Exhibit 10.4
Disney Severance Pay
Plan
As Amended and
Restated
Effective January 1,
2009
(Conformed Text
Including
First Amendment to Plan as
Amended
and Restated January 1,
2009)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page
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SECTION
1.
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INTRODUCTION
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1
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SECTION
2.
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DEFINITIONS AND
INTERPRETATIONS
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1
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SECTION
3.
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HOW DO YOU
BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS?
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5
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SECTION
4.
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WHAT ARE YOUR
BENEFITS UNDER THE PLAN?
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5
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SECTION
5.
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HOW AND WHEN
WILL AMOUNTS BE PAID?
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9
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SECTION
6.
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AMENDMENT AND
TERMINATION
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10
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SECTION
7.
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MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
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11
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SECTION 8.
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WHAT ELSE DO
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PLAN?
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12
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Claim
Procedure
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12
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Plan
Interpretation and Benefit Determination
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13
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Your Rights
Under ERISA
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14
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Other Important
Facts
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15
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i
SECTION 1. - INTRODUCTION
The Walt Disney Company
(“Disney”) adopted the Disney Severance Pay Plan
(hereinafter “Plan”) originally effective as of
May 15, 2001. The Plan was thereafter amended three times and,
effective as of January 1, 2009, the Plan as set forth herein
has been amended and restated in its entirety.
The Plan provides severance benefits
under the circumstances described below to eligible employees
(referred to as “Eligible Employees”) of Disney and
certain of its subsidiaries and Affiliates (collectively the
“Company”).
SECTION 2. - DEFINITIONS AND
INTERPRETATIONS
The following definitions and
interpretations of important terms apply to the Plan:
(a) Affiliate . A company or
business organization which is affiliated with the Company as
defined under Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 144(a)(1), as
amended from time to time.
(b) COBRA . Continuation
health care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1985.
(c) Code . The Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(d) Company . Disney and any
subsidiary or other Controlled Group Member of Disney that, with
the approval of the Plan Administrator and subject to such
conditions as the Plan Administrator may impose, adopts the Plan.
Any subsidiary or other Controlled Group Member will be considered
to have adopted the Plan with the approval of the Plan
Administrator if it takes significant action that is consistent
with the adoption of the Plan, the Plan Administrator is aware of
the action, and neither objects in writing to the action. The Plan
Administrator or a subsidiary or Controlled Group Member may
terminate the subsidiary or Controlled Group Member’s
participation in the Plan by written notice to each other. An
entity will cease to be part of the Company, and will cease to
participate in the Plan, after the date on which it ceases to be a
Controlled Group Member.
(e) Controlled Group Member .
A member of a controlled group of corporations of which Disney is a
member, or an unincorporated trade or business that is under common
control with Disney, all as determined under the Sections 414(b)
and 414(c) of the Code.
(f) Disney . The Walt Disney
Company.
(g) Effective Date .
January 1, 2009, the date this Plan was amended and
restated.
1
(h) Eligible Employee . As of
his or her Layoff Date, an Employee
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(i)
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who is employed
in an employment classification, department or origin identified by
the Company as eligible for this Plan;
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(ii)
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who does not
have a personal services contract with the Company; and
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(iii)
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who has not
previously agreed either orally or in writing to waive eligibility
for this Plan, as determined by the Plan Administrator based on
Company records.
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(i) Employee . Any person
employed by the Company on or after the Effective Date as a
regular, full-time employee on a payroll maintained in the United
States but excluding any employee included in a unit of employees
covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the Company
and employee representatives unless such bargaining agreement
provides for his or her inclusion hereunder. If a collective
bargaining agreement does provide for inclusion of a represented
employee, his or her participation hereunder will be subject to
such modification in Plan terms as may be provided in the
applicable collective bargaining agreement.
If a person is not treated by the
Company as an employee, as conclusively evidenced by failure to
withhold taxes from payment made for services rendered, then such
person is not considered an Employee under this Plan even if the
person is determined to have been a common law employee of the
Company by a court of law, a governmental agency or by any other
body or means.
