Exhibit 10.1
27 OCTOBER 2009
JON COHEN
537 LENAPE CIRCLE
LANGHORNE, PA 19047
DEAR JON,
WEAREPLEASEDTOPRESENTTHEFOLLOWINGOFFEROFEMPLOYMENT. THISLETTERWILLSUMMARIZEANDCONFIRMTHEDETAILSOFOUROFFERTOYOUOFEMPLOYMENTBY LIGHTING SCIENCE GROUP CORPORATION (THE “COMPANY”).
START DATE. YOUREMPLOYMENTBYTHE COMPANYWILLCOMMENCEON 02 NOVEMBER 2009ANDTHE CONTRACTOR SERVICES AGREEMENTBETWEENYOUANDTHE COMPANYEFFECTIVEASOF 31 AUGUST 2009SHALLBEDEEMEDTOBETERMINATEDASOF 31 OCTOBER 2009.
POSITION, RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES. YOURINITIALTITLEWILLBE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER. YOUWILLINITIALLYREPORTTO KATY REYNOLDS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & FINANCE. YOURRESPONSIBILITIESANDDUTIESWILLBEASTHE COMPANYMAYSPECIFY. YOUAREEXPECTEDTODEVOTEYOURFULLTIMEPROFESSIONALEFFORTSTOTHEFULFILLMENTOFYOURRESPONSIBILITIESANDDUTIES.
BASE COMPENSATION. YOURANNUALSALARYWILLBEONEHUNDREDSIXTYFIVETHOUSAND UNITED STATESDOLLARS (US$165,000.00),LESSSTANDARDPAYROLLDEDUCTIONSANDALLREQUIREDWITHHOLDINGS,ANDPAIDINACCORDANCEWITHTHE COMPANY’SPAYROLLPOLICIES.
RELOCATION PAYMENT. YOUWILLBEELIGIBLETORECEIVEARELOCATIONBONUSOFTHIRTYTHOUSAND UNITED STATESDOLLARS (US$30,000.00)LESSREQUIREDWITHHOLDINGS,ATTHETIMEOFRELOCATION. IFYOUVOLUNTARILYTERMINATEYOUREMPLOYMENTWITHTHE COMPANYORARETERMINATEDFORCAUSEWITHINTWOYEARSOFYOURDATEOFHIRE,YOUWILLBEREQUIREDTOREIMBURSETHE COMPANYFORONEHUNDREDPERCENT (100%) OFTHERELOCATIONBONUS.
PERFORMANCE BONUS. BEGINNINGWITHTHECALENDARYEAR 2010,YOUWILLBEELIGIBLETOPARTICIPATEINTHE COMPANY’SPERFORMANCEBONUSPLAN(S)UPTOTHIRTYPERCENT (30%) OFYOURBASESALARY,BASEDONACOMBINATIONOF COMPANYPERFORMANCEANDPERSONALACHIEVEMENTSASDETERMINEDBYYOURMANAGER.
LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN. YOUWILLBEELIGIBLETOPARTICIPATEINTHE COMPANY’SLONGTERMINCENTIVEPLANSFOREXECUTIVES.
INITIAL STOCK & OPTION GRANTS. ASPARTOFTHE COMPANY’SLONGTERMINCENTIVEPLAN,YOUHAVEBEENISSUEDONEHUNDREDTHOUSAND (100,000) STOCKOPTIONSSUBJECTTOTHE LIGHTING SCIENCE GROUP CORPORATION AMENDED AND RESTATED EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION PLAN NONQUALIFIED STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT.
BENEFITS. THE COMPANYCURRENTLYOFFERSASUITEOFBENEFITSFORYOUANDYOURQUALIFIEDDEPENDENTSINCLUDINGMEDICAL,DENTAL,VISIONANDLIFEINSURANCEOPTIONS,EFFECTIVEFIRSTDAYOFEMPLOYMENT. ADDITIONALLY,YOUAREELIGIBLEFORPAIDSICKTIMEOFFANDPAIDHOLIDAYS. YOUWILLINITIALLYBEELIGIBLEFORTWENTY (20) DAYSOFPAIDVACATIONPERYEAROFEMPLOYMENT. ADDITIONALDETAILSREGARDINGBENEFITSWILLBEPROVIDEDBYTHE COMPANY’SHUMANRESOURCESDEPARTMENTINDUECOURSE. BENEFITSSHALLCEASEIMMEDIATELYUPONTHETERMINATIONOFYOUREMPLOYMENTBYTHE COMPANYEXCEPTASPROVIDEDBYLAWORASTHE COMPANY’SPOLICIESMAYALLOW.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION. TOCOMPLYWITHTHEGOVERNMENT-MANDATEDCONFIRMATIONOFEMPLOYMENTELIGIBILITY,YOUWILLBEREQUIREDTOCOMPLETEAN I-9 EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATIONFORM.
AT WILL EMPLOYMENT. PLEASEUNDERSTANDTHE COMPANYISANEMPLOYMENT-AT-WILLCOMPANY. THISMEANSTHATYOUORTHE COMPANYMAYTERMINATEYOUREMPLOYMENTATANYTIME,FORANYREASONORFORNOREASON,WITHORWITHOUTNOTICE. ACCORDINGLY,THISLETTERISNOTACONTRACTORCOMMITMENTFORCONTINUEDEMPLOYMENT. THE COMPANYALSORESERVESTHERIGHTTOAMENDITSBENEFITS,PLANSORPROGRAMSATANYTIME.
