Employment Agreement - Corrections Corporation of America and Doctor R. Crants Jr.
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT, entered into this ____ day of March, 1998, by and
between CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA, a Tennessee corporation with its
principal place of business at 10 Burton Hills Boulevard, Nashville, Tennessee
37215 ("Company") and DOCTOR R. CRANTS, JR., a resident of Nashville, Tennessee
("Crants").
W I T N E S S E T H:
1. Employment. Company employs Crants and Crants hereby accepts
employment under the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.
2. Duties. Crants is engaged as Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
His powers and duties in that capacity shall be those normally associated with
the position of Chief Executive Officer. During the term of this Agreement,
Crants shall also serve without additional compensation in such other offices of
the Company to which he may be elected or appointed by the Board of Directors.
3. Term. Subject to provisions of termination as hereinafter provided,
the initial term of Crants' employment under this Agreement shall begin on April
1, 1998 and shall terminate on March 31, 2001 (the "Initial Term"). Unless the
Company notifies Crants that his employment under this Agreement will not be
extended, the term of his employment under this Agreement shall automatically be
extended for an additional three (3) year period on the same terms and
conditions as set forth herein (the "Renewal Term").
If Company elects not to extend Crants' employment under this
Agreement, it shall do so by notifying Crants in writing not less than ninety
(90) days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term. If Company does not elect
to extend Crants' employment under this Agreement, Crants shall be considered to
have been terminated without just cause upon the expiration of his employment,
and Crants will receive the payments and benefits set forth in Section 7 hereof.
Crants' date of termination, for the purposes of Section 7 hereof, shall be the
date of the Company's last payment to Crants.
4. Compensation.
4.1. Base Salary. For all duties rendered by Crants, the
Company shall pay Crants a minimum salary of $350,000 per year, payable
according to the customary payroll practices of the Company, but in no event
less frequently than once each month. During each year of this Agreement,
Crants' compensation will be reviewed by the Board of Directors of the Company,
or such subcommittee to which compensation review has been delegated, and after
taking into consideration both Company and personal performance, the Committee
may increase Crants' compensation to any amount it may deem appropriate.
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4.2. Bonus. The Company will pay Crants annual incentive
compensation awards, in cash and/or in equity, as may be granted by the Board of
Directors, or such subcommittee to which incentive compensation awards have been
delegated, under any executive bonus plan or incentive plan in effect from time
to time.
4.3. Benefits.
4.3.1. General. Crants shall be entitled to an annual paid
vacation as established by the Board of Directors of the Company. In addition,
Crants shall be entitled to participate in all compensation or employee benefit
plans or programs and receive all benefits and perquisites for which any
salaried employees are eligible under any existing or future plan or program
established by the Company for salaried employees. Crants will participate to
the extent permissible under the terms and provisions of such plans or programs
in accordance with program provisions. These may include group hospitalization,
health, dental care, life or other insurance, tax qualified pension, savings,
thrift and profit sharing plans, termination pay programs, sick leave plans,
travel or accident insurance, disability insurance, and contingent compensation
plans including stock purchase programs and stock option plans. Except as may be
provided for in Section 4.3.2. herein, nothing in this Agreement shall preclude
the Company from amending or terminating any of the plans or programs applicable
to salaried or senior executives as long as such amendment or termination is
applicable to all salaried employees or senior executives.
4.3.2. Life, Health and DisabilityInsurance. Notwithstanding
the benefit provisions of Section 4.3.1. herein, and in addition to the benefit
provision contained therein, the Company agrees to the following:
(i) To provide and maintain term life insurance on Crants'
life in the amount of a minimum of $3,000,000, such policy being payable, upon
Crants' death, to Crants' designated beneficiary;
(ii) To provide and maintain, during the term of this
Agreement and thereafter, if Crants is terminated without just cause or the
Agreement naturally expires upon the completion of the Renewal Term and no
subsequent extensions are entered into, until Crants and his spouse reach the
age of sixty-five (65) or become otherwise eligible to receive coverage by
Medicare or another similar government program, health insurance on Crants and
his spouse in such amounts as are customary for or available to executives of
the Company; and
(iii) To provide and maintain, through insurance or on its own
account, coverage for Crants, relating to illness or incapacity resulting in
Crants being unable to perform his services, that will provide payment of Crants
full salary and benefits for twelve (12) months. For the period beyond twelve
(12) months, the Company shall provide and maintain, through insurance or on its
own account, coverage for Crants that will provide salary at seventy percent
(70%) of Crants' current level plus full benefits to age sixty-five (65). To the
extent that payments are received from any
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worker's compensation or other Company paid plans, Company's obligations will be
reduced by amounts so received.
4.4. Expenses. The Company shall promptly reimburse Crants for
all reasonable travel and other business expenses incurred by Crants in the
performance of his duties under this Agreement upon evidence of receipt.
4.5. Withholdings. All compensation payable hereunder shall be
subject to withholding for federal income taxes, FICA and all other applicable
federal, state and local withholding requirements.
5. Termination by Crants. Crants' employment hereunder may be
terminated by Crants upon ninety (90) days written notice to the Company.
Subject to the Company's continuing obligations under Section 4.3.2. of this
Agreement, Crants' death or disability shall constitute termination of Crants'
employment hereunder.
