pursuant to (i) any applicable legal requirement, including, without limitation, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 and any similar state or local laws (collectively, the “WARN Act”), (ii) a written employment, severance or equity award agreement with the Company, (iii) any Company policy or practice providing for the Covered Employee to remain on the payroll for a limited period of time after being given notice of the termination of the Covered Employee’s employment, and (iv) any required salary continuation, notice pay, statutory severance payment, or other payments either required by local law, or owed pursuant to a collective labor agreement, as a result of the termination of the Covered Employee’s employment. The benefits provided under the Plan are intended to satisfy, to the greatest extent possible, and not to provide benefits duplicative of, any and all statutory, contractual and collective agreement obligations of the Company in respect of the form of benefits provided under the Plan that may arise out of a termination, and the Administrator will so construe and implement the terms of the Plan. Reductions may be applied on a retroactive basis, with benefits previously provided being recharacterized as benefits pursuant to the Company’s statutory or other contractual obligations. The payments pursuant to the Plan are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any unpaid salary, bonuses or employee welfare benefits to which a Covered Employee may be entitled for the period ending with the Covered Employee’s termination.
5.3 Other Requirements. A Covered Employee’s receipt of severance payments pursuant to Section 4.1 will be subject to the Covered Employee continuing to comply with the provisions of this Section 5 and the terms of any confidential information agreement, proprietary information and inventions agreement, any covenants agreement, any other similar agreement to the foregoing and such other appropriate agreement between the Covered Employee and the Company. Benefits under the Plan shall terminate immediately for a Covered Employee if such Covered Employee, at any time, materially breaches any such agreement or the provisions of this Section 5.
5.4 Section 280G. Any provision of the Plan to the contrary notwithstanding, if any payment or benefit a Covered Employee would receive from the Company and its Affiliates or an acquiror pursuant to the Plan or otherwise (a “Payment”) would (i) constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code, and (ii) but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment will be equal to the Higher Amount (defined below). The “Higher Amount” will be either (x) the largest portion of the Payment that would result in no portion of the Payment being subject to the Excise Tax, or (y) the largest portion, up to and including the total, of the Payment, whichever amount, after taking into account all applicable federal, state and local employment taxes, income taxes, and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal rate), results in Covered Employee’s receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greater economic benefit notwithstanding that all or some portion of the Payment may be subject to the Excise Tax. If a reduction in payments or benefits constituting “parachute payments” is necessary so that the Payment equals the Higher Amount, reduction will occur in the manner that results in the greatest economic benefit for a Covered Employee. If more than one method of reduction will result in the same economic benefit, the items so reduced will be reduced pro rata. In no event will the Company, any Affiliate or any stockholder be liable to any Covered Employee for any amounts not paid as a result of the operation of this Section 5.4.
6. Timing of Benefits. Subject to any delay required by Section 7 below, cash Severance Benefits will be paid within 30 days of the Release becoming effective and irrevocable; provided, however, that if the Release revocation period crosses two calendar years, the Severance Benefits will be paid in the second of the two years if necessary to avoid taxation under Section 409A (as defined in Section 7).
7. Section 409A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, no severance payments or benefits will become payable until the Covered Employee has a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code and the final regulations and any guidance promulgated thereunder (“Section 409A”) if such payments or benefits would constitute deferred compensation for purposes of Section 409A (“Deferred Compensation Severance Benefits”). Further, if the Covered
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