(j) Employment Position . The
classification of an Employee by job responsibility as either a
Salaried or an Hourly Employee, a Manager, a Director or a Vice
President or Above. An Employee’s Employment Position will be
determined by the Plan Administrator in its sole and absolute
discretion, taking into consideration the following
definitions:
Salaried or Hourly
Employee : An Employee
who is neither a Vice President or Above, a Director or a
Manager.
Manager : An Employee with a title of manager or with a
title or job responsibility comparable to that of a
manager.
Director : An Employee with a title of director or with a
title or job responsibility comparable to that of a
director.
Vice President or
Above : An Employee with
a title of vice president or higher or with a title or job
responsibility comparable to that of a vice president or higher
position.
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For the avoidance of doubt, a job
title (such as “manager” or “director”) is
not conclusively determinative of an Employee’s
classification (for example, as a Manager or Director)
hereunder.
(k) ERISA . The Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to
time.
(l) Layoff . The involuntary
termination of employment of an Eligible Employee from the Company.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event will an involuntary
termination of employment be considered a Layoff if (i) the
involuntary termination of employment is due to Reason or
(ii) the involuntary termination of employment does not
qualify as a “separation of service” within the meaning
of Section 409A of the Code and Treasury Regulation
Section 1.409A–1(h).
(m) Layoff Date . An Eligible
Employee’s last day of employment on account of his or her
Layoff.
(n) Participant . An Eligible
Employee who meets the requirements for benefits under the Plan, as
set forth in Section 3 of the Plan (entitled “How Do You
Become Eligible for Benefits?”) An individual will cease
being a Participant once payment of all severance pay and other
benefits due to such individual under the Plan has been completed
and no person will have any further rights under the Plan with
respect to such former Participant.
(o) Plan Administrator . The
Investment and Administrative Committee of the Walt Disney Company
Sponsored Qualified Benefit Plans and Key Employees Deferred
Compensation and Retirement Plan.
(p) Reason . Any one of the
following reasons for the discharge or other involuntary
termination of an Employee from employment with the
Company:
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(i)
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any act or
omission by the Employee resulting or intended to result in
personal gain at the expense of the Company;
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(ii)
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the performance
by the Employee of his or her employment duties in a manner deemed
by the Company to be in any way unsatisfactory;
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(iii)
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the improper
disclosure by the Employee of proprietary or confidential
information or trade secrets of the Company or any
Affiliate;
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(iv)
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misconduct by
the Employee, including, but not limited to fraud, intentional
violation of or negligent disregard for the rules and procedures of
the Company (including a violation of the Company’s business
code of conduct), dishonesty, insubordination, theft or other
illegal conduct, violent acts or threats of violence, or possession
of alcohol or controlled substances on the property of the Company,
or any other terminable offense under the Company’s policies
and practices;
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3
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(v)
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the receipt of
an offer of employment by the Employee from a Successor Employer to
commence promptly following his or her termination of employment by
the Company, whether the Eligible Employee accepts the position or
not;
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(vi)
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any other
involuntary termination of an Employee’s employment by the
Company that does not constitute a Layoff, as determined by the
Company in its sole and absolute discretion.
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For purposes of the Plan, the
determination of whether a discharge or other release from
employment is for Reason will be made by the Plan Administrator, in
its sole and absolute discretion, and such determination will be
conclusive and binding on the affected Employee.
(q) Successor Employer .
Successor Employer means any entity that:
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(i)
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assumes
operations or functions formerly carried out by the Company (such
as the buyer of a facility or any entity to which a Company
operation or function has been outsourced);
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(ii)
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is an Affiliate
of Disney; or
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(iii)
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makes a job
offer at the request of the Company (such as a joint venture of
which Disney or an Affiliate is a member).
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(r) WARN Act . Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
(s) Weekly Base Pay . An
Eligible Employee’s weekly rate of salary or wages as of his
or her Layoff Date, as reflected in the records maintained by the
Company’s payroll department, and will (i) include any
salary reduction contributions made on his or her behalf to any
plan of the Company, or pursuant to a collective bargaining
agreement, under Section 125 or 401(k) of the Code , and
(ii) exclude bonuses, overtime pay, temporary assignment shift
differentials, incentive compensation, Company contributions to or
benefits paid from any employee retirement or welfare plan (other
than salary reduction contributions to such a plan), and other
additional compensation or benefits provided by the Company and,
except as provided below, commissions.
