of the Plan, and shall exercise all other duties and powers conferred on it by the Plan, or which are incidental or ancillary thereto. For each Performance Period, the Committee shall determine, at the time the Business Criteria and the Performance Target(s) are set, those Executives who are selected as Participants in the Plan.
4.3 Maximum Individual Bonus. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, no Executive shall receive a Bonus under the Plan for any Year in excess of $2 million or, if less, 200% of his or her Base Salary for the Year. No Executive shall receive aggregate bonuses under this Plan in excess of $10.0 million.
4.4 Selection of Participants. For each Performance Period, the Committee shall determine, at the time the Business Criteria and the Performance Target(s) are set, those Executives who will participate in the Plan.
4.5 Effect of Mid-Year Commencement of Service. To the extent compatible with Sections 4.2 and 5.8, if an Executive commences employment with the Company after the adoption of the Plan and the Performance Target(s) are established for a Performance Period, the Committee may grant to that Executive a Bonus for that Performance Period that is proportionately adjusted based on the period of actual service during such Performance Period.
4.6 Accounting Changes. Subject to Section 5.8, if, after the Performance Target(s) are established for a Performance Period, a change occurs in the applicable accounting principles or practices, the amount of the Bonuses paid under this Plan for such Performance Period shall be determined without regard to such change.
4.7 Committee Discretion to Determine Bonuses. The Committee has the sole discretion to determine the standard or formula pursuant to which each Participant’s Bonus shall be calculated (in accordance with Section 4.2), whether all or any portion of the amount so calculated will be paid, and the specific amount (if any) to be paid to each Participant, subject in all cases to the terms, conditions and limits of the Plan and of any other written commitment authorized by the Committee. In addition to the establishment of Performance Targets as provided in Section 4.2, the Committee may at any time establish additional conditions and terms of payment of Bonuses (including but not limited to the achievement of other financial, strategic or individual goals, which may be objective or subjective) as it may deem desirable in carrying out the purposes of the Plan and may take into account such other factors as it deems appropriate in administering any aspect of the Plan. The Committee may not, however, increase the maximum amount permitted to be paid to any individual under Section 4.2 or 4.3 of the Plan or award a Bonus under this Plan if the applicable Performance Target(s) have not been satisfied.
4.8 Committee Certification. No Participant shall receive any payment under the Plan unless the Committee has certified, by resolution or other appropriate action in writing, that the amount thereof has been accurately determined in accordance with the terms, conditions and limits of the Plan and that the Performance Target(s) and any other material terms previously established by the Committee or set forth in the Plan were in fact satisfied.
4.9 Time of Payment. Any Bonuses granted by the Committee under the Plan shall be paid as soon as practicable following the Committee’s determinations under this Section 4 and the certification of the Committee’s findings under Section 4.8, but in no
event later than two and one half months following the last day of the year. Any such payment shall be in cash or cash equivalent, subject to applicable withholding requirements.
Section 5. General Provisions
5.1 No Right to Bonus or Continued Employment. Neither the establishment of the Plan nor the provision for or payment of any amounts hereunder nor any action of the Company (including, for purposes of this Section 5.1, any predecessor or subsidiary), the Board of Directors of the Company or the Committee in respect of the Plan, shall be held or construed to confer upon any person any legal right to receive, or any interest in, a Bonus or any other benefit under the Plan, or any legal right to be continued in the employ of the Company unless otherwise provided by the Committee by contract or agreement. The Company expressly reserves any and all rights to discharge an Executive in its sole discretion, without liability of any person, entity or governing body under the Plan or otherwise. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof and notwithstanding the fact that the Performance Target(s) have been attained and/or the individual maximum amounts pursuant to Section 4.2 have been calculated, the Company shall have no obligation to pay any Bonus hereunder nor to pay the maximum amount so calculated, unless the Committee otherwise expressly provides by written contract or other written commitment.
5.2 Discretion of Company, Board of Directors and Committee. Any decision made or action taken by the Company or by the Board of Directors of the Company or by the Committee arising out of or in connection with the creation, amendment, construction, administration, interpretation and effect of the Plan shall be within the absolute discretion of such entity and shall be conclusive and binding upon all persons. No member of the Committee shall have any personal liability for actions taken or omitted under the Plan by the member or any other person.
5.3 Absence of Liability. A member of the Board of Directors of the Company or a member of the Committee of the Company or any officer of the Company shall not be personally liable for any act or inaction hereunder, whether of commission or omission.
5.4 No Funding of Plan. The Company shall not be required to fund or otherwise segregate any cash or any other assets which may at any time be paid to Participants under the Plan. The Plan shall constitute an “unfunded” plan of the Company. The Company shall not, by any provisions of the Plan, be deemed to be a trustee of any property, and any obligations of the Company to any Participant under the Plan shall be those of a debtor and any rights of any Participant or former Participant shall be limited to those of a general unsecured creditor.
5.5 Non-Transferability of Benefits and Interests. Except as expressly provided by the Committee, no benefit payable under the Plan shall be subject in any manner to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge, and
any such attempted action shall be void and no such benefit shall be in any manner liable for or subject to debts, contracts, liabilities, engagements or torts of any Participant or former Participant. This Section 5.5 shall not apply to an assignment of a contingency or payment due after the death of the Executive to the deceased Executive’s legal representative or beneficiary.
5.6 Law to Govern. All questions pertaining to the construction, regulation, validity and effect of the provisions of the Plan shall be determined in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Indiana.
5.7 Non-Exclusivity. Subject to Section 5.8, the Plan does not limit the authority of the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company or the Committee, or any subsidiary of the Company, to grant awards or authorize any other compensation under any other plan or authority, including, without limitation, awards or other compensation based on the same Performance Target(s) used under the Plan.
5.8 Section 162(m) Conditions; Bifurcation of Plan. It is the intent of the Company that the Plan and Bonuses paid hereunder satisfy and be interpreted in a manner, that, in the case of Participants who are or may be persons whose compensation is subject to Section 162(m), satisfies any applicable requirements as performance-based compensation. Any provision, application or interpretation of the Plan inconsistent with this intent to satisfy the standards in Section 162(m) of the Code shall be disregarded. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, the provisions of the Plan may at any time be bifurcated by the Board of Directors of the Company or the Committee in any manner so that certain provisions of the Plan or any Bonus intended (or required in order) to satisfy the applicable requirements of Section 162(m) are only applicable to persons whose compensation is subject to Section 162(m).
Section 6. Amendments, Suspension or Termination of Plan
Except as otherwise expressly agreed to in writing by the Committee, the Board of Directors of the Company or the Committee may, from time to time amend, suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the Plan, and if suspended or terminated, may reinstate any or all of the provisions of the Plan; provided no amendment, suspension or termination of the Plan shall in any manner affect any Bonus theretofore granted pursuant to the Plan (whether or not the applicable Performance Targets have been attained) without the consent of the Participant to whom the Bonus was granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no amendment may be effective without Board of Directors of the Company and/or shareholder approval if such approval is necessary to comply with the applicable rules under Section 162(m) of the Code.
| Approved by the Board of |
| Directors of Shoe Carnival, Inc. |
| as of March 13, 2006 |
| |
| Approved by the Shareholders of |
| Shoe Carnival, Inc. |
| as of June 12, 2006 |