6. Termination by Company for Just Cause. The Company may terminate
Crants' employment pursuant to the terms hereunder for just cause. For the
purposes of this Agreement, Company shall have "cause" upon (i) theft or
dishonesty in the conduct of the Company's business, (ii) conviction of a felony
or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, or (iii) willful and continued
neglect or gross negligence by Crants after a written demand for substantial
performance is delivered to Crants by the Board of Directors of Company, which
demand specifies and identifies the manner in which Crants was willfully
neglectful or grossly negligent, and Crants fails to comply with such demand
within a reasonable time as established by the Company's Board of Directors. For
purposes of this section, "willful" shall be determined in the exclusive
discretion of the Board of Directors of Company. In making such determination,
the Board of Directors of Company shall not act unreasonably or arbitrarily.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Crants shall not be deemed to have been
terminated for cause unless and until there shall have been delivered to him a
copy of a resolution duly adopted by the affirmative vote of not less than a
majority of the entire membership of the Board of Directors of Company at a
meeting of the Board called and held for that purpose (after reasonable notice
to Crants, and an opportunity for Crants, together with counsel of his choice,
to be heard before the Board), finding that Crants was, in the good faith
opinion of the Board, guilty of conduct set forth above in clauses (i) or (ii)
of this section, and specifying the particulars thereof in reasonable detail.
7. Termination by Company Without Just Cause. Crants' employment under
this Agreement may be terminated by the Company at any time without just cause
provided the Company shall pay Crants on a monthly basis for a total period of
three (3) years from the date of termination, the amount due to Crants as his
compensation, based upon the annual rate payable as of the date of termination,
without any cost of living adjustments, subject to the following:
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(i) Crants shall continue to be covered, for the three year period,
under health, life and disability insurance plans of Company as may be
set forth in Section 4.3.2. herein. Crants' benefits shall be reduced,
however, by any such coverage that Crants receives incident to any
employment during said three year period;
(ii) The Company shall be entitled to receive as off-set and thereby
reduce its payments, the amount earned by Crants in any active
employment that he may receive during the three year period from any
other source whatsoever, except said sums shall not include income from
dividends, investments or passive income. As a condition for Crants
receiving his compensation from the Company, he agrees to furnish
Company annually with full information regarding such other employment
and to permit inspection of his records at any such employment and copy
of his federal income tax returns;
(iii) The Company shall receive credit for unemployment insurance,
social security insurance or like amounts received by Crants during the
three year period; and
(iv) The payments will cease upon death of Crants regardless of term
remaining.
8. Restrictive Covenants.
8.1. Confidential Information. Crants agrees not to disclose,
either during the time he is employed by Company or following the termination of
his employment by him or the Company, any confidential information concerning
the Company or its business, including, but not limited to contract terms,
financial information, operating data, or business plans or models, whether for
existing, new or developing businesses.
8.2. Non-Compete. During the term of Crants' employment with
the Company, Crants agrees not to enter into or engage in the business of a
competitor of the Company operating or managing private correctional or
detention facilities, either as an individual for his own account, as a partner
or joint venturer, or as an employee, agent, officer, director, or substantial
shareholder of a corporation or otherwise. Upon Crants' voluntary termination of
employment, upon termination of Crants' employment by the Company for just
cause, or upon termination of Crants' employment without just cause as long as
Crants is receiving payments or benefits from Company under Section 7 hereof,
Crants agrees not to enter into or engage in the business of operating or
managing private correctional or detention facilities, either as an individual
for his own account, as a partner or joint venturer, or as an employee, agent,
officer, director, or substantial shareholder of a corporation or otherwise for
a period of one (1) year following the date of Crants' termination of employment
with the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event Crants is
terminated for just cause, if Crants reasonably shows that his proposed
employment is not directly competitive with the Company's business, Crants may
enter into such employment.
8.3. Non-Solicitation. Upon termination or expiration of his
employment, whether voluntary or involuntary, Crants agrees not to directly or
indirectly solicit business from any entity,
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organization or person which has contracted with the Company, which has been
doing business with the Company, from which the Company was soliciting business
at the time of Crants' termination, or from which Crants knew or had reason to
know that Company was going to solicit business at the time of Crants'
termination, for a one year period from the date of Crants' termination of his
employment with Company.
8.4. Enforcement. Crants and the Company hereby expressly
acknowledge and agree that the covenants contained in this Section 9 may be
specifically enforced through injunctive relief, but such right to injunctive
relief shall not preclude Company from other remedies which may be available to
it by law.
8.5. Termination. Notwithstanding any provision to the
contrary otherwise contained in this Agreement, the agreements and covenants
contained in this Section 9 shall not terminate upon Crants' termination of his
employment with the Company or upon the termination of this Agreement under any
other provision of this Agreement.
9. Notices. Any notice required or permitted to be given under this
Agreement shall be deemed given if in writing, sent by registered or certified
mail to his current residence in the case of Crants, or to its principal office
in the case of the Company.
10. Waiver of Breach. The waiver by either party of any provision of
this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent
breach by the other party.
11. Assignment. The rights and obligations of the Company under this
Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the successors
and assigns of the Company. Crants acknowledges that the services to be rendered
by him are unique and personal, and Crants may not assign any of his rights or
delegate any of his duties or obligations under this Agreement.
12. Entire Agreement. This instrument contains the entire agreement of
the parties. It may not be changed orally but only by an agreement in writing
signed by the party against whom enforcement of any waiver, change,
modification, extension or discharge is sought.
13. Controlling Law. This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted
under the laws of the State of Tennessee.
14. Headings. The sections, subjects and headings in this Agreement are
inserted for convenience only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or
interpretation of this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the
day and year first written.
CRANTS:
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DOCTOR R. CRANTS, JR.
COMPANY:
CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA
By:
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Its:
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