The duties imposed on compensation committees of publicly traded companies have evolved and grown over time. This seventh edition of the Compensation Committee Handbook from the lawyers of the Executive Compensation and...more
Transition relief for amending nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans to reflect the 2017 amendments to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code will expire on December 31, 2020. ...more
As discussed in our March 23, 2020, client alert “Recommendations for Compensation Committees During the COVID-19 Crisis,” compensation committees charged with implementing programs intended to incentivize and retain...more
As discussed in our March 20, 2020, client alert “Thoughts for Boards of Directors on the COVID-19 Crisis,” COVID-19 is testing the oversight skills of boards of directors as companies come to terms with the new normal in the...more
On January 29, 2020, Skadden hosted the webinar “Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee Practices” presented by panelists Michael Bergmann, Executive Compensation and Benefits counsel;...more
2/11/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Merger Agreements ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay Ratio ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Tax Deductions
On October 30, 2019, the Delaware Court of Chancery struck a major blow against the plaintiffs’ bar’s efforts to lower the statutory hurdle to maintaining stockholder derivative claims. A stockholder of Ultragenyx...more
11/4/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Executive Compensation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pre-Suit Notice ,
Shareholder Demands
On February 5, 2019, Skadden hosted the webinar “Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee Practices.” The panelists were David Schwartz, Skadden’s global head of Labor and Employment...more
2/15/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Audits ,
CD&A ,
CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Clawbacks ,
Compensation Committee ,
Covered Employees ,
Director Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Glass Lewis ,
Hedging ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Ratio ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Payment Terms ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
On December 14, 2018, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) issued updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to its U.S. Compensation Policies effective for shareholder meetings occurring on or after February 1,...more
The duties imposed on compensation committees of publicly traded companies have evolved and grown over time. The fifth edition of the Compensation Committee Handbook, authored by our Executive Compensation and Benefits Group,...more
12/11/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Compensation Committee ,
Director Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Contract ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Mergers ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 16 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Stock Exchange ,
Taxation
On February 13, 2018, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “ SEC Reporting & Compliance and Corporate Governance Series: Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee Practices.” Executive...more
3/9/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Covered Employees ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EEO-1 ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
H-1B ,
Independent Contractors ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Joint Employers ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Ratio ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Popular ,
Ratification ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stockholder Agreements ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Volks Rule
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently announced updates to its U.S. proxy voting guidelines for the 2018 proxy season. Although the updates are not likely to have a significant impact on 2018...more
11/21/2017
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Director Compensation ,
Diversity ,
Executive Compensation ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Pledges ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On February 28, 2017, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee Practices.” The Skadden panelists were labor and employment law partner David Schwartz,...more
3/22/2017
/ Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Director Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EEO-1 ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Executive Compensation ,
Form 8-K ,
GAAP ,
Golden Leash Arrangements ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Nasdaq ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Ratio ,
Popular ,
Profits ,
Proxy Season ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rule 16b-3 ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Short-Swing Trading ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Withholding Tax
As the 2017 proxy season approaches, companies may be preparing to solicit shareholder approval for a new, or an amendment to an existing, equity incentive plan. In doing so, companies should keep in mind the positions of...more
1/27/2017
/ CEOs ,
Clawbacks ,
Equity Compensation ,
Equity Plan Scorecard (EPSC) ,
Equity Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Vesting
Each company faces important decisions in preparing for its 2017 annual meeting and reporting season. Once again, we have prepared a checklist of essential areas on which we believe companies should focus as they plan for the...more
12/8/2016
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Audit Committee ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Director Nominations ,
Diversity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
FASB ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Resource Extraction ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance on the Conflicts of Interest Rule it released earlier this year. The guidance, issued on October 27, 2016, is in the form of answers to frequently asked questions, which...more
11/8/2016
/ Audits ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Adviser ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan
In an unexpected development, on June 21, 2016, the IRS issued proposed regulations that clarify and modify the final regulations issued in 2007 and the proposed income inclusion regulations issued in 2008. In many cases,...more
7/5/2016
/ Beneficiaries ,
Death Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Restricted Stocks ,
Section 409A ,
Severance Agreements ,
Vesting
The Executive Compensation and Benefits Group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is pleased to provide you with this second edition of its Compensation Committee Handbook. This edition reflects developments in...more
12/10/2015
/ Board of Directors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Compensation Committee ,
Directors ,
Employment Contract ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recently issued its U.S. voting policy guidelines for the 2016 proxy season. The guidelines include a few key changes, a summary of which is outlined below.
Conflicting Shareholder...more
11/23/2015
/ Board of Directors ,
Conflicting Proposals ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Director Nominations ,
Exclusive Forum ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
On August 5, 2015, in a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules implementing the controversial “CEO pay ratio” disclosure requirements that were proposed in 2013 and mandated by...more
On July 1, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued long-awaited proposed rules that would implement the incentive-based compensation recovery (clawback) provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform...more
On April 29, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules that would require companies to disclose the relationship between the compensation actually paid to named executive officers (NEOs) and...more
As part of its ongoing rollout of its 2015 policy updates, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has issued “Frequently Asked Questions” guidance with respect to both its 2015 Compensation Policies and its new equity plan...more
Since the adoption of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, employers and practitioners have wondered when and how the IRS would enforce it. With the recent IRS announcement of an audit initiative with respect to Section...more
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman David Camp (R-Mich.) has proposed a draft tax reform plan (the Proposal) containing sweeping changes to the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), including a number of major executive...more
In a rare piece of good news relating to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, on October 4, 2013, California reduced its additional state tax on income failing to comply with Section 409A from 20 percent to 5 percent....more