Any Performance Measure(s) may be used to measure the performance of the Company, Subsidiary, and/or Affiliate as a whole or any business unit of the Company, Subsidiary, and/or Affiliate or any combination thereof, as the Committee may deem appropriate, or any of the above Performance Measures as compared to the performance of a group of comparator companies, or published or special index that the Committee, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate, or the Company may select Performance Measure (j) above as compared to various stock market indices. The Committee also has the authority to provide for accelerated vesting of any Award based on the achievement of performance goals pursuant to the Performance Measures specified in this Article 12.
From time to time, the Board shall set the amount(s) and type(s) of equity awards that shall be granted to all Nonemployee Directors on a periodic, nondiscriminatory basis pursuant to the Plan, as well as any additional amount(s), if any, to be awarded, also on a periodic, nondiscriminatory basis, based on each of the following: (i) the number of Board committees on which a Nonemployee Director serves; (ii) service of a Nonemployee Director as the chair of a Board committee; (iii)
service of a Nonemployee Director as Chairman of the Board; or (iv) the initial selection or appointment of an individual to the Board as a Nonemployee Director. Subject to the foregoing, the Board shall grant such Awards to Nonemployee Directors, as it shall from time to time determine.
Article 14. Dividends and Dividend Equivalents
Any Participant selected by the Committee may be granted dividends or dividend equivalents based on the dividends declared on Shares that are subject to any Award, to be credited as of dividend payment dates, during the period between the date the Award is granted and the date the Award is exercised, vests, or expires, as determined by the Committee. The dividends or dividend equivalents may be subject to any limitations and/or restrictions determined by the Committee. Such dividend equivalents shall be converted to cash or additional Shares by such formula and at such time and subject to such limitations as may be determined by the Committee.
Article 15. Change of Control
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, unless the Committee specifies otherwise in an Award Agreement, in the event of a Change of Control: (i) any Options and Stock Appreciation Rights which are outstanding immediately prior to the date such Change of Control is determined to have occurred, and which are not then exercisable and vested, shall become fully exercisable and vested to the full extent of the original grant; (ii) the restrictions and deferral limitations applicable to any Restricted Stock shall lapse, and such Restricted Stock shall become free of all restrictions and limitations and become fully vested and transferable to the full extent of the original grant; and (iii) the restrictions and deferral limitations and other conditions applicable to any other Awards under the Plan shall lapse, and such other Awards shall become free of all restrictions, limitations or conditions and become fully vested and transferable to the full extent of the original grant.
Article 16. Rights of Participants
16.1 Employment/Service. Nothing in this Plan or an Award Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company, its Affiliates, and/or its Subsidiaries to terminate any Participant’s employment or service on the Board or to the Company at any time or for any reason not prohibited by law, nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue his employment or service as a Director for any specified period of time.
Neither an Award nor any benefits arising under this Plan shall constitute an employment contract with the Company, its Affiliates, and/or its Subsidiaries and, accordingly, subject to Articles 3 and 17, this Plan and the benefits hereunder may be terminated at any time in the sole and exclusive discretion of the Committee without giving rise to any liability on the part of the Company, its Affiliates, and/or its Subsidiaries.
16.2 Participation. No individual shall have the right to be selected to receive an Award under this Plan or, having been so selected, to be selected to receive a future Award.
16.3 Rights as a Shareholder. Except as otherwise provided herein or in any Award Agreement, a Participant shall have none of the rights of a shareholder with respect to Shares covered by any Award until the Participant becomes the record holder of such Shares.
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Article 17. Amendment, Modification, Suspension, and Termination
17.1 Amendment, Modification, Suspension, and Termination. Subject to Section 17.3, the Committee may, at any time and from time to time, alter, amend, modify, suspend, or terminate this Plan and any Award Agreement in whole or in part; provided, however, that without the prior approval of the Company’s shareholders and except as provided in Section 4.4, Options or SARs issued under this Plan will not be repriced, replaced, repurchased for cash when the Fair Market Value of a Share is lower than the Option Price of a previously granted Option or the Grant Price of a previously granted SAR, or regranted through cancellation, or by lowering the Option Price of a previously granted Option or the Grant Price of a previously granted SAR, and no material amendment of this Plan shall be made without shareholder approval if shareholder approval is required by law, regulation, or stock exchange rule.
17.2 Adjustment of Awards Upon the Occurrence of Certain Unusual or Nonrecurring Events. The Committee may make adjustments in the terms and conditions of, and the criteria included in, Awards in recognition of unusual or nonrecurring events, other than those described in Section 4.4 hereof, affecting the Company or the financial statements of the Company or of changes in applicable laws, regulations, or accounting principles, whenever the Committee determines that such adjustments are appropriate in order to prevent unintended dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under this Plan. The determination of the Committee as to the foregoing adjustments, if any, shall be conclusive and binding on Participants under this Plan.
