On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), which includes significant changes to the executive compensation deduction rules in Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code)...more
1/5/2018
/ CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 16 ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Trump Administration
On December 13, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion, In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, Case No. 169, holding that, except under limited circumstances, the court will not apply the...more
12/20/2017
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Equity Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Reversal ,
Self-Interest ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Standard of Review
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for their 2018 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of key corporate governance, executive compensation and disclosure matters on which...more
12/4/2017
/ Annual Meeting ,
Auditors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
D&O Insurance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Filing Requirements ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
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 November 16, 2017, the House of Representatives voted to approve its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the bill following the Thanksgiving break, which would require a...more
11/20/2017
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Severance Pay ,
Stock Options ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
The November 6, 2017, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady’s Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (originally proposed November 2, 2017) (the “Chairman’s...more
If enacted, the newly proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would effectively put an end to many of the most widely used forms of executive compensation:
- Deferred compensation and stock options would disappear.
- Use of...more
11/3/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Performance Incentives ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severance Pay ,
Stock Options ,
Tax Cuts ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) released the results of its annual global benchmark voting policy survey on September 25, 2017. In a surprise result, the survey found that nearly 75 percent of the 131 investor...more
On September 21, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an interpretive release on the pay ratio disclosure requirements in Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K, and the staff of the Division of Corporation...more
On June 8, 2017, the House of Representatives passed, by a 233-186 vote (with all Democrats and one Republican voting against), the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017, a bill principally designed to reverse many features of the...more
6/12/2017
/ Clawbacks ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial CHOICE Act ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Repeal ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Trump Administration
The so-called “short-swing profit rule” under Securities Exchange Act Section 16(b) generally prohibits officers and directors as well as 10 percent shareholders of a U.S. public company from profiting from any purchase or...more
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
On October 18, 2016, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued interpretive guidance on the pay ratio disclosure requirements in Item 402(u) of...more
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
Each company faces important decisions in preparing for its 2016 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of essential areas we believe companies should focus on as they plan for 2016, including...more
12/12/2015
/ Annual Meeting ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
PCAOB ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
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
A Delaware court opinion issued late last week may subject equity grants to directors to increased judicial scrutiny (Calma v. Templeton, No. 9579-CB (Del. Ch. Apr. 30, 2015)). In Calma, the Chancery Court denied the...more
5/6/2015
/ Director Compensation ,
Directors ,
Equity Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Grants ,
Heightened Scrutiny ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Restricted Stocks ,
Shareholders ,
Standard of Review ,
Unjust Enrichment ,
Waste
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
As our clients and friends once again embark on preparations for their 2015 annual meeting and reporting season, we have compiled a checklist of the corporate governance, executive compensation and disclosure matters that we...more
12/9/2014
/ Annual Meeting ,
Bylaws ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals