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EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

Employment Agreement

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT | Document Parties: SHUFFLE MASTER INC You are currently viewing:
This Employment Agreement involves

SHUFFLE MASTER INC

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Title: EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
Governing Law: Nevada     Date: 8/14/2009
Industry: Casinos and Gaming     Sector: Services

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT, Parties: shuffle master inc
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EXHIBIT 10.1

 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

Coreen Sawdon

 

 

THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of the 10th day of August, 2009, by and between Shuffle Master, Inc., a Minnesota corporation (the “Company”), and Coreen Sawdon (the “Employee”), a resident of the State of Nevada.

 

RECITALS:

 

A.           The Company is in the business of developing, manufacturing, distributing and otherwise commercializing gaming equipment, games (live, electronic and simulated), operating systems for gaming equipment, and related products and services throughout the United States and in Canada and other countries (the “Business”).

 

B.           Company and Employee want to create an at-will employment relationship that protects the Company with appropriate confidentiality and non-compete covenants, and compensates the Employee for performing her obligations appropriately.

 

C.           The Company and Employee desire that Employee be employed by the Company on the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

 

 

AGREEMENT

 

In consideration of the mutual promises contained herein, Employee and the Company agree as follows:

 

1.            Employment .  The Company hereby employs Employee as its Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer (“CAO) reporting to the Chief Financial Officer of the Company or his designee and indirectly to the Chair of the Board of Director’s Audit Committee.  Employee shall perform the normal duties of that position and as otherwise directed as contained in Exhibit A.  Subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, Employee’s employment under this Agreement with the Company is for a term of two (2) years (the “Term”), beginning on August 1, 2009 (the “Commencement Date”), through July 31, 2011.

 

2.            Salary, Bonus and Benefits .  Subject to each of the terms and conditions in this Agreement, and while employed as the CAO:

 

 

a.

From the Commencement Date through July 31, 2010, Employee shall be paid an annual base salary of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00), paid in the same intervals as other Employees of the Company; and if employed through October 31, 2009, Employee will be eligible to receive an executive bonus in accordance with the terms and conditions of the executive bonus program and/or the individual performance bonus program authorized by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) for other comparable senior vice president-level employees of the Company for fiscal year 2009, with a bonus in a range of

 

 

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percentages, but with a target bonus of 50% of Employee’s base salary.

 

 

b.

During the second fiscal year of this Agreement, Employee will receive an annualized base salary of no less than Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000), and will also be eligible to participate in an executive bonus program and/or in an individual performance bonus program that applies to all of the other senior vice-president level employees of the Company as authorized by the Board, up to a target bonus of 50% of Employee’s base salary.  Employee will not, however, be eligible to participate in the Company’s non-executive bonus program.  Employee acknowledges receipt of any bonuses or incentives promised to Employee at any time through the date of execution hereof.

 

 

c.

Any stock options or restricted stock units granted at any time to Employee shall vest in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable grant by the Board and, as otherwise may be applicable, with any relevant terms and conditions of the 2004 Equity Incentive Plan as amended (the “Plan”).  Employee acknowledges that any option grants are at the sole discretion of the Board.

 

 

d.

Except as otherwise set forth herein, Employee’s salary is set in the expectation that (except for vacation days and holidays) Employee’s full time will be devoted to Employee’s duties hereunder.

 

 

e.

During Employee’s employment with the Company, the Company will promptly pay or reimburse Employee for reasonable travel, entertainment and other expenses incurred by Employee in the furtherance of or in connection with the performance of Employee’s duties.  Such reimbursement will be in accordance with Company policies in existence from time to time.

 

 

f.

For as long as the Company makes the following benefits available to all other senior vice president-level employees of the Company, Company agrees to provide Employee with:

 

 

i.

Club Sport Family membership;

 

ii.

Premiere Care medical services.

 

 

g.

Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, Employee shall be and is an employee “at will,” terminable at any time, with or without just cause or notice.

 

3 .             Outside Services or Consulting.   Employee shall devote Employee’s full professional time and best professional efforts to the Company.  Employee may render other professional or consulting services to other persons or businesses from time to time during the Term, only if Employee meets all of the following requirements:

 

 

a.

The services do not interfere in any manner with the Employee’s ability to fulfill all of her duties and obligations to the Company.

 

 

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b.

The services are not rendered to any business that may compete with the Company in any area of the Business or do not otherwise violate paragraph 4 hereof.

 

 

c.

The services do not relate to any products or services, which form part of the Business.

 

 

d.

Employee informs and obtains the consent of the Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

 

4.            Non-competition.   In consideration of the provisions of this Agreement, Employee hereby agrees that she shall not, during the term of her full-time employment and for a period of six (6) months thereafter:

 

 

a.

Directly or indirectly own, manage, operate, participate in, consult with or work for any business, which is engaged in the Business anywhere in the United States or Canada.

 

 

b.

Either alone or in conjunction with any other person, partnership or business, directly or indirectly, solicit, hire, or divert or attempt to solicit, hire or divert any of the Employees, independent contractors, or agents of the Company (or its affiliates or successors) to work for or represent any competitor of the Company (or its affiliates or successors), or to call upon any of the customers of the Company (or its affiliates or successors).

 

 

c.

Directly or indirectly provide any services to any person, company or entity, which is engaged in the Business anywhere in the United States or Canada.

 

5.            Confidentiality; Inventions.

 

 

a.

