EXHIBIT 10.1
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
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THIS AGREEMENT entered into this 11th day of September, 1997
("Effective Date"), by and between Amsterdam Federal Bank (the "Bank") and ▇▇▇▇
▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (the "Employee").
WHEREAS, the Employee has heretofore been employed by the Bank as
President & Chief Executive Officer and is experienced in all phases of the
business of the Bank; and
WHEREAS, the parties desire by this writing to set forth the continuing
employment relationship of the Bank and the Employee.
NOW, THEREFORE, it is AGREED as follows:
1. Employment. The Employee is employed in the capacity as the
President & Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. The Employee shall render such
administrative and management services to the Bank and any parent or HOLDING
COMPANY or subsidiary as are currently rendered and as are customarily performed
by persons situated in a similar executive capacity. The Employee shall also
promote, by entertainment or otherwise, as and to the extent permitted by law,
the business of the Bank and Parent. The Employee's other duties shall be such
as the Board of Directors for the Bank may from time to time reasonably direct,
including normal duties as an officer of the Bank.
2. Base Compensation. The Bank agrees to pay the Employee during the
term of this Agreement a salary at the rate of $150,000 per annum, payable in
cash not less frequently than monthly; provided, that the rate of such salary
shall be reviewed by the Board of Directors not less often than annually, and
Employee shall be entitled to receive annually an increase at such percentage or
in such an amount as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may decide at
such time.
3. Discretionary Bonus. The Employee shall be entitled to participate
in an equitable manner with all other senior management employees of the Bank in
discretionary bonuses that may be authorized and declared by the Board of
Directors to its senior management employees from time to time. No other
compensation provided for in this Agreement shall be deemed a substitute for the
Employee's right to participate in such discretionary bonuses when and as
declared by the Board of Directors.
Further, the Employee shall be entitled to receive the benefit of a
Deferred Compensation Agreement previously entered into between Employee and
Bank, dated November 26, 1993, under the terms outlined in that agreement.
4. (a) The Employee shall be entitled to participate in any plan of the
Bank relating to pension, profit-sharing, or other retirement benefits and
medical coverage or reimbursement plans
that the Bank may adopt for the benefit of its employees. Additionally,
Employee's dependent family shall be eligible to participate in medical and
dental insurance plans sponsored by the Bank or Parent with the cost of such
premiums paid by the Bank.
(b) Employee Benefits; Expenses. The Employee shall be
eligible to participate in any fringe benefits which may be or may become
applicable to the Bank's senior management employees, including by example,
participation in any stock option or incentive plans adopted by the Board of
directors of Bank or Parent, club memberships, a reasonable expense account, use
of a company owned automobile, and any other benefits which are commensurate
with the responsibilities and functions to be performed by the Employee under
this Agreement. The Bank shall reimburse Employee for all reasonable
out-of-pocket expenses which Employee shall incur in connection with his service
for the Bank.
5. Term. The term of employment of Employee under this Agreement shall
be for the period commencing of the Effective Date and ending thirty-six (36)
months (not to exceed thirty-six (36) months) thereafter. Additionally, on each
annual anniversary date from the Effective Date, the term of employment under
this Agreement shall be extended for an additional one year period beyond the
then effective expiration date upon a determination and resolution of the Board
of Directors that the performance of the Employee has met the requirements and
standards of the Board, and that the term of such Agreement shall be extended.
6. Loyalty; Noncompetition.
(a) The Employee shall devote his full time and attention to the
performance of this employment under this Agreement. During the term of
Employee's employment under this Agreement, the Employee shall not engage in any
business or activity contrary to the business or interests of the Bank or
Parent.
(b) Nothing contained in this Paragraph 6 shall be deemed to prevent or
limit the right of Employee to invest in the capital stock or other securities
of any business dissimilar from that of the Bank or parent, or, solely as a
passive or minority investor, in any business.
7. Standards. The Employee shall perform his duties under this
Agreement in accordance with such reasonable standards expected of employees
with comparable positions in comparable organization and as may be established
from time to time by the Board of Directors.
8. Vacation and Sick Leave. At such reasonable times as the Board of
Directors shall in its discretion permit, the Employee shall be entitled,
without loss of pay, to absent himself voluntarily from the performance of his
employment under this
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Agreement, with all such voluntary absences to count as vacation time; provided
that:
(a) The Employee shall be entitled to annual vacation leave in
accordance with the policies as are periodically established by the Board of
Directors for senior management employees of the Bank, which in the case of
Employee shall be a minimum of four weeks.
(b) The Employee shall not be entitled to receive any additional
compensation from the Bank on account of his failure to take vacation leave and
Employee shall not be entitled to accumulate unused vacation from one fiscal
year to the next, except in either case to the extent authorized by the Board of
Directors for senior management employees of the Bank.
(c) In addition to the aforesaid paid vacations, the Employee shall be
entitled without loss of pay, to absent himself voluntarily from the performance
of his employment with the Bank for such additional periods of time and for such
valid and legitimate reasons as the Board of Directors in its discretion may
determine. Further, the Board of Directors shall be entitled to grant to the
Employee a leave or leaves of absence with or without pay at such time or times
and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of Directors in its discretion
may determine.
