Exhibit 97.1
CLAWBACK POLICY
as Amended and Restated effective October 25, 2023
POLICY FOR THE RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION
1. Purpose. The purpose of this Policy is to describe the circumstances in which Executive Officers will be required to repay or return Erroneously Awarded Compensation to members of the Company Group. This Policy replaces and supersedes the Clawback Policy previously adopted by the Company except with respect to any Incentive Compensation received before October 2, 2023 as defined in and subject to the terms and conditions of the prior Clawback Policy. Each Executive Officer shall be required to sign and return to the Company the Acknowledgement Form attached hereto as Exhibit A acknowledging that such Executive Officer will be bound by the terms and comply with this Policy, although this Policy will apply to each Executive Officer regardless of whether the Acknowledgement Form is signed and returned to the Company.
2. Administration. This Policy shall be administered by the Committee. Any determinations made by the Committee shall be final and binding on all affected individuals.
3. Definitions. For purposes of this Policy, the following capitalized terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
(a) “Accounting Restatement” shall mean an accounting restatement (i) due to the material noncompliance of the Company with any financial reporting requirement under the securities laws, including any required accounting restatement to correct an error in previously issued financial restatements that is material to the previously issued financial statements (a “Big R” restatement), or (ii) that corrects an error that is not material to previously issued financial statements, but would result in a material misstatement if the error were not corrected the current period or left uncorrected in the current period (a “little r” restatement).
(b) “Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.
(c) “Clawback Eligible Incentive Compensation” shall mean, in connection with an Accounting Restatement and with respect to each individual who served as an Executive Officer at any time during the applicable performance period for any Incentive-based Compensation (whether or not such Executive Officer is serving at the time the Erroneously Awarded Compensation is required to be repaid to the Company Group), all Incentive-based Compensation Received by such Executive Officer (i) on or after October 2, 2023, (ii) after beginning service as an Executive Officer, (iii) while the Company has a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange or a national securities association, and (iv) during the applicable Clawback Period.
(d) “Clawback Period” shall mean, with respect to any Accounting Restatement, the three completed fiscal years of the Company immediately preceding the Restatement Date and any
transition period (that results from a change in the Company’s fiscal year) of less than nine months within or immediately following those three completed fiscal years.
(e) “Code” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(f) “Committee” shall mean the Compensation and Management Development Committee of the Board.
(g) “Company” shall mean Myers Industries, Inc., an Ohio corporation.
(h) “Company Group” shall mean the Company, together with each of its direct and indirect subsidiaries.
(i) “Effective Date” shall mean October 25, 2023.
(j) “Erroneously Awarded Compensation” shall mean, with respect to each Executive Officer in connection with an Accounting Restatement, the amount of Clawback Eligible Incentive Compensation that exceeds the amount of Incentive-based Compensation that otherwise would have been Received had it been determined based on the restated amounts, computed without regard to any taxes paid.
(k) “Executive Officer” shall mean the Company’s president, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer (or if there is no such accounting officer, the Company’s controller), any vice president of the Company in charge of a principal business unit, division, or function (such as sales, administration, or finance), any other officer who performs a policy-making function, or any other person who performs similar policy-making functions for the Company. Executive officers of the Company’s subsidiaries are deemed executive officer of the Company if they perform such policy-making functions for the Company. Policy-making function, for purposes of this definition, is not intended to include policy-making functions that are not significant. Identification of an executive officer for purposes of this Policy would include at a minimum executive officers identified pursuant to 17 C.F.R. 229.401(b).
(l) “Financial Reporting Measures” shall mean measures that are determined and presented in accordance with the accounting principles used in preparing the Company’s financial statements, and all other measures that are derived wholly or in part from such measures. Stock price and total shareholder return (and any measures that are derived wholly or in part from stock price or total shareholder return) shall for purposes of this Policy be considered Financial Reporting Measures. For the avoidance of doubt, a Financial Reporting Measure need not be presented in the Company’s financial statements or included in a filing with the SEC.
(m) “Incentive-based Compensation” shall mean any compensation that is granted, earned or vested based wholly or in part upon the attainment of a Financial Reporting Measure.
(n) “Listing Rule” shall mean Section 303A.14 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual.
(o) “NYSE American” shall mean NYSE American LLC.
(p) “Policy” shall mean this Policy for the Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation, as the same may be amended and/or restated from time to time.
(q) “Received” shall, with respect to any Incentive-based Compensation, mean actual or deemed receipt, and Incentive-based Compensation shall be deemed received in the Company’s fiscal period during which the Financial Reporting Measure specified in the Incentive-based Compensation award is attained, even if payment or grant of the Incentive-based Compensation occurs after the end of that period.
(r) “Restatement Date” shall mean the earlier to occur of (i) the date the Board, a committee of the Board or the officers of the Company authorized to take such action if Board action is not required, concludes, or reasonably should have concluded, that the Company is required to prepare an Accounting Restatement, or (ii) the date of court, regulator or other legally authorized body directs the Company to prepare an Accounting Restatement.
(s) “SEC” shall mean the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
4. Repayment of Erroneously Awarded Compensation.
(a) In the event of an Accounting Restatement, the Committee shall reasonably promptly determine the amount of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation for each Executive Officer in connection with such Accounting Restatement and shall promptly thereafter provide each Executive Officer with a written notice containing the amount of Erroneously Awarded Compensation and a demand for repayment or return, as applicable. For Incentive-based Compensation based on (or derived from) stock price or total shareholder return where the amount of Erroneously Awarded Compensation is not subject to mathematical recalculation directly from the information in the applicable Accounting Restatement, the amount shall be determined by the Committee based on a reasonable estimate of the effect of the Accounting Restatement on the stock price or total shareholder return upon which the Incentive-based Compensation was Received (in which case, the Company shall maintain documentation of such determination of that reasonable estimate and provide such documentation to NYSE American).
(b) The Committee shall have broad discretion to determine the appropriate means of recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation based on all applicable facts and circumstances and taking into account the time value of money and the cost to shareholders of delaying recovery, to the extent permitted under the Listing Rule and in compliance with (or pursuant to an exemption from the application of) Section 409A of the Code, which may include without limitation (i) seeking reimbursement of all or part of any cash or equity-based award, (ii) cancelling prior cash or equity-based awards, (iii) canceling or offsetting against any future payable or planned compensation (including, without limitation, base salary or cash or equity-based awards), (iv) forfeiture of deferred compensