payments will be exempt from interest and penalties under Section 409A. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in no event shall the Company be liable for the payment of or gross up in connection with any taxes and or penalties owed by the Participant pursuant to Section 409A. Moreover, any discretionary authority that the Board or the Committee may have pursuant to this Plan shall not be applicable to an Award that is subject to Section 409A to the extent such discretionary authority will contravene Section 409A. Although the Company, the Board and the Committee may attempt to avoid adverse tax treatment under Section 409A, none of them makes any representation to that effect and each of them expressly disavows any covenant to maintain favorable or avoid unfavorable tax treatment. |