The question of mid-offering period changes to employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) has been coming up with unusual frequency, in some cases due to stock price volatility causing an earlier-than-expected shortage of shares and in others due to companies desiring to quickly make their plans more competitive in the ongoing battle for talent. Impact of a Modification of a Section 423 ESPP Option But a mid-offering change to the terms of a Code[1] Section 423…
On December 15, 20211, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued proposed rules that would significantly impact Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. Among other things, the proposed rules impose new conditions on the availability of the affirmative defense to insider trading afforded by 10b5-1 plans, require quarterly disclosure of the adoption, modification and termination of trading plans by directors, officers and issuers and require identification of transactions made pursuant to such plans on Forms 4 and…
On Nov. 29, 2021, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Office of the Chief Accountant and the Division of Corporation Finance released Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 120 (SAB 120), which is effective immediately and provides guidance on how to properly recognize and disclose the compensation cost for “spring-loaded” awards made to executives of public companies subject to reporting requirements under US securities laws. SAB 120 describes spring-loaded awards as share-based compensation…
California nonresident board members of companies based in California may soon be subject to income tax in California, regardless of whether they perform services within the state, if a newly proposed tax regulation is adopted. The proposed regulation — new section 17951-8 of Title 18 of the California Code of Regulations — released by the Franchise Tax Board of California on September 24, 2020, treats the compensation of a California nonresident, non-employee director of a…
Large companies doing business in San Francisco may soon be subject to an additional tax if voters approve the so-called “Overpaid Executive Gross Receipts Tax” this coming November. Joining a minority of municipal governments that have imposed an “executive pay ratio tax” on the heels of the SEC’s CEO pay ratio disclosure rules, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently approved a ballot initiative for this November’s election that calls for the imposition of a…
In an apparent follow-up to its General Legal Advice Memorandum dated May 18, 2020 (GLAM 2020-004), the IRS has issued an internal procedural update that (1) extends the application of the administrative waiver of late employment tax deposit penalties for stock options to stock-settled restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) and (2) shortens the waiver’s deposit period by one day to align with current SEC securities open-market transaction settlement rules. The internal…
For an update on this development, see our July 15, 2020 post here. The IRS has issued a General Legal Advice Memorandum (GLAM 2020-004) that could increase the audit risk and exposure for late deposit penalties for companies granting stock-settled restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and either (i) not making their next-day employment tax withholding deposits with the IRS within one day of when they request their transfer agent to transfer shares underlying the RSU award…
Glass Lewis, a proxy advisor, recently unveiled its new Equity Compensation Model (“ECM”), which is reportedly intended to provide company issuers and investors with access to the process it uses to evaluate whether it will provide a favorable recommendation for shareholder approval of equity compensation plan proposals. Historically, Glass Lewis has been less than transparent regarding the actual criteria and methodology it uses to make its recommendations on equity plan proposals. Companies and investors will…
The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) takes effect on January 1, 2020 and imposes a wide range of new requirements for the collection and processing of personal data of California residents. Under the CCPA, “consumer” is defined broadly as a natural person who is a California resident. Assembly Bill 25 (“AB 25”), signed into law on October 11, 2019, provides a temporary and limited reprieve for employee data by establishing an exemption to the CCPA’s…
The Tenth Circuit has affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a plaintiff shareholder’s claim that withholding shares to satisfy taxes on a restricted stock unit (RSU) violated Exchange Act Section 16(b) (see Olagues v. Muncrief, No. 18-5018 (10th Cir. 2019)). As we outlined last year in a blog on the lower court’s decision, the plaintiff’s claim was based on the non-exempt acquisition of shares by two executives within six months of the date that shares…