#WorkforceWednesday: SEC Cracks Down on Private Companies for Violating Whistleblower Protections - Employment Law This Week®
Episode 24: Corporate Oppression Doctrine Meets Sex Discrimination: A Conversation with Professor Meredith Miller
Selling Privately Held Businesses – Interview with Stephen Gulotta, Managing Member, Mintz Levin's New York Office
Entrepreneurs - small startup companies. Avoid costly mistakes and focus on growing a successful business. Theodore B. Howell
This article is the second in our series on equity-based compensation intended to assist employers with answering a common question: What type of equity compensation award is best for our company and our employees?...more
In a volatile market, companies may see their stock value drop significantly. This can result in employees and other service providers holding stock options that are “underwater” or “out of the money” – in other words,...more
Though more commonly associated with publicly listed companies, tender offer rules and regulations apply to private company transactions as well. Tender offers provide a mechanism for a prospective investor, or the company...more
Stock options are typically a critical component of a private company’s ability to recruit, incentivize and retain key talent. Particularly for early-stage companies, rewarding equity packages can help make up for the gap...more
This alert is Part II of a three-part Goodwin series on double-vest restricted stock unit awards (Double-Vest RSUs). As discussed in Part I, Double-Vest RSUs are again making headlines, largely as a result of a recent...more
Given recent market trends, many private companies have seen valuations decline significantly, resulting in an increasing number of service providers holding “underwater” or “out of the money” stock options. As a...more
Stock option grant practices have been the subject of recent guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and continue to be scrutinized by various parties for compliance with the tax requirements of the...more
This week we’re changing the station on the Benefits Dial to remind private companies who are granting securities to their employees of the importance of complying with Rule 701. Rule 701 of the Securities Act of 1933...more
This White Paper highlights select recent developments in certain countries that could have implications for employee equity plans offered by multinational companies to employees in such jurisdictions. ARGENTINA - ...more
We are often asked by our private company clients about making changes to outstanding stock options. In some cases, changes to the number of shares subject to an option are needed, or to the vesting schedule, or to the...more
IRS guidance on new law permitting income tax deferral for private company equity compensation awards provides clarity by introducing more rules. The Section 83(i) deferral opportunity is only available for awards granted...more
A much-touted change in employee compensation was instituted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, but whether it will be a much-used election remains to be seen. ...more
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Act") was signed into law. The Act added a new Section 83(i) to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), pursuant to which certain employees of eligible...more
The Congressionally-mandated amendment aims to ease the disclosure burdens of private companies that grant compensatory stock to employees. Grants of securities to employees, including stock options, restricted stock and...more
Rule 701 under the Securities Act of 1933 provides an exemption from registration for securities issued by non-reporting companies pursuant to compensatory arrangements. ...more
Potential disputes involving unicorns have been a hot topic for the last several years. We predicted that would continue this year in in our webinar and related blog post: The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for...more
On March 12, 2018, the United States Securities & Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) fined a late-stage private company $160,000 as a result of its failure to comply with the enhanced disclosure requirements of Rule 701 in...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought an action against San Francisco-based Credit Karma on March 12 for issuing employee stock options without a valid registration exemption because the issuer failed to satisfy...more
A better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of ESOPs can help any business owner determine if a partial or total sale to an ESOP is a solution that makes sense. And that owner needs professional advisors who...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 6, 2017, clarified the requirements for delivering financial and other disclosures to employees and other service providers receiving options and other equity...more
Many privately held companies rely on equity compensation awards (typically stock options) to recruit, retain and motivate key employees and other service providers. The issuance of such equity compensation awards generally...more
The treatment of outstanding stock options and other equity compensation awards is often a key element of a sale transaction. Because stock options can represent considerable value, how they are treated can have a...more
As technology companies find themselves pushing back IPO timelines and staying private for longer periods of time, they continue to aggressively compete for talent, often against public companies like Google and Facebook. ...more