(d) In addition, the Employee shall be entitled to an annual sick leave
benefit as established by the Board of Directors for senior management employees
of the Bank. In the event that any sick leave benefit shall not have been used
during any year, such leave shall accrue to subsequent years only to the extent
authorized by the Board of Directors for employees of the Bank.
9. Termination and Termination Pay.
The Employee's employment under this Agreement shall be terminated upon
any of the following occurrences:
(a) The death of the Employee during the term of this Agreement, in
which event the Employee's estate shall be entitled to receive the compensation
due the Employee through the last day of the calendar month in which Employee's
death shall have occurred, and for three months thereafter.
(b) The Board of Directors may terminate the Employee's employment at
any time, but any termination by the Board of Directors other than termination
for Just Cause, shall not prejudice the Employee's right to compensation or
other benefits under the Agreement. The Employee shall have no right to receive
compensation or other benefits for any period after termination for Just Cause.
Termination for "Just Cause" shall include termination because of the Employee's
personal dishonesty, incompetence, willful misconduct, breach of fiduciary duty
involving personal
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profit, intentional failure to perform stated duties, willful violation of any
law, rule or regulation (other than traffic violations or similar offenses) or
final cease-and-desist order, or material breach of any provision of the
Agreement.
(c) Except as provided pursuant to Section 12 herein, in the event
Employee's employment under this Agreement is terminated by the Board of
Directors without Just Cause, the Bank shall be obligated to continue to pay the
Employee the salary provided pursuant to Section 2 herein, up to the date of
termination of the term (including any renewal term) of this Agreement and the
cost of Employee obtaining all health, life, disability, and other benefits
which the Employee would be eligible to participate in through such date based
upon the benefit levels substantially equal to those being provided Employee at
the date of termination of employment.
(d) If the Employee is removed and/or permanently prohibited from
participating in the conduct of the Bank's affairs by an order issued under
Section 8(e)(4) or 8(g)(1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ("FDIA") (12
U.S.C. 1818(e)(4) and (g)(1)), all obligations of the Bank under this Agreement
shall terminate, as of the effective date of the order, but the vested rights of
the parties shall not be affected.
(e) If the Bank is in default (as defined in Section 3(x)(1) of FDIA)
all obligations under this Agreement shall terminate as of the date of default,
but this paragraph shall not affect any vested rights of the contracting
parties.
(f) All obligations under this Agreement shall be terminated, except to
the extent determined that continuation of this Agreement is necessary for the
continued operation of the Bank: (i) by the Director of the Office of Thrift
Supervision ("Director of OTS"), or his or her designee, at the time that the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") or the Resolution Trust
Corporation enters into an agreement to provide assistance to or on behalf of
the Bank under the authority contained in Section 13(c) of FDIA; or (ii) by the
Director of the OTS, or his or her designee, at the time that the Director of
the OTS, or his or her designee approves a supervisory merger to resolve
problems related to operation of the Bank or when the Bank is determined by the
Director of the OTS to be in an unsafe or unsound condition. Any rights of the
parties that have already vested, however, shall not be affected by such action.
(g) The voluntary termination by the Employee during the term of this
Agreement with the delivery of no less than 60 days written notice to the Board
of Directors, other than pursuant to Section 12(b), in which case the Employee
shall be entitled to receive only the compensation, vested rights, and all
employee benefits up to the date of such termination.
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(h) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any payments made
to the Employee pursuant to the Agreement, or otherwise, shall be subject to and
conditioned upon compliance with 12 USC ss.1828(k) and any regulations
promulgated thereunder.
10. Suspension of Employment . If the Employee is suspended and/or
temporarily prohibited from participating in the conduct of the Bank's affairs
by a notice served under Section 8(e)(3) or (g)(1) of the FDIA (12 U.S.C.
1818(e)(3) and (g)(1)), the Bank's obligations under the Agreement shall be
suspended as of the date of service, unless stayed by appropriate proceedings.
If the charges in the notice are dismissed, the Bank shall, (i) pay the Employee
all or part of the compensation withheld while its contract obligations were
suspended and (ii) reinstate any of its obligations which were suspended.
11. Disability. If the Employee shall become disabled or incapacitated
to the extent that he is unable to perform his duties hereunder, by reason of
medically determinable physical or mental impairment, as determined by a doctor
engaged by the Board of Directors, Employee shall nevertheless continue to
receive the compensation and benefits provided under the terms of this Agreement
as follows: 100% of such compensation and benefits for a period of 12 months,
but not exceeding the remaining term of the Agreement, and 65% thereafter for
the remainder of the term of the Agreement. Such benefits noted herein shall be
reduced by any benefits otherwise provided to the Employee during such period
under the provisions of disability insurance coverage in effect for Bank
employees. Thereafter, Employee shall be eligible to receive benefits provided
by the Bank under the provisions of disability insurance coverage in effect for
Bank employees. Upon returning to active full-time employment, the Employee's
full compensation as set forth in the Agreement shall be reinstated as of the
date of commencement of such activities. In the event that the Employee returns
to active employment on other than a full-time basis, then his compensation (as
set forth in Paragraph 2 of this Agreement) shall be reduced in proportion to
the time spent in said employment, or as shall otherwise be agreed to by the
parties.
