consecutive days, and Employee has not returned to his full time employment prior to the Employment Termination Date as stated in the ‘‘Notice of Termination of Employment’’ (as defined below).
2.1 Employee’s employment is at-will and nothing in this Agreement is intended, or shall be construed, to limit the right of the Company to terminate Employee’s employment at any time in its sole discretion.
3.1 The Employee shall not, at any time during or after the termination of his employment hereunder, except when acting on behalf of and with the authorization of the Company, make use of or disclose to any person, corporation, or other entity, for any purpose whatsoever, any trade secret or other confidential information concerning the Company’s business, finances, marketing, computerized payroll, accounting and information business, personnel and/or employee leasing business of the Company and its subsidiaries, including information relating to any customer of the Company or pool of temporary employees, or any other nonpublic business information of the Company and/or its subsidiaries learned as a consequence of Employee’s employment with the Company (collectively referred to as the ‘‘Proprietary Information’’). For the purposes of this Agreement, trade secrets and confidential information shall mean information disclosed to the Employee or known by him as a
Table of Contentsconsequence of his employment by the Company, whether or not pursuant to this Agreement, and not generally known in the industry. The Employee acknowledges that trade secrets and other items of confidential information, as they may exist from time to time, are valuable and unique assets of the Company, and that disclosure of any such information would cause substantial injury to the Company.
3.2 If Employee is requested or required (by oral questions, interrogatories, requests for information or document subpoenas, civil investigative demands, or similar process) to disclose any Proprietary Information, Employee shall, unless prohibited by law, promptly notify the Company of such request(s) so that the Company may seek an appropriate protective order.
3.3 Employee further agrees to keep the terms and of this Agreement, and the existing of a severance arrangement with the Company confidential, and will not disclose any information concerning this Agreement except to Employee’s attorneys, accountants or immediate family members provided they are made aware of and agree to the confidentiality provisions.
ARTICLE IV
RESTRICTIVE COVENANT
4.1 In the event of the termination of employment with the Company for any reason, Employee agrees that he will not, for a period of six (6) months following such termination, directly or indirectly, enter into or become associated with or engage in any other business (whether as a partner, officer, director, shareholder, employee, consultant, or otherwise), which is involved in the business of providing (i) temporary and/or permanent staffing of healthcare personnel, and/or (ii) payroll processing, or is otherwise engaged in the same or similar business as the Company in direct competition with the Company, or which the Company was in the process of developing, during the tenure of Employee’s employment by the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the ownership by Employee of less than 5 percent of the shares of any publicly held corporation shall not violate the provisions of this Article IV.
4.2 In furtherance of the foregoing, Employee shall not during the aforesaid period of non-competition, directly or indirectly, in connection with any computerized payroll, or temporary and/or permanent staffing of healthcare personnel business, or any business similar to the business in which the Company was engaged, or in the process of developing during Employee’s tenure with the Company, solicit any customer or employee of the Company who was a customer or employee of the Company during the term of his employment.
4.3 If any court shall hold that the duration of non-competition or any other restriction contained in this Article IV is unenforceable, it is our intention that same shall not thereby be terminated but shall be deemed amended to delete therefrom such provision or portion adjudicated to be invalid or unenforceable or, in the alternative, such judicially substituted term may be substituted therefor.
ARTICLE V
SEVERANCE PAYMENT; TERMINATION OF OPTIONS
5.1 In the event (1) the Company terminates Employee’s employment without Cause, or (2) Employee voluntarily resigns within thirty (30) days after notice of termination of this Agreement is given by the Company in accordance with Section 6.2, and, in either case, Employee does not violate the provisions of Articles III and IV and signs a Termination Agreement, Employee shall be paid a Severance Payment.
5.2 In the event Employee is terminated for Cause any and all employment stock options held by Employee, whether vested or unvested, shall immediately terminate and Employee shall not be entitled to exercise such options.
Table of ContentsARTICLE VI
TERM AND TERMINATION
6.1 This Agreement shall commence as of the date set forth in the first paragraph of this agreement, and shall continue in effect until terminated by the Company or the Employee in accordance with this Agreement.
6.2 The Company may terminate this Agreement at any time upon written notice to Employee specifying the effective date of termination of this Agreement, which date shall not be earlier than thirty (30) days from the date such notice is given; provided however, that Employee shall have the right to resign within thirty (30) days after such notice is given by the Company, and such resignation, solely for purposes of this Agreement, shall be deemed a termination of Employee’s employment without Cause.
6.3 This Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the voluntary resignation of Employee.
ARTICLE VII
TERMINATION OF PRIOR AGREEMENTS
7.1 This Agreement sets forth the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements between the parties regarding severance payments or benefits, whether oral or written prior to the effective date of this Agreement.
ARTICLE VIII
ARBITRATION, COSTS AND INDEMNIFICATION; COOPERATION
8.1 Any dispute arising out of the interpretation, application, and/or performance of this Agreement with the sole exception of any claim, breach, or violation arising under Articles III or IV hereof shall be settled through final and binding arbitration before a single arbitrator in the State of New Jersey in accordance with the Rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator shall be selected by the Association and shall be an attorney-at-law experienced in the field or fields involved in the dispute (e.g., corporate, employment, trade secret, non-competition, or securities law). Any judgment upon any arbitration award may be entered in any court, federal or state, having competent jurisdiction of the parties. Whether in arbitration or in any litigation between the parties in federal or state court relating to or concerning this Agreement, it is agreed that the losing shall pay the prevailing party’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
8.2 The Company hereby agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Employee for any and all claims arising from or related to his employment by the Company at any time asserted, at any place asserted, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, except for any claims arising out of a breach of any restrictive covenant, non-solicitation agreement or similar arrangement between Employee and an entity other than the Company.
8.3 Employee shall cooperate fully with the Company in the prosecution or defense, as the case may be, of any and all actions, governmental inquiries or other legal or regulatory proceedings in which Employee’s assistance may be reasonably requested by the Company. Reasonable expenses arising from the cooperation will be reimbursed within the Company’s guidelines.
ARTICLE IX
SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this Agreement shall be held invalid and unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable with respect to particular circumstances, it shall remain in full force and effect in all other circumstances.
Table of ContentsARTICLE X
NOTICE
For the purposes of this Agreement, notices and all other communications provided for in the Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when personally delivered or sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed to the respective addresses as set forth below or to any such other address as the party to receive the notice shall advise by due notice given in accordance with this paragraph. All notices and communications shall be deemed to have been received on the date of delivery thereof or on the third business day after the mailing thereof, except that notice of change of address shall be effective only upon receipt.
The current addresses of the parties are as follows:
IF TO THE COMPANY: TeamStaff, Inc.
300 Atrium Drive
Somerset, NJ 08873
IF TO THE EMPLOYEE: James D. Houston
158 West 81st Street
New York, NY 10024
ARTICLE XI
BENEFIT
This Agreement shall inure to, and shall be binding upon, the parties hereto, the successors and assigns of the Company, and the heirs and personal representatives of the Employee.
ARTICLE XII
WAIVER
The waiver by either party of any breach or violation of any provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach of construction and validity.
ARTICLE XIII
GOVERNING LAW
This Agreement has been negotiated and executed in the State of New Jersey which shall govern its construction and validity.
ARTICLE XIV
JURISDICTION
Any or all actions or proceedings which may be brought by the Company or Employee under this Agreement shall be brought in courts having a situs within the State of New Jersey, and Employee and the Company each hereby consent to the jurisdiction of any local, state, or federal court located within the State of New Jersey.
ARTICLE XV
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties hereto. No change, addition, or amendment shall be made hereto, except by written agreement signed by the parties hereto.
Table of ContentsARTICLE XVI
RIGHT TO ATTORNEY
Employee is hereby advised of Employee’s rights to review this Agreement with counsel of Employee’s choice. Employee has had the opportunity to consult with an attorney and/or other advisor of Employee’s choosing before signing the Agreement, and was given a period of twenty-one (21) days to consider the Agreement. Employee is permitted, at his discretion, to return the Agreement prior to the expiration of this 21-day period. Employee acknowledges that in signing this Agreement, Employee has relied only on the promises written in this Agreement, and not on any other promise made by the Company or any other entity or person.
ARTICLE XVII
SURVIVAL
Articles III, IV, VIII, X, XIII and XIV shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Table of ContentsIN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement and affixed their hands and seals the day and year first above written.
| TEAMSTAFF, INC. |
| By: T. Kent Smith Chief Executive Officer |
| James Houston Employee |