If a significant portion of an
Eligible Employee’s compensation is sales-based commissions,
as determined by the Plan Administrator in its sole and absolute
discretion, then the Employee’s Weekly Base Pay will include
any commissions actually paid (and not merely accrued) to him or
her by the Company during the last 24 full calendar month period of
his or her last continuous period of employment with the Company
prior to his or her Layoff Date, divided by 104. If an Eligible
Employee’s last continuous period of employment with the
Company is less than 24 full calendar months, then the amount to be
included in his or her Weekly Base Pay is the amount of sales-based
commissions actually paid (and not merely accrued) to him or
her
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by the Company during the number of full
calendar months of his or her last continuous period of employment
with the Company prior to his or her Layoff Date, divided by the
number of weeks within those full calendar months.
(t) Year of Service . The
number of consecutive full 12 month periods of an Eligible
Employee’s employment with the Company and any Controlled
Group Member since his or her most recent hire date in which the
Eligible Employee is paid by the Company or a Controlled Group
Member for the performance of full-time services. Years of Service
will be measured in full years and partial Years of Service will be
disregarded. If the Company has a bridging of service policy, any
prior employment recognized for the Eligible Employee under that
policy will be recognized under this Plan and added to the Eligible
Employee’s most recent period of employment to determine
Years of Service except that Years of Service for which the
Eligible Employee previously received severance pay from the
Company or any Controlled Group Member pursuant to this Plan or any
other severance or separation plan or program shall be
disregarded.
SECTION 3. - HOW DO YOU BECOME
ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS?
(a) Eligibility . You become
eligible for benefits under the Plan (i.e., you become a
“Participant”) if you are an Eligible Employee and your
employment termination is a Layoff.
(b) Changed Decisions . The
Company has the right to cancel a Layoff or reschedule a Layoff
Date at any time before your employment terminates. You will not
become eligible for benefits under this Plan if your Layoff Date is
cancelled or if you voluntarily terminate employment before the
Layoff Date specified by the Company.
SECTION 4. - WHAT ARE YOUR BENEFITS
UNDER THE PLAN?
If you are eligible for benefits
under the Plan (i.e., you become a Participant), your benefits
under the Plan will be as follows:
(a) Severance Pay . You will
be entitled to receive severance pay under the Plan based on your
Employment Position and Years of Service as of your Layoff Date,
and which will be equal to the number of weeks determined in
accordance with whichever of the following schedules is applicable
to you, multiplied by your Weekly Base Pay:
Salaried or Hourly
Employee
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Less than 5
years
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4
weeks
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5 or more
years
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1 week for each
Year of Service, to a maximum of 52 weeks
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5
Manager
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Less than 5
years
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6
weeks
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5 or more
years
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4 weeks plus 1
week for each Year of Service, to a maximum of 52 weeks
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Director
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Less than 5
years
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13
weeks
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5 or more
years
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6 weeks plus 2
weeks for each Year of Service, to a maximum of 52 weeks
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Vice-President or
Above
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Less than 5
years
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26
weeks
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5 or more
years
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18 weeks plus 2
weeks for each Year of Service, to a maximum of 52 weeks
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(b) Continued Health Care
Coverage and COBRA . If you are participating in a Company
health care plan at your Layoff Date, you will be eligible to
continue health care coverage under this Plan for the length of
your Health Care Coverage Period for you and, as applicable, your
eligible dependents and Same-Sex Domestic Partner, under the same
terms and conditions of the health care plan applicable to you. If
you elect such coverage, during your Health Care Coverage Period,
your contributions will be those charged for the same coverage to
similarly situated active employees under the Company health care
plan applicable to you. Your “Health Care Period” is
four weeks if you have less than five Years of Service as of your
Layoff Date or one week for each Year of Service, up to a maximum
of 52 weeks, if you have five or more Years of Service as of your
Layoff Date. After your Health Care Coverage Period, your COBRA
coverage or continued coverage for Same-Sex Domestic
Part