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Scripps Executive Deferred Compensation Plan

Executive Compensation Plan Agreement

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E W Scripps Company | Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc

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Title: Scripps Executive Deferred Compensation Plan
Date: 5/14/2008
Industry: Printing and Publishing     Sector: Services

Scripps Executive Deferred Compensation Plan, Parties: e w scripps company , scripps networks interactive  inc
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EXHIBIT 10.76

SCRIPPS EXECUTIVE DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN, AS AMENDED

Scripps Executive Deferred Compensation Plan

Effective as of July 1, 2008

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1.

   AMENDMENTS TO COMPLY WITH CODE SECTION 409a AND EMPLOYEE MATTERS AGREEMENT    i

ARTICLE 2.

   DEFINITIONS    ii

ARTICLE 3.

   ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION    vi

ARTICLE 4.

   PARTICIPANT DEFERRAL CONTRIBUTIONS    viii

ARTICLE 5.

   COMPANY MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS    ix

ARTICLE 6.

   VESTING    x

ARTICLE 7.

   ACCOUNTS    x

ARTICLE 8.

   INVESTMENT FUNDS    xi

ARTICLE 9.

   PAYMENT ELECTIONS    xi

ARTICLE 10.

   PAYMENT OF BENEFITS    xii

ARTICLE 11.

   BENEFICIARIES; PARTICIPANT DATA    xvii

ARTICLE 12.

   ADMINISTRATION    xviii

ARTICLE 13.

   AMENDMENT OR TERMINATION OF PLAN.    xx

ARTICLE 14.

   MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS    xxii

 


ARTICLE 1. AMENDMENTS TO COMPLY WITH CODE SECTION 409A AND EMPLOYEE MATTERS AGREEMENT

 

1.1 IN GENERAL . The E.W. Scripps Company (the “Company”) adopted the Scripps Executive Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Plan”) effective as of July 1, 2004. The Plan is maintained for the benefit of certain key executives of the Company. The Plan is amended and restated, effective as of the Effective Date, to comply with the provisions of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and to conform to the terms of the terms and conditions of the Employee Matters Agreement by and between The E. W. Scripps Company and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (the “Employee Matters Agreement”).

 

1.2 SECTION 409A OF THE CODE . In order to comply with Section 409A of the Code, effective immediately before the Effective Date, the Plan is divided into two parts, one of which shall be named “Part One” and the other of which shall be named “Part Two”. Except as otherwise provided under this Article I, Part One of the Plan shall be governed by the terms and conditions of the Plan as in effect on October 3, 2004. Part Two of the Plan shall be governed by the terms and conditions set forth herein.

 

  (a) Part One . Any “amounts deferred” by Participants in taxable years beginning before January 1, 2005 (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code) and any earnings thereon shall be governed by the terms of Part One of the Plan, and it is intended that such amounts and the earnings thereon shall be exempt from the application of Section 409A of the Code. Nothing contained herein is intended to materially enhance a benefit or right existing under Part One of the Plan as of October 3, 2004, or add a new material benefit or right to Part One of the Plan. As of the Effective Date, Part One of the Plan is frozen, and neither the Company, its affiliates nor any individual shall make or permit to be made any additional contributions or deferrals under Part One of the Plan (other than earnings) on or after that date.

 

  (b) Part Two . Any “amounts deferred” by Participants in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2005 (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code) and any earnings thereon shall be governed by the terms and conditions of Part Two of the Plan. To the extent that any of those amounts were deferred under the Plan prior to the Effective Date (the “Transferred Amounts”), then the Committee shall transfer the Transferred Amounts from Part One of the Plan to Part Two of this Plan and credit those amounts to the appropriate Subaccounts under Part Two of this Plan, as selected by the Committee in its sole discretion. As a result of such transfer and crediting, all of the Company’s obligations and Participant's rights with respect to the Transferred Amounts under Part One of the Plan, if any, shall automatically be extinguished and become obligations and rights under Part Two of this Plan without further action.

 

1.3 EMPLOYEE MATTERS AGREEMENT . In order to comply with the terms and conditions of the Employee Matters Agreement:

 

i

 


  (a) Transfer of SNI Participants . The Account of each SNI Participant maintained under the Plan immediately prior to the Effective Date shall be transferred to the Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. Executive Deferred Compensation Plan and assumed by Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. as of the Effective Date (the “Assumed Amounts”). For purposes of this Plan, the term Assumed Amounts shall include any amounts of Base Compensation and Incentive Compensation of an SNI Participant that are earned but not yet paid as of the Effective Date that were properly deferred by the SNI Participant under the Plan but that had not yet been credited to his or her Account under the Plan as of the Effective Date. Each such SNI Participant shall have no further rights under the Plan immediately after his or her Account is transferred to the Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. Executive Deferred Compensation Plan and assumed by Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Employee Matters Agreement.

