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Corporate Governance

Compensation Committee Charter

(rev. 5/2014)

Purpose

The Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) is appointed by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) to discharge the Board’s responsibilities relating to compensation of the Company’s executives.

Committee Membership

The Committee will be composed of at least three directors, all of whom satisfy the definition of “independent” under the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (the “Nasdaq”). The Board must make a determination, after reviewing all relevant factors, including (but not limited to) the compensation of the director and the source thereof and his or her affiliation with the Company or its subsidiary, that each member of the Committee is free of any relationship, which, in the opinion of the Board, may interfere with the exercise of his or her independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director of the Company and member of the Committee. All Committee members shall be “non-employee directors” as defined by Rule 16b-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and “outside directors” as defined by Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Committee members will be appointed by the Board and may be removed by the Board in its discretion. The Committee shall have the authority to delegate any of its responsibilities to subcommittees as the Committee may deem appropriate, provided the subcommittees are composed entirely of independent directors.

Meetings

The Committee shall meet as often as its members deem necessary to perform the Committee’s responsibilities.

The Committee may have in attendance at its meetings such members of management or human resources, compensation consultants or others as the Committee may deem necessary or desirable to provide the information the Committee needs to carry out its responsibilities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the compensation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and all other executive officers must be determined by the Committee through deliberations and voting in executive session. Under no circumstances shall the Chief Executive Officer be present during voting or deliberations on his or her compensation.

Committee Authority and Responsibilities

The Committee will have the authority to retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other advisor to assist it in the performance of its duties, but only after taking into consideration the independence factors listed in Rule 10C- 1(b)(4)(i) through promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and under the Nasdaq listing rule 5605(d), as amended. The Committee shall be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any compensation consultant, legal counsel or other advisor retained by the Committee, and shall have sole authority to approve the advisor’s fees and the other terms and conditions of the advisor’s retention. The Company shall provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Committee, for payment of reasonable compensation to any advisor retained by the Committee.

The Committee will make regular reports to the Board and will propose any necessary action to the Board. The Committee will review and reassess the adequacy of this charter annually and recommend any proposed changes to the Board for approval.

In carrying out its responsibilities:

  • The Committee shall have responsibility for developing and maintaining an executive compensation policy that creates a direct relationship between pay levels and corporate performance and returns to shareholders. The Committee shall monitor the results of such policy to assure that the compensation payable to the Company’s executive officers provides overall competitive pay levels, creates proper incentives to enhance shareholder value, rewards superior performance, and is justified by the returns available to shareholders.
  • The Committee shall have the responsibility to review and to make recommendations to the full Board of Directors for the approval of compensation and benefit plans, which may include amendments to existing plans, cash- and equity-based incentive compensation plans, and non-qualified deferred compensation and retirement plans.
  • The Committee shall establish annually subjective and objective criteria to serve as the basis for the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluate the Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of those criteria and determine the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation based on that evaluation.
  • The Committee shall establish annually subjective and objective criteria to serve as the basis for the other executive officers’ compensation, evaluate the other executive officers’ performance in light of those criteria and determine the other executive officers’ compensation based on that evaluation.
  • In establishing the compensation to be paid or provided to executive officers, the Committee shall utilize, where it deems appropriate, comparative data regarding compensation practices. The Committee may utilize flexible compensation structures to attract, retain, motivate and appropriately reward executive officers, consistent with the Company’s compensation philosophy.
  • With respect to the Company’s equity-based compensation plans, the Committee shall review and recommend for the approval of the full Board of Directors grants of stock options, restricted stock, performance shares, stock appreciation rights, and other equity-based incentives to executive officers to the extent provided under the compensation plans. The Committee may delegate to the President and Chief Executive Officer all or part of the Committee’s authority and duties with respect to grants and awards to individuals who are not subject to the reporting requirements and other provisions of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as in effect from time to time
  • The Committee shall from time to time review and make recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the compensation of non-employee directors.
  • The Committee shall provide, over the names of the Committee members, the required Compensation Committee report for the Company’s proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders.
  • The Committee shall have available to it such Company support personnel as it deems necessary to discharge its responsibilities.
  • The Committee shall review and discuss the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (the “CD&A”) required to be included in the Company’s proxy statement and annual report on Form 10-K by the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission with management, and, based on such review and discussion, determine whether or not to recommend to the Board that the CD&A be so included.
  • The Committee shall consider the application of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code to the Company and its compensation practices and develop a policy for the Company with respect to Section 162(m).
  • The Secretary of the Committee shall be the Corporate Secretary or his or her designee. The proceedings of all Committee meetings shall be documented in minutes. At the next regular Board meeting following any Committee meeting, the Chairman of the Committee shall report to the Board of Directors on behalf of the Committee.
  • The Chairman of the Committee shall discuss the Committee’s performance with each member of the Committee, following which discussions the Chairman shall lead the Committee in an annual evaluation of its performance. The annual evaluation shall include a review of the Committee’s charter.
  • The Committee shall cause to be provided to Nasdaq appropriate written confirmation of any of the foregoing matters as Nasdaq may from time to time require.