The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted final rules that will require companies to include active hyperlinks to exhibits in most registration statements filed under the Securities Act of 1933 and most reports filed...more
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently granted no-action relief to a company seeking to exclude shareholder-proposed amendments to the company’s proxy access bylaw provisions on the basis of substantial...more
The staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued three additional responses to company no-action requests to exclude shareholder-proposed amendments to proxy access bylaw...more
Recent SEC responses to no-action requests involving shareholder proposals seeking initial adoption of a proxy access bylaw confirm that the SEC staff is continuing to evaluate company requests to exclude these proposals from...more
The SEC has proposed amendments to its proxy rules that would require the use of universal proxy cards in contested director elections, and would change the rules governing disclosure of shareholder voting options and...more
Summary -
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its second significant enforcement action against an employer based on confidentiality and release provisions that the SEC asserts...more
8/22/2016
/ Cease and Desist ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Health Net ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Severance Agreements ,
Waivers ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Summary -
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its second significant enforcement action against an employer based on confidentiality and release provisions that the SEC asserts will discourage...more
8/16/2016
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Releases ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Remedies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Severance Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) has adopted a new rule that will require each Nasdaq-listed company to publicly disclose compensation or other payments by third parties to any current director or nominee for director in...more
7/18/2016
/ Board of Directors ,
Compensation Agreements ,
Director Compensation ,
Director Nominations ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Compensation ,
Form 10-K ,
Golden Leash Arrangements ,
Indemnity Agreements ,
Information Statements ,
Nasdaq ,
Proxy Materials ,
Remuneration ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Meetings
As discussed in our recent client alert “SEC Issues Important Non-GAAP Interpretations” (May 19, 2016), the SEC recently released a series of new C&DIs on the use of non-GAAP financial measures by reporting companies and new...more
Background -
In recent months, senior SEC officials have repeatedly cautioned public companies about the use of non-GAAP financial measures. These include statements by SEC Chair Mary Jo White, SEC Chief Accountant James...more
In the last year, the number of companies that have adopted proxy access bylaws provisions – and the number of proxy access proposals submitted by shareholders – has risen significantly. Competing proxy access provisions...more
As summarized in our recent client alert “FAST Act Brings Additional Benefits for Emerging Growth Companies and New Resale Exemption,” President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act ("FAST Act"),on...more
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act. The FAST Act includes several provisions intended to improve capital formation by smaller issuers and...more
On October 22, 2015, the staff of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14H (SLB 14H), which provides significant guidance for companies about the Staff’s views on the scope and application...more
11/5/2015
/ Management Proposals ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Letters ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Proxy Materials ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(7) ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(9) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Trinity Wall Street ,
Wal-Mart ,
Whole Foods
Changes to Notification Requirements -
Notifications During Pre-Market Hours. Currently, Rule 202.06 requires listed companies to notify the NYSE at least 10 minutes before they release material news “shortly before the...more
9/23/2015
/ Amended Regulation ,
Bloomberg Inc. ,
Dow Jones ,
Form 8-K ,
Investor Protection ,
Listing Rules ,
Material Disclosures ,
Nasdaq ,
Notice Requirements ,
NYSE ,
Press Releases ,
Public Disclosure ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Suspension
On August 5, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted the final CEO pay ratio disclosure rule by a 3-2 vote. The final rule amends Item 402 of Regulation S-K, as required by Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall...more
On July 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules, consisting of new Rule 10D-1 and related rule and form amendments, that would require clawbacks of incentive compensation received by executive officers...more
7/17/2015
/ Clawbacks ,
Corporate Officers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Restatements ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 8-K ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Listing Standards ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Offsets ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Disclosure ,
Rule 10D-1 ,
Section 10D ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Total Shareholder Return (TSR)
The SEC has proposed rules that would require most public companies to provide disclosure in their proxy statements regarding the relationship between their executive compensation and total shareholder return (TSR) for the...more
Public companies should review their confidentiality arrangements for any provisions that may result in unintended violations of the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower protections....more
4/16/2015
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Internal Investigations ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Recent SEC enforcement actions serve as a reminder that CEOs and CFOs are subject to incentive compensation clawbacks under Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act even when there has been no misconduct on their part....more
The SEC has proposed a rule that would require new hedging policy disclosure by companies that are subject to SEC proxy rules. The proposed rule would in most cases expand the hedging policy disclosure currently provided by...more