 

  (b) Re-Employment of SNI Participants. If an SNI Participant in the Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. Executive Deferred Compensation Plan ceases employment with Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. and its subsidiaries and immediately thereafter becomes an employee of the Affiliated Group at any time after the Effective Date, but at a time when the Company and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. are in the same Controlled Group, then to the extent required to comply with Section 409A of the Code:

 

  (i) The individual’s Deferral Elections and Payment Elections that were controlling under the Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. Executive Deferred Compensation Plan immediately prior to that date shall continue to apply to Base Compensation and Incentive Compensation paid by the Affiliated Group for the remainder of the period or periods for which such elections or designations are by their original terms applicable.

 

  (ii) The Committee is authorized to establish one or more sub-plans or sub-accounts for the SNI Participant the terms of which may vary from those set forth in or required or authorized by this Plan in order to implement the purposes of this Section 1.3.

 

1.4 TERMS. Capitalized terms that are not defined in Article 2 shall have the meaning set forth in the Employee Matters Agreement.

ARTICLE 2. DEFINITIONS

 

2.1 Account ” means the balance credited to a Participant’s or Beneficiary’s Plan bookkeeping account, including contribution credits and deemed income, gains, and losses credited thereto. A Participant’s or Beneficiary’s Account shall consist of a Deferral Contributions Subaccount, and/or a Company Matching Contributions Subaccount. Accounts are further described in Article 7.

 

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2.2 Affiliated Group ” means the Company and each Subsidiary.

 

2.3 Assumed Amounts ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 1.4 hereof.

 

2.4 Base Compensation ” means the annual base rate of cash compensation payable by the Affiliated Group to a Participant during a calendar year, excluding Incentive Compensation, bonuses, commissions, severance payments, Company Matching Contributions, qualified plan contributions or benefits, expense reimbursements, fringe benefits and all other payments, and prior to reduction for any deferrals under this Plan or any other plan of the Affiliated Group under Sections 125 or 401(k) of the Code.

 

2.5 Base Deferrals ” means deferrals from Base Compensation, as described in Section 4.1(a).

 

2.6 Basic Plan ” means the Scripps Retirement & Investment Plan.

 

2.7 Beneficiary ” means any person or persons so designated in accordance with the provisions of Section 11.1.

 

2.8 Board ” means the Board of Directors of The E. W. Scripps Company or any successor.

 

2.9 Change in Control ” has the meaning given to such term in the Scripps Senior Executive Change in Control and Severance Plan, as in effect on the Effective Date, provided that the transaction or event also constitutes a “change in the ownership,” a “change in the effective control” or a “change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets” of the Company within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code.

 

2.10 Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

 

2.11 Committee ” means the committee selected by the Board or its designee, whose membership is appointed or removed by the Board or its designee, that is responsible for administering this Plan. The Committee is further described in Article 12. Unless and until otherwise provided by the Board, the Committee shall be the Senior Vice President, Human Resources of the Company, or her designee.

 

2.12 Company ” means The E. W. Scripps Company and its successors, including, without limitation, the surviving corporation resulting from any merger or consolidation of The E. W. Scripps Company with any other corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, partnership or other entity or entities.

 

2.13 Company Matching Contributions ” means the contributions deemed made by the Company pursuant to Article 5.

 

2.14 Company Matching Contributions Subaccount ” means the portion of an Account credited with Company Matching Contributions for a given Participant, adjusted for gains and losses and payments.

 

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2.15 Controlled Group ” means (i) the Company, and (ii) all entities with whom the Company would be considered a single employer under Sections 414(b) and 414(c) of the Code, provided that in applying Section 1563(a)(1), (2), and (3) for purposes of determining a controlled group of corporations under Section 414(b) of the Code, the language “at least 50 percent” is used instead of “at least 80 percent” each place it appears in Section 1563(a)(1), (2), and (3), and in applying Treasury Regulation Section 1.414(c)-2 for purposes of determining trades or businesses (whether or not incorporated) that are under common control for purposes of Section 414(c), “at least 50 percent” is used instead of “at least 80 percent” each place it appears in that regulation. Such term shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the definition of “service recipient” contained in Section 409A of the Code.

 

2.16 Deferral Contributions ” means the combined Base Deferrals and Incentive Deferrals made pursuant to Article 4.

 

2.17 Deferral Contributions Subaccount ” means the portion of an Account credited with Deferral Contributions for a given Participant, adjusted for gains and losses and payments.

