QuickLinks
-- Click here to rapidly navigate through this
document
EXHIBIT
10(jj)
THE
DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY
CHANGE IN CONTROL EXECUTIVE SEVERANCE
AGREEMENT—Tier 1
This Agreement,
dated as of
, is entered into between The Dow Chemical Company, a
corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware
("Dow" or the "Company"), and
(the "Employee").
WHEREAS, the
Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") recognizes that the
possibility of an Involuntary Termination (as hereinafter defined)
exists and that the occurrence of an Involuntary Termination can
result in significant uncertainties inherent in such a situation;
and
WHEREAS, the
Company has had both informal and formal practices in this area in
the past, and the Board has determined that it is in the best
interest of the Company and its shareholders to have clarity over
the obligations of the Company to the Employee as a result of an
Involuntary Termination in the event of a Change In Control (as
hereinafter defined).
NOW, THEREFORE,
in consideration of the respective agreements of the parties
contained herein, it is agreed as follows:
1.
TERM OF
AGREEMENT. This
Agreement shall commence as of November 2007 and shall continue in
effect until the Employee leaves the employ of the Company for any
reason or until the Employee becomes ineligible for this Change in
Control Executive Severance Agreement as determined by the
Compensation Committee of Dow's Board of Directors. In the event
that Employee continues as an active employee of the Company but
ceases to be eligible for this severance plan as determined by the
Compensation Committee, this Agreement shall become null and void
and Employee shall then be eligible for Dow's standard severance
policy provided to other salaried employees.
2.
DEFINITIONS.
-
a.
ACCRUED
COMPENSATION. For
purposes of this Agreement, "Accrued Compensation" shall mean an
amount which shall include all amounts earned or accrued through
the "Termination Date" (as hereinafter defined) but not paid as of
the Termination Date which shall consist of (i) base salary
and (ii) earned eligible variable pay. The amount of earned
eligible variable pay shall be determined by using the year to date
results and prorated for the number of completed months of the
program.
b.
BASE AMOUNT.
For purposes of this
Agreement, "Base Amount" shall mean the Employee's annual base
salary at the rate in effect on the Termination Date, including all
pre-tax salary reduction contributions or amounts of base salary
that are deferred under any employee benefit or deferred
compensation plans of the Company or any other agreement or
arrangement.
c.
BONUS AMOUNT.
For purposes of this
Agreement, "Bonus Amount" shall mean the Employee's Base Amount
times the Employee's target percentage in effect on the Termination
Date under Dow's Performance Award Program.
d.
CAUSE.
For purposes of this
Agreement, "Cause" shall mean the Employee's:
-
(i) conviction
of, or plea of nolo contendere
to a felony or conviction of a misdemeanor involving
moral turpitude (from which no further appeals have been or can be
taken) or any similar criminal act in a jurisdiction outside the
United States as determined in good faith by the
Company;
(ii) material
breach of Dow's Values or Code of Business Conduct, as determined
in good faith by the Company;
199
-
-
(iii) gross
abdication of his or her duties as an employee or Executive of the
Company (other than due to the Employee's partial or total
incapacity due to illness), which conduct remains uncured by the
Employee for a period of at least thirty (30) days following
written notice thereof to the Employee by the Company, in each case
as determined in good faith by the Company; or
(iv) misappropriation
of Company assets, personal dishonesty or business conduct which
causes material or potentially material financial or reputational
harm for the Company, in each case as determined in good faith by
the Company.
(v) breach
of any non-compete agreement or confidentiality provisions, as
determined in good faith by the Company.
e.
COMPANY.
For purposes of this
Agreement, references to Dow and the Company shall include Dow's
"Successors and Assigns" (as hereinafter defined).
f.
INVOLUNTARY
TERMINATION. For
purposes of this Agreement, Involuntary Termination shall mean
Employee's (i) termination of employment as a result of a
Change in Control within two years of the Change in Control event
from Dow or one of the resulting entities in any merger, division,
consolidation, or reorganization, other than Cause, or
(ii) termination for Good Reason after a Change in Control.
For purposes of this Agreement, an "Involuntary Termination" shall
also mean that the Employee's employment with the Company is
severed by the Company for reasons other than Cause. For purposes
of clarification, an Involuntary Termination does
not include the
following:
-
(i) a
voluntary termination of employment (or resignation) by the
Employee for any reason;
(ii) the
voluntary retirement of the Employee;
(iii) a
termination of employment as a result of Disability or death of the
Employee;
(iv) the
Employee's termination of employment as a result of a sale of all
or a part of the Company's business (or otherwise where it merges,
divides, consolidates or reorganizes) when the Employee has the
opportunity to continue employment with the buyer (or one of the
resulting entities in any merger, division, consolidation, or
reorganization) with comparable total compensation at a comparable
position on comparable terms and conditions of employment to those
applicable during the Employee's prior employment with Dow, and
regardless of whether the individual accepts or rejects such
employment opportunity.
g.
CHANGE IN
CONTROL. For
purposes of this Agreement, a Change in Control is the occurrence
of one of the following events: (i) the acquisition of 20% or
more of the Company's outstanding voting securities;
(ii) changes to the membership of the Board of Directors that
result in less than 50% of the current board being re-elected to
the Board; (iii) approval by the shareholders of the Company
of the merger or consolidation of the Company with another entity
in which the Company is not the surviving company, or where the
other entity owns more than 50% of the Company outstanding voting
securities; or (iv) the complete liquidation of, or the sale
of all or substantially all assets of, the Company.
h.
GOOD REASON.
For purposes of this
agreement, Good Reason shall mean (i) a material reduction in
a Employee's job duties or (ii) a decrease in total overall
compensation including variable pay and long term incentives or
(iii) a requirement to relocate that extends a Employee's
current home-work commute more than 50 miles; (iv) a
substantial increase in business travel; or (v) the failure of
the Company to require a successor corporation to expressly assume
or agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the
same extent as the Company.
i.
DISABILITY.
For purposes of this
Agreement, "Disability" shall mean a physical or mental infirmity
which impairs the Employee's ability to substantially perform the
Employee's duties with the Company for a period of: (i) one
hundred eighty (180) consecutive days; or (ii) one
hundred eighty (180) days during any twelve (12) month
period.
j.
EXECUTIVE.
For purposes of
|