17.3 Awards Previously Granted. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan to the contrary (other than Section 17.4), no termination, amendment, suspension, or modification of this Plan or an Award Agreement shall adversely affect in any material way any Award previously granted under this Plan, without the written consent of the Participant holding such Award.
17.4 Amendment to Conform to Law. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan to the contrary, the Board of Directors may amend the Plan or an Award Agreement, to take effect retroactively or otherwise, as deemed necessary or advisable for the purpose of conforming the Plan or an Award Agreement to any present or future law relating to plans of this or similar nature (including, but not limited to, Code Section 409A), and to the administrative regulations and rulings promulgated thereunder.
Article 18. Withholding
18.1 Tax Withholding. The Company shall have the power and the right to deduct or withhold, or require a Participant to remit to the Company, the minimum statutory amount to satisfy federal, state, and local taxes, domestic or foreign, required by law or regulation to be withheld with respect to any taxable event arising as a result of this Plan.
18.2 Share Withholding. With respect to withholding required upon the exercise of Options or SARs, upon the lapse of restrictions on Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units, or upon the achievement of performance goals related to Performance Shares, or any other taxable event arising as a result of an Award granted hereunder, Participants may elect, subject to the approval of the Committee, to satisfy the withholding requirement, in whole or in part, by having the Company withhold Shares having a Fair Market Value on the date the tax is to be determined equal to the minimum statutory total tax that could be imposed on the transaction. All such elections shall be
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irrevocable, made in writing, and signed by the Participant, and shall be subject to any restrictions or limitations that the Committee, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate.
Article 19. Successors
All obligations of the Company under this Plan with respect to Awards granted hereunder shall be binding on any successor to the Company, whether the existence of such successor is the result of a direct or indirect purchase, merger, consolidation, or otherwise, of all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company.
Article 20. General Provisions
| (a) | The Committee may specify in an Award Agreement that the Participant’s rights, payments, and benefits with respect to an Award shall be subject to reduction, cancellation, forfeiture, or recoupment upon the occurrence of certain specified events, in addition to any otherwise applicable vesting or performance conditions of an Award. Such events may include, but shall not be limited to, termination of employment for cause, termination of the Participant’s provision of services to the Company, Affiliate, and/or Subsidiary, violation of material Company, Affiliate, and/or Subsidiary policies, breach of noncompetition, confidentiality, or other restrictive covenants that may apply to the Participant, or other conduct by the Participant that is detrimental to the business or reputation of the Company, its Affiliates, and/or its Subsidiaries. |
| (b) | If the Company is required to prepare an accounting restatement due to the material noncompliance of the Company, as a result of misconduct, with any financial reporting requirement under the securities laws, any Participant who is subject to automatic forfeiture under Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 shall reimburse the Company the amount of any payment in settlement of an Award earned or accrued during the twelve (12) month period following the first public issuance or filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (whichever just occurred) of the financial document embodying such financial reporting requirement. |
In addition, in the event of an accounting restatement, the Committee in its sole and exclusive discretion may require that any Participant reimburse the Company all or part of the amount of any payment in settlement of any Award granted hereunder.
20.2 Legend. The certificates for Shares may include any legend that the Committee deems appropriate to reflect any restrictions on transfer of such Shares.
20.3 Gender and Number. Except where otherwise indicated by the context, any masculine term used herein also shall include the feminine, the plural shall include the singular, and the singular shall include the plural.
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20.4 Severability. In the event any provision of this Plan shall be held illegal or invalid for any reason, the illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining parts of this Plan, and this Plan shall be construed and enforced as if the illegal or invalid provision had not been included.
20.5 Requirements of Law. The granting of Awards and the issuance of Shares under this Plan shall be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and to such approvals by any governmental agencies, the NYSE or other national securities exchanges as may be required.
20.6 Delivery of Title. The Company shall have no obligation to issue or deliver evidence of title for Shares issued under this Plan prior to:
| (a) | Obtaining any approvals from governmental agencies that the Company determines are necessary or advisable; and |
| (b) | Completion of any registration or other qualification of the Shares under any applicable national or foreign law or ruling of any governmental body that the Company determines to be necessary or advisable. |
20.7 Inability to Obtain Authority. The inability of the Company to obtain authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, which authority is deemed by the Company’s counsel to be necessary to the lawful issuance and sale of any Shares hereunder, shall relieve the Company of any liability in respect of the failure to issue or sell such Shares as to which such requisite authority shall not have been obtained.
20.8 Investment Representations. The Committee may require any individual receiving Shares pursuant to an Award under this Plan to represent and warrant in writing that the individual is acquiring the Shares for investment and without any present intention to sell or distribute such Shares.