 

2.18 Deferral Election ” shall mean the Election Agreement (or portion thereof) completed by a Participant and filed with the Committee in accordance with Article 4 that indicates the Base Deferrals, Incentive Deferrals or both that will be deferred under the Plan for a calendar year or Performance Period.

 

2.19 Effective Date ” means the Distribution Date as defined in the Employee Matters Agreement.

 

2.20 Election Agreement ” means the agreement on a form that the Committee may designate from time to time, on which a Participant makes certain elections and other designations as set forth in Section 3.1(b).

 

2.21 Eligible Employee ” means, for any calendar year (or applicable portion thereof), a person employed by the Affiliated Group who meets the following requirements: (i) is eligible to participate in The E.W. Scripps Company Amended and Restated 1997 Long-Term Incentive Plan (excluding awards issued through the President’s Club or any similar program); and (ii) either has Base Compensation in excess of the Code Section 401(a)(17) limit with respect to the prior calendar year or has previously elected to defer Base Compensation or Incentive Compensation under the Plan for a prior calendar year. The term Eligible Employee also includes any other management or highly compensated employee of the Company designated by the Committee.

 

2.22 Employee Matters Agreement ” has the meaning given such term in Section 1.4 hereof.

 

2.23 Entry Date ” with respect to an Eligible Employee means the first day of each calendar year.

 

2.24 ERISA ” means the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974, as amended.

 

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2.25 Incentive Compensation ” means incentive compensation earned during a Performance Period under the Company’s Executive Bonus Plan, or its successor, or such other plan that the Committee may designate from time to time.

 

2.26 Incentive Deferrals ” means deferrals from Incentive Compensation, as described in Section 4.1(b).

 

2.27 Investment Fund(s) ” means any fund(s) to which the Committee allows Eligible Employees to nominally allocate their Accounts. Investment Funds are further described in Article 8.

 

2.28 Participant ” means any person so designated in accordance with the provisions of Article 3, including, where appropriate according to the context of the Plan, any former Eligible Employee who is or may become (or whose Beneficiary may become) eligible to receive a benefit under the Plan. Moreover, any individual with respect to whom Assumed Amounts are credited hereunder shall automatically participate, and be a “Participant,” in the Plan with respect to such Assumed Amounts.

 

2.29 Payment Election ” means the Election Agreement (or portion thereof) completed by a Participant and filed with the Committee in accordance with Article 9 hereof, that indicates the payment commencement date for Incentive Deferrals and the form of payment for Base Deferrals (including Company Matching Contributions) and Incentive Deferrals.

 

2.30 Performance-Based Compensation ” means that portion of a Participant's Incentive Compensation the amount of which, or the entitlement to which, is contingent on the satisfaction of pre-established organizational or individual performance criteria relating to a Performance Period of at least twelve (12) consecutive months, and which satisfies the requirements for “performance-based compensation” under Section 409A of the Code, including the requirement that the performance criteria be established in writing by not later than (i) ninety (90) days after the commencement of the period of service to which the criteria relates and (ii) the date the outcome ceases to be substantially uncertain. Where a portion of an amount of Incentive Compensation would qualify as Performance-Based Compensation if the portion were the sole amount available under a designated incentive plan, that portion of the award will not fail to qualify as Performance-Based Compensation if that portion is designated separately by the Committee on the Deferral Election or is otherwise separately identifiable under the terms of the designated incentive plan, and the amount of each portion is determined independently of the other.

 

2.31 Performance Period ” means, with respect to any Incentive Compensation, the period of time during which such Incentive Compensation is earned.

 

2.32

Plan ” means the Scripps Executive Deferred Compensation Plan as set forth herein and as from time to time in effect. To the extent required to comply with Section 409A of the

 

v

 


 

Code, the term Plan shall include any plan that is required to be aggregated with the Plan under Section 409A of the Code.

 

2.33 Separation from Service ” means a termination of employment with the Controlled Group in such a manner as to constitute a “separation from service” as defined under Section 409A of the Code. Upon a sale or other disposition of the assets of the Company or any member of the Controlled Group to an unrelated purchaser, the Committee reserves the right, to the extent permitted by Section 409A of the Code, to determine whether Participants providing services to the purchaser after and in connection with the purchase transaction have experienced a Separation from Service.

 

2.34 Subsidiary ” means a corporation, company or other entity (i) more than 50 percent of whose outstanding shares or securities (representing the right to vote for the election of directors or other managing authority) are, or (ii) which does not have outstanding shares or securities (as may be the case in a partnership, joint venture or unincorporated association), but more than 50 percent of whose ownership interest representing the right generally to make decisions for such other entity is, now or hereafter, owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Company.