12. Change in Control.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, in the event
of the involuntary termination of Employee's employment under this Agreement,
absent Just Cause, in connection with, or within twelve (12) months after, any
change in control of the Bank or Parent, Employee shall be paid an amount equal
to the product of 2.99 times the Employee's "base amount" as defined in Section
280G(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") and
regulations promulgated thereunder. Said sum shall be paid, at the option of
Employee, either in one (1) lump sum within thirty (30) days of such termination
discounted to the present value of such payment using as the discount rate the
"prime rate"
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as published in the Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition as of the date of such
payment, or in periodic payments over the next 36 months or the remaining term
of this Agreement whichever is less, as if Employee's employment had not been
terminated, and such payments shall be in lieu of any other future payments
which the Employee would be otherwise entitled to receive under Section 9 of
this Agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, all sums payable hereunder shall
be reduced in such manner and to such extent so that no such payments made
hereunder when aggregated with all other payments to be made to the Employee by
the Bank or the Parent shall be deemed an "excess parachute payment" in
accordance with Section 280G of the Code and be subject to the excise tax
provided at Section 4999(a) of the Code. The term "control" shall refer to the
ownership, holding or power to vote more than 25% of the Parent's or Bank's
voting stock, the control of the election of a majority of the Parent's or
Bank's directors, or the exercise of a controlling influence over the management
or policies of the Parent or Bank by any person or by persons acting as a group
within the meaning of Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The
term "person" means an individual other than the Employee, or a corporation,
partnership, trust, association, joint venture, pool, syndicate, sole
proprietorship, unincorporated organization or any other form of entity not
specifically listed herein.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to the
contrary, Employee may voluntary terminate his employment under this Agreement
within twelve (12) months following a change in control of the Bank or Parent,
and Employee shall thereupon be entitled to receive the payment described in
Section 12(a) of this Agreement, upon the occurrence, or within ninety (90) days
thereafter, of any of the following events, which have not been consented to in
advance by the Employee in writing: (i) if Employee would be required to move
his personal residence or perform his principal executive functions more than
thirty-five (35) miles from the Employee's primary office as of the signing of
this Agreement; (ii) if in the organizational structure of the Bank or Parent,
Employee would be required to report to a person or persons other than the Board
of the Bank or Parent; (iii) if the Bank or Parent should fail to maintain
Employee's base compensation in effect as of the date of the Change in Control
and the existing employee benefits plans, including material fringe benefit,
stock option and retirement plans; (iv) if Employee would be assigned duties and
responsibilities other than those normally associated with his position as
referenced at Section 1, herein; (v) if Employee would not be elected or
reelected to the Board of Directors of the Bank; or (vi) if Employee's
responsibilities or authority have in any way been materially diminished or
reduced.
(c) Arbitration. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to
this Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration in
accordance with the rules then in effect of the district office of the American
Arbitration Bank ("AAA") nearest to the home office of the Bank, and judgment
upon the award rendered
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may be entered in any court having jurisdiction hereof, except to the extent
that the parties may otherwise reach a mutual settlement of such issue. The Bank
shall incur the cost of all fees and expenses associated with filing a request
for arbitration with the AAA, whether such filing is made on behalf of the Bank
or the Employee, and the costs and administrative fees associated with employing
the arbitrator and related administrative expenses assessed by the AAA. The Bank
shall reimburse Employee for all costs and expenses, including reasonable
attorney's fees, arising from such dispute, proceedings or actions,
notwithstanding the ultimate outcome thereof, following the delivery of the
decision of the arbitrator or upon delivery of other legal judgment or
settlement of the matter. Such reimbursement shall be paid within ten (10) days
of Employee furnishing to the Bank or Parent evidence, which may be in the form,
among other things, of a canceled check or receipt, of any costs or expenses
incurred by the Employee. Any such request for reimbursement by Employee shall
be made no more frequently than at sixty (60) day intervals.
13. Successors and Assigns.
(a) This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon
any corporate or other successor of the Bank or Parent which shall acquire,
directly or indirectly, by merger, consolidation, purchase or otherwise, all or
substantially all of the assets or stock of the Bank or Parent.
(b) Since the Bank is contracting for the unique and personal skills of
the Employee, the Employee shall be precluded from assigning or delegating his
rights or duties hereunder without first obtaining the written consent of the
Bank.
14. Amendments. No amendments or additions to this Agreement shall be
binding upon the parties hereto unless made in writing and signed by both
parties, except as herein otherwise specifically provided.
15. Applicable Law. This agreement shall be governed by all respects
whether as to validity, construction, capacity, performance or otherwise, by the
laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that Federal law shall be
deemed to apply.
16. Severability. The provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed
severable and the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision shall not
affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof.
17. Entire Agreement. This Agreement together with any understanding or
modifications thereof as agreed to in writing by the parties, shall constitute
the entire agreement between the parties hereto.
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