20.9 Employees Based Outside of the United States. Notwithstanding any provision of this Plan to the contrary, in order to comply with the laws in other countries in which the Company, its Affiliates, and/or its Subsidiaries operate or have Employees or Directors, the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall have the power and authority to:
| (a) | Determine which Affiliates and Subsidiaries shall be covered by this Plan. |
| (b) | Determine which Employees or Directors outside the United States are eligible to participate in this Plan. |
| (c) | Modify the terms and conditions of any Award granted to Employees or Directors outside the United States to comply with applicable foreign laws. |
| (d) | Establish subplans and modify exercise procedures and other terms and procedures, to the extent such actions may be necessary or advisable. Any subplans and modifications to Plan terms and procedures established under this Section 20.9 by the Committee shall be attached to this Plan document as appendices. |
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| (e) | Take any action, before or after an Award is made, that it deems advisable to obtain approval or comply with any necessary local government regulatory exemptions or approvals. |
Notwithstanding the above, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted that would violate applicable law.
20.10 Uncertificated Shares. To the extent that this Plan provides for issuance of certificates to reflect the transfer of Shares, the transfer of such Shares may be effected on a noncertificated basis, to the extent not prohibited by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange.
20.11 Unfunded Plan. Participants shall have no right, title, or interest whatsoever in or to any investments that the Company and/or its Subsidiaries and/or its Affiliates may make to aid it in meeting its obligations under this Plan. Nothing contained in this Plan, and no action taken pursuant to its provisions, shall create or be construed to create a trust of any kind, or a fiduciary relationship between the Company and any Participant, beneficiary, legal representative, or any other individual. To the extent that any individual acquires a right to receive payments from the Company, its Subsidiaries, and/or its Affiliates under this Plan, such right shall be no greater than the right of an unsecured general creditor of the Company, a Subsidiary, or an Affiliate, as the case may be. All payments to be made hereunder shall be paid from the general funds of the Company, a Subsidiary, or an Affiliate, as the case may be, and no special or separate fund shall be established and no segregation of assets shall be made to assure payment of such amounts except as expressly set forth in this Plan.
20.12 No Fractional Shares. No fractional Shares shall be issued or delivered pursuant to this Plan or any Award. The Committee shall determine whether cash, Awards, or other property shall be issued or paid in lieu of fractional Shares or whether such fractional Shares or any rights thereto shall be forfeited or otherwise eliminated.
20.13 Retirement and Welfare Plans. Neither Awards made under this Plan nor Shares or cash paid pursuant to such Awards, except pursuant to Covered Employee annual incentive awards, may be included as “compensation” for purposes of computing the benefits payable to any Participant under the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s or Affiliate’s retirement plans (both qualified and nonqualified) or welfare benefit plans unless such other plan expressly provides that such compensation shall be taken into account in computing a Participant’s benefit.
20.14 Deferred Compensation. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Committee may cause any Award to comply with or to be exempt from Section 409A of the Code and may interpret this Plan in any manner necessary to ensure that Awards under the Plan comply with or are exempt from Section 409A of the Code. In the event that the Committee determines that an Award should comply with or be exempt from Section 409A and that a Plan provision or Award Agreement provision is necessary to ensure that such Award complies with or is exempt from Section 409A of the Code, such provision shall be deemed included in the Plan or such Award Agreement.
20.15 Nonexclusivity of This Plan. The adoption of this Plan shall not be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board or Committee to adopt such other compensation arrangements as it may deem desirable for any Participant.
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20.16 No Constraint on Corporate Action. Nothing in this Plan shall be construed to: (a) limit, impair, or otherwise affect the Company’s or a Subsidiary’s or an Affiliate’s right or power to make adjustments, reclassifications, reorganizations, or changes of its capital or business structure, or to merge or consolidate, or dissolve, liquidate, sell, or transfer all or any part of its business or assets; or, (b) limit the right or power of the Company or a Subsidiary or an Affiliate to take any action which such entity deems to be necessary or appropriate.
20.17 Governing Law. The Plan and each Award Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, excluding any conflicts or choice of law rule or principle that might otherwise refer construction or interpretation of this Plan to the substantive law of another jurisdiction. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, recipients of an Award under this Plan are deemed to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal or state courts of Georgia to resolve any and all issues that may arise out of or relate to this Plan or any related Award Agreement.
20.18 Indemnification. Subject to requirements of Georgia law, each individual who is or shall have been a member of the Board, or a committee appointed by the Board, or an officer of the Company to whom authority was delegated in accordance with Article 3, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company against and from any loss, cost, liability, or expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by the Participant in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit, or proceeding to which the Participant may be a party or in which the Participant may be involved by reason of any action taken or failure to act under this Plan and against and from any and all amounts paid by the Participant in settlement thereof, with the Company’s approval, or paid by the Participant in satisfaction of any judgment in any such action, suit, or proceeding against the Participant, provided the Participant shall give the Company an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before the Participant undertakes to handle and defend it on the Participant’s own behalf, unless such loss, cost, liability, or expense is a result of the Participant’s own willful misconduct or except as expressly provided by statute.
The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such individuals may be entitled under the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or any power that the Company may have to indemnify them or hold them harmless.
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