 

2.35 Transferred Amounts ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 1.3 hereof.

 

2.36 Unforeseeable Emergency ” means an “unforeseeable emergency” as defined under Section 409A of the Code.

 

2.37 Valuation Date ” means such date or dates as the Committee, in its sole discretion, designates as a Valuation Date, provided that such dates shall occur no less frequently than quarterly as of the last business day of each calendar quarter.

 

2.38 In addition to the foregoing, certain other terms of more limited usage may be defined in other Articles of the Plan. All terms defined in the Plan are designated with initial capital letters.

 

2.39 Whenever appropriate, words used herein in the singular may be read as the plural and the plural may be read as the singular. Unless otherwise clear from the context, words used herein in the masculine shall also be deemed to include the feminine.

 

2.40 Except to the extent otherwise indicated herein, and except to the extent otherwise inappropriate in the context, the definition of Employer Contribution contained in the Basic Plan is applicable under the Plan.

ARTICLE 3. ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION

 

3.1 REQUIREMENTS .

 

  (a)

Every Eligible Employee on the Effective Date shall be eligible to become a Participant as of the Effective Date. Every other person who becomes an Eligible Employee after the Effective Date shall be eligible to become a Participant on the

 

vi

 


 

first Entry Date occurring on or after the date on which he or she becomes an Eligible Employee. No individual shall become a Participant, however, if he/she is not an Eligible Employee on the date his/her participation is to begin.

 

  (b) Except as otherwise provided in Article 1, in order to participate as of a specified Entry Date, an Eligible Employee must make written application by filing with the Committee, within such time period as the Committee shall specify consistent with the terms of this Plan, an Election Agreement on which the Eligible Employee shall:

 

  (i) Make a Deferral Election in accordance with Article 4;

 

  (ii) Make a Payment Election in accordance with Article 9;

 

  (iii) Designate a Beneficiary or change a Beneficiary designation in accordance with Section 11.1; and

 

  (iv) Agree to the terms of the Plan.

 

  (c) An Eligible Employee who chooses not to participate in the Plan when first eligible to do so shall waive participation by so specifying on the Election Agreement and shall not be eligible to participant until the next Entry Date.

 

3.2 CHANGE OF EMPLOYMENT CATEGORY . During any period in which a Participant remains in the employ of the Affiliated Group, but ceases to be an Eligible Employee, he/she shall not be eligible to make new Deferral Elections or have Company Matching Contributions made on his/her behalf. However, his/her Account shall continue to be revalued in accordance with Article 7.

 

3.3 PARTICIPATION BY EMPLOYEES OF AFFILIATED GROUP MEMBERS . Any member of the Affiliated Group (other than the Company) may, by action of its board of directors or equivalent governing body and with the consent of the Board, adopt the Plan; provided that the Board may waive the requirement that such board of directors or equivalent governing body effect such adoption. By its adoption of or participation in the Plan, the adopting member of the Affiliated Group shall be deemed to appoint the Company its exclusive agent to exercise on its behalf all of the power and authority conferred by the Plan upon the Company and accept the delegation to the Committee of all the power and authority conferred upon it by the Plan. The authority of the Company to act as such agent shall continue until the Plan is terminated as to the participating affiliate. An Eligible Employee who is employed by a member of the Affiliated Group and who elects to participate in the Plan shall participate on the same basis as an Eligible Employee of the Company. The Account of a Participant employed by a participating member of the Affiliated Group shall be paid in accordance with the Plan solely by such member to the extent attributable to Base Deferrals or Incentive Deferrals that would have been paid by such participating member in the absence of deferral pursuant to the Plan, unless the Board otherwise determines that the Company shall be the obligor.

 

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ARTICLE 4. PARTICIPANT DEFERRAL CONTRIBUTIONS

 

4.1 DEFERRAL ELECTIONS. A Participant may elect to defer Base Compensation for a calendar year or Incentive Compensation for a Performance Period, as the case may be, by filing a Deferral Election with the Committee in accordance with the following rules:

 

  (a) Base Compensation. The Deferral Election with respect to Base Compensation must be filed with the Committee by, and shall become irrevocable as of, December 31 (or such earlier date as specified by the Committee on the Deferral Election) of the calendar year next preceding the calendar year for which such Base Compensation would otherwise be earned. For purposes of this Section 4.1(a), Base Compensation payable after the last day of a calendar year solely for services performed during the final payroll period described in Section 3401(b) of the Code containing December 31 of such year shall be treated as earned during the subsequent calendar year.

