In M&A transactions, it is common for companies to cash out the vested equity awards of the target company and convert any unvested portion of the award into an award that will pay out in the future. In our latest guest blog post for the NASPP, we look at the various global tax and regulatory considerations and flag potential risks ranging from unfavorable tax treatment to compliance issues under local rules and regulations. To read…
We are pleased to share a recent LegalDive article, “Why companies should review noncompetes in equity award agreements,” with quotes from Barbara Klementz. Given increased government scrutiny, employers need to be mindful of the time periods noncompetes cover and review state-specific requirements. In the light of the sharp focus the federal government and a growing number of states have placed on noncompetes, many employers have reexamined their use of that type of contractual clause in…
The new Overseas Investment (OI) Rules issued on August 22, 2022 replace all previously available exemptions to grant share-based awards to Indian residents with a single exemption (the new “general permission”), which requires, inter alia, that semi-annual reports be filed with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The reports will need to be submitted by an Authorized Dealer Bank in India (i.e., the bank in India involved with the remittance of funds under the plan)…
2022 will be viewed as a year of political turmoil in the UK with three different prime ministers during the year. While all were leaders of the UK Conservative party, the tax policy objectives were significantly different leading to proposed changes being reversed in some cases. For more information on the latest developments in the UK, see our recent NASPP guest blog post here. *Thank you to our colleague Gillian Parnell in our London office…
Over the years, we have advised many companies on the considerations related to suspending vesting of equity awards and/or suspending participation in an employee stock purchase plan while an employee is on a leave of absence. This seems like a relatively straightforward concept. In practice, however, it can be difficult to get right and a challenge to administer. When determining whether to adopt a leave policy, companies will want to consider: If your company has…
It’s easy to read current financial headlines and understand that it’s possible the US and other countries may be headed into or are currently already in an economic recession. Either way it doesn’t hurt to start preparing for a potential downturn. In such a downturn, it’s quite possible that corporate budgets will tighten and companies will be tasked with finding ways to stretch each dollar further than the quarter before. Equity stock plan administrators tasked…
We are frequently asked whether equity award documentation provided by a multinational company to employees / service providers in another country must be provided in local language. Given a recent, significant development on this topic in Quebec, Canada, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the requirements and recommendations related to translations for equity award documentation. For purposes of this post, we are assuming the parent company is a US-based company with…
With the introduction of a new Health and Social Care (“HSC”) Levy in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2022, we wanted to take a few minutes to revisit a unique aspect of granting equity awards to employees in the UK: the ability to shift the employer’s responsibility for paying National Insurance contributions (“NICs”) on equity award income to the employees who receive the awards. This may be particularly important for companies that are already…
On February 10, 2022, the Australian Parliament passed legislation which eliminates termination of employment as a taxable event for Employee Share Scheme (ESS) awards that qualify for tax deferral (i.e., stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units (RSUs), or an employee stock purchase plan offered to employees). ESS awards that qualify for tax deferral are subject to taxation when an “ESS Deferred Taxing Point” occurs. Currently, an employee’s termination of employment is one of the…
One of the most important issues that arises in any M&A transaction from a compensation perspective is the treatment of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units (RSUs) or other compensatory equity awards, whether vested or unvested, held by executives and other employees in the transaction. Below is a high-level summary of key issues to consider in managing equity awards in the transaction.1 Scope of Outstanding Equity Awards. The first step to determining the treatment…