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
Carve-out transactions can quickly become complicated by employment considerations — who stays, who goes and what practices govern the transitions. At the April 18, 2016, "Skadden Cross-Border M&A Conference 2016:...more
7/5/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Consent to Assignment ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Due Diligence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retention ,
Employment Contract ,
International Labor Laws ,
Mergers ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Parent Corporation ,
Successors ,
Unions
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
On June 22, 2016, the IRS published much-anticipated proposed regulations under Internal Revenue Code Section 457 impacting certain plans maintained by state or local governments or other tax-exempt organizations that provide...more
6/27/2016
/ Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Forfeiture ,
IRS ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 409A ,
Section 457(f) ,
Severance Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Exempt Entities
On April 6, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a widely anticipated final regulation that redefines who is a “fiduciary” of certain employee benefit and other plans for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income...more
4/26/2016
/ 401k ,
Administrative Exemption ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan
On March 28, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that three private equity (PE) funds were jointly and severally liable for the multiemployer pension plan withdrawal liability of one of their...more
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
On April 20, 2015, more than three years after withdrawing a similar proposal that was staunchly opposed by the financial services industry, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register a proposed...more
4/29/2015
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Pension Funds ,
Prohibited Transactions
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
In-house legal and human resources professionals at companies of all sizes are expected to navigate the legal and cultural ramifications of employing a global workforce. Compensation programs designed for employees at a...more