 

  (b) Incentive Compensation

 

  (i) The Deferral Election with respect to Incentive Compensation must be filed with the Committee by, and shall become irrevocable as of, December 31 (or such earlier date as specified by the Committee on the Deferral Election) of the calendar year next preceding the first day of the Performance Period for which such Incentive Compensation would otherwise be earned.

 

  (ii) Notwithstanding anything contained in this 4.1 to the contrary, and only to the extent permitted by the Committee, the Deferral Election with respect to Incentive Compensation that constitutes Performance-Based Compensation must be filed with the Committee by, and shall become irrevocable as of, the date that is 6 months before the end of the applicable Performance Period (or such earlier date as specified by the Committee on the Deferral Election), provided that in no event may such Deferral Election be made after such Incentive Compensation has become “readily ascertainable” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code. In order to make a Deferral Election under this Section 4.1(b)(ii), the Participant must perform services continuously from the later of the beginning of the Performance Period or the date the performance criteria are established through the date a Deferral Election becomes irrevocable under this Section 4.1(b)(ii). A Deferral Election made under this Section 4.1(b)(ii) shall not apply to any portion of the Performance-Based Compensation that is actually earned by a Participant regardless of satisfaction of the performance criteria.

 

4.2 DURATION OF DEFERRAL ELECTIONS.

 

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  (a) Duration . Once irrevocable, a Deferral Election shall only be effective for the calendar year or Performance Period with respect to which such election was timely filed with the Committee. Except as provided in Section 4.2(b) hereof, a Deferral Election, once irrevocable, cannot be cancelled or modified during a calendar year or Performance Period.

 

  (b) Cancellation

 

  (i) The Committee may, in its sole discretion, cancel a Participant's Deferral Election where such cancellation occurs by the later of the end of the Participant's taxable year or the 15th day of the third month following the date the Participant incurs a “disability.” For purposes of this Section 4.2(b)(i), a disability refers to any medically determinable physical or mental impairment resulting in the Participant’s inability to perform the duties of his or her position or any substantially similar position, where such impairment can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than six months.

 

  (ii) The Committee may, in its sole discretion, cancel a Participant's Deferral Election due to an Unforeseeable Emergency or a hardship distribution pursuant to Treasury Regulation Section 1.401(k)-1(d)(3).

 

  (iii) If a Participant's Deferral Election is cancelled with respect to a particular calendar year or Performance Period in accordance with this Section 4.2(b), he may make a new Deferral Election for a subsequent calendar year or Performance Period, as the case may be, only in accordance with Section 4.1 hereof.

 

4.3 CHOICE OF CONTRIBUTION RATES

 

  (a) Unless the Committee otherwise specifies, an Eligible Employee may choose to make Base Deferrals for the specified calendar year at a rate not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of Base Compensation and Incentive Deferrals for the specified Performance Period at a rate not to exceed one hundred percent (100%) of Incentive Compensation; provided , however , that the Participant shall not be permitted to defer less than 1% of each of his Base Compensation or Incentive Compensation during any one calendar year or Performance Period, as the case may be, and any such attempted deferral shall not be effective.

 

  (b) Deferral Contributions shall be deducted by the Company from the pay of an Eligible Employee, and an equivalent amount shall be credited to his/her Deferral Contributions Subaccount as soon as administratively practicable following the date that such amounts would have been paid to the Eligible Employee if he/she had not made a Deferral Election.

ARTICLE 5. COMPANY MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS

 

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5.1 ELIGIBILITY. An Eligible Employee that participates in the Basic Plan will have Company Matching Contributions credited to his/her Company Matching Contributions Subaccount for each month that he/she makes Base Deferrals. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Participant is ineligible for any reason to receive Employer Contribution credits under the Basic Plan for a given period, no credits shall be made to his/her Company Matching Contributions Subaccount with respect to any Base Deferrals for the corresponding period.

 

5.2 AMOUNT.

 

  (a) Except as limited by Section 5.2(b), the amount credited to an eligible Participant’s Company Matching Contributions Subaccount shall equal fifty percent (50%) of his/her Base Deferrals.

 

  (b) The maximum amount credited to an eligible Participant’s Company Matching Contributions Subaccount for a given period shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the Participant’s Base Compensation for that period, reduced by the amount of his/her Employer Contribution credits under the Basic Plan for said period.

 

  (c) Company Matching Contributions shall be credited to the Participant’s Company Matching Contributions Subaccount on the date specified by the Committee.

 

  (d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Article 5 to the contrary, the total Company Matching Contributions credited to a

 
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