SEVERANCE. IFYOUARETERMINATEDFORREASONSOTHERTHAN “CAUSE,”YOUWILLRECEIVEAMINIMUMSEVERANCEPAYMENTEQUIVALENTTOFOUR (4) WEEKSOFBASESALARYPAIDOVERTIMEINACCORDANCEWITHTHE COMPANY’SPAYROLLPRACTICESANDPOLICIES. THESEVERANCEPAYMENTWILLBECONDITIONALUPONYOURFIRSTEXECUTINGANDNOTREVOKINGAVALIDWAIVERANDRELEASEOFALLCLAIMSTHATYOUMAYHAVEAGAINSTTHE COMPANY. TERMINATIONFOR “CAUSE”WILLELIMINATEELIGIBILITYFORASEVERANCEPAYMENT. “CAUSE”MEANS: (A) AWILLFULBREACHOFYOUROBLIGATIONSUNDERTHISAGREEMENT,WHICHBREACHYOUFAILTOCURE,IFCURABLE,WITHIN (30) DAYSAFTERRECEIPTOFAWRITTENNOTICEOFSUCHBREACH; (B) GROSSNEGLIGENCEINTHEPERFORMANCEORINTENTIONALNON-PERFORMANCEOFYOURMATERIALDUTIESTOTHE COMPANYORANYOFITSAFFILIATES; (C)
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COMMISSIONOFAFELONYORACRIMEOFMORALTURPITUDE; (D) COMMISSIONOFAMATERIALACTOFDECEIT,FRAUD,PERJURYOREMBEZZLEMENTTHATINVOLVESORDIRECTLYORINDIRECTLYCAUSESHARMTOTHE COMPANYORANYOFITSAFFILIATES;OR (E) REPEATEDLY (I.E.,ONMORETHANONEOCCASION)BEINGUNDERTHEINFLUENCEOFDRUGSORALCOHOL (OTHERTHANOVER-THE-COUNTERORPRESCRIPTIONMEDICINEOROTHERMEDICALLY-RELATEDDRUGSTOTHEEXTENTTHEYARETAKENINACCORDANCEWITHTHEIRDIRECTIONSORUNDERTHESUPERVISIONOFAPHYSICIAN)DURINGTHEPERFORMANCEOFYOURDUTIESFORTHE COMPANYORANYOFITSAFFILIATES,OR,WHILEUNDERTHEINFLUENCEOFSUCHDRUGSORALCOHOL,ENGAGINGINGROSSLYINAPPROPRIATECONDUCTDURINGTHEPERFORMANCEOFYOURDUTIESFORTHE COMPANYORANYOFITSAFFILIATES.
RESIGNATION NOTICE. IFYOUELECTTOVOLUNTARILYRESIGNFROMTHE COMPANY,YOUAGREETOPROVIDETHE COMPANYWITHATLEASTFOUR (4) WEEKS’NOTICEBEFORETHEEFFECTIVEDATE. NOTWITHSTANDINGTHEFOREGOING,THE COMPANYRETAINSTHEOPTIONOFTERMINATINGYOUUPONSUCHNOTICEORBEFORETHEENDOFTHENOTICEPERIOD. IFYOUELECTTOVOLUNTARILYRESIGN,YOUWILLNOTBEELIGIBLEFORASEVERANCEPAYMENT.
ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT. THE COMPANYREQUIRESITSEMPLOYEESTOSIGNANDCOMPLYWITHADDITIONALTERMSANDCONDITIONSOFEMPLOYMENTCONCERNINGCONFIDENTIALITY,ASSIGNMENTOFINVENTIONSANDWORKSOFAUTHORSHIP,NON-COMPETITION,ANDNON-RECRUITMENT. THEADDITIONALTERMSANDCONDITIONSOFEMPLOYMENTWILLBEPRESENTEDTOYOUFORYOURREVIEW,CONSIDERATIONANDSIGNATUREINDUECOURSEANDMUSTBESIGNEDBYWITHINTEN (10) DAYSOFRECEIPTBYYOU.
IFYOUWISHTOACCEPTEMPLOYMENTUNDERTHETERMSDESCRIBEDABOVE,PLEASESIGNANDDATEACOPYOFTHISLETTERANDRETURNTHESIGNEDANDDATEDCOPYTOMENOLATERTHAN 30 OCTOBER 2009.
BYSIGNINGTHISLETTER,YOUACKNOWLEDGETHATTHISOFFERLETTERSUPERSEDESANYOTHEROFFER,AGREEMENT,ORPROMISESMADETOYOUBYANYONE,WHETHERORALORWRITTEN,SPECIFICALLYCONCERNINGTHEOFFEROFEMPLOYMENTBYTHE COMPANY,ANDWITHTHEEXCEPTIONOFTHEDETERMINATIONOFTHENUMBEROFSHARESANDOPTIONSASNOTEDABOVE,THISLETTERCOMPRISESTHECOMPLETEAGREEMENTBETWEENYOUANDTHE COMPANYCONCERNINGTHEOFFEROFEMPLOYMENTBYTHE COMPANY.
IFYOUHAVEANYQUESTIONSREGARDINGTHISOFFER,PLEASEDONOTHESITATETOCONTACTMEOR KATY REYNOLDS.
ILOOKFORWARDTOYOURFAVORABLEREPLYANDTOAPRODUCTIVEANDENJOYABLEWORKRELATIONSHIP.
| | | | |
| SINCERELY, | | | | Agreed & Accepted: |
| | |
| | | | | /s/ Jon Cohen |
| | | | JON COHEN |
| BRUCE KRANGEL | | | | |
| DIRECTOR, HR | | | | DATE: 10/27/2009 |
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