Employee shall fully and promptly disclose to the Company all inventions, discoveries, software and writings that Employee may make, conceive, discover, develop or reduce to practice either solely or jointly with others during Employee’s employment with the Company, whether or not during usual work hours.  Employee agrees that all such inventions, discoveries, software and writing shall be and remain the sole and exclusive property of the Company, and Employee hereby agrees to assign, and hereby assigns all of Employee’s right, title and interest in and to any such inventions, discoveries, software and writings to the Company.  Employee agrees to keep complete records of such inventions, discoveries, software and writings, which records shall be and remain the sole property of the Company, and to execute and deliver, either during or after Employee’s employment with the Company, such documents as the Company shall deem necessary or desirable to obtain such letters patent, utility models, inventor’s certificates, copyrights, trademarks or other appropriate legal rights of the United States and foreign countries as the Company may, in its sole discretion, elect, and to vest title thereto in the Company, its successors, assigns, or nominees.

 

 

b.

“Inventions,” as used herein, shall include inventions, discoveries, improvements, ideas and conceptions, developments and designs, whether or not patentable, tested, reduced to practice, subject to copyright or

 

 

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other rights or forms of protection, or relating to data processing, communications, computer software systems, programs and procedures.

 

 

c.

Employee understands that all copyrightable work that Employee may create while employed by the Company is a “work made for hire,” and that the Company is the owner of the copyright therein.  Employee hereby assigns all right, title and interest to the copyright therein to the Company.

 

 

d.

Employee has no inventions, improvements, discoveries, software or writings useful to the Company or its subsidiaries or affiliates in the normal course of business, which were conceived, made or written prior to the date of this Agreement.

 

 

e.

Employee will not publish or otherwise disclose, either during or after Employee’s employment with the Company, any published or proprietary or confidential information or secret relating to the Company, the Business, the Company’s operations or the Company’s products or services.  Employee will not publish or otherwise disclose proprietary or confidential information of others to which Employee has had access or obtained knowledge in the course of Employee’s employment with the Company.  Upon termination of Employee’s employment with the Company, Employee will not, without the prior written consent of the Company, retain or take with Employee any drawing, writing or other record in any form or nature which relates to any of the foregoing.

 

 

f.

Employee understands that Employee’s employment with the Company creates a relationship of trust and confidence between Employee and the Company.  Employee understands that Employee may encounter information in the performance of Employee’s duties that is confidential to the Company or its customers.  For the Term hereof, and until the information falls into the public domain, Employee agrees to maintain in confidence all information pertaining to the Business or the Company to which Employee has access including, but not limited to, information relating to the Company’s products, inventions, trade secrets, know how, systems, formulas, processes, compositions, customer information and lists, research projects, data processing and computer software techniques, programs and systems, costs, sales volume or strategy, pricing, profitability, plans, marketing strategy, expansion or acquisition or divestiture plans or strategy and information of similar nature received from others with whom the Company does business.  Employee agrees not to use, communicate or disclose or authorize any other person to use, communicate or disclose such information orally, in writing, or by publication, either during Employee’s employment with the Company or thereafter except as expressly authorized in writing by the Company unless and until such information becomes generally known in the relevant trade to which it relates without fault on Employee’s part, or as required by law.

 

6.            Termination or Non-Extension by Company Without Just Cause

 

 

a.

Employee’s employment by the Company is “at will” with no guaranteed length of time; therefore, notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the Company may terminate Employee’s full-time employment at any time either with or without just cause. In the event of any termination of Employee’s full-time employment with the Company without just cause, or in the event that Employee’s full-time employment is not

 

 

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extended or renewed beyond the Term on terms at least as favorable to Employee as Employee is receiving during the last year of the Term, then Employee will remain bound to the covenants not to compete and confidentiality obligations of paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Agreement, according to their terms, and, subject to Section 25, each one of the following shall apply:

 

i.           Employee shall be paid a severance amount equal to six (6) months of her then monthly base salary, paid equally over a period of six (6) months from such termination, in equal monthly installments and at the same intervals as other Employees of the Company are then being paid their base salaries;

 

ii.           Employee shall continue to receive, during the twelve (12) months from such termination, all medical insurance and any other benefits (except for the benefit in paragraph 2(f)(i)) or insurance coverages which Employee would have received had her employment not been so terminated, or not extended, provided however, if the Employee is not eligible for said medical insurance, the Company shall pay the COBRA premiums for continuation coverage during the said twelve (12) month period;

 

iii.           Employee shall receive additional compensation for her covenant not to compete equal to the average annual bonus which Employee has received for the three most recent fiscal years during which Employee was employed, provided however that if Employee has not been employed for three full fiscal years, then the Company shall use the actual number of full fiscal years that the Employee was employed; and if the Employee has not been employed for a full fiscal year, than the Company shall use the bonus amount, if any, paid to Employee (but annualized for a full fiscal year) from the most recent partial  fiscal year for which the Employee was entitled to a bonus under this Agreement, and the amount due under this paragraph 6(a)(iii) shall be paid in the same intervals as other Employees of the Company are then being paid their base salaries;

 

iv.           Notwithstanding anything else contained herein to the contrary, during the 12-month period referred to in paragraph 6(a)(ii), Employee shall be available to perform services as a part-time employee of the Company and, subject to Employee’s other professional duties, shall be available to the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, provided, however, that, for the avoidance of doubt, the Employee shall perform services during such 12 month period at a level of no more than 20 percent of the average level of bona fide services the Employee performed over the immediately preceding 36 month period such that the Employee shall have incurred


 
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