4. | Rights as Shareholder; Dividend Equivalents |
Prior to the distribution of Shares with respect to Units pursuant to Section 3 above, Participant shall not have ownership or rights of ownership of any Shares underlying the Units;provided,however, that Participant shall be entitled to receive cash Dividend Equivalents on outstanding Units (i.e. Units that have not been forfeited, cancelled or settled), whether vested or unvested, if cash dividends on the Common Stock are declared by the Board on or after the Grant Date. Such Dividend Equivalents will be in an amount of cash per Unit equal to the cash dividend paid with respect to a share of outstanding Common Stock. The Dividend Equivalents shall be treated as earnings on, and as a separate amount from, the Units for purposes of Section 409A of the Code and will be paid out as soon as administratively feasible following the Common Stock dividend payable date, but in no event later than 12/31 of the year in which the payable date is declared. Dividend Equivalents paid with respect to dividends declared before the delivery of the Shares underlying the Units will be treated as compensation income for tax purposes and will be subject to income and payroll tax withholding by the Company.
5. | Restriction on Transfer |
Except for transfers by will or the applicable laws of descent and distribution, the Units cannot be sold, assigned, transferred, gifted, pledged, or in any manner encumbered, alienated, attached or disposed of, and any purported sale, assignment, transfer, gift, pledge, alienation, attachment or encumbrance shall be void and unenforceable against the Company. No such attempt to transfer the Units, whether voluntary or involuntary, by operation of law or otherwise (except by will or laws of descent and distribution), shall vest the purported transferee with any interest or right in or with respect to the Units or the Shares issuable with respect to the Units.
6. | Securities Law Compliance |
The delivery of all or any of the Shares in accordance with this Award shall be effective only at such time that the issuance of such Shares will not violate any state or federal securities or other laws. The Company is under no obligation to effect any registration of the Shares under the Securities Act of 1933 or to effect any state registration or qualification of the Shares. The Company may, in its sole discretion, delay the delivery of the Shares or place restrictive legends on such Shares in order to ensure that the issuance of any Shares will be in compliance with federal or state securities laws and the rules of the New York Stock Exchange or any other exchange upon which the Common Stock is traded.
In order to comply with all applicable federal, state, local and foreign income and payroll tax laws or regulations, the Company may take such action as it deems appropriate to ensure that all applicable withholding, income or other taxes, which are the sole and absolute responsibility of Participant, are withheld or collected from Participant. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company may, but is not obligated to, permit or require the satisfaction of tax withholding obligations through net Share settlement at the time of delivery of Shares (i.e. the Company withholds a portion of the Shares otherwise to be delivered with a Fair Market Value, as such term is defined in the Plan, equal to the amount of such taxes, but only to the extent necessary to satisfy certain statutory withholding requirements to avoid adverse accounting treatment under ASC 718) or through an open market sale of Shares otherwise to be delivered, in each case pursuant to such rules and procedures as may be established by the Company.
(a) The Agreement is issued pursuant to the Plan and is subject to its terms. The Plan is available for inspection during business hours at the principal office of the Company. In addition, the Plan may be viewed on the Fidelity Website atwww.netbenefits.com (or the website of any other stock plan administrator selected by the Company in the future).
(b) The Agreement shall not confer on Participant any right with respect to continuance of employment with the Company or any Affiliate, nor will it interfere in any way with the right of the Company or any Affiliate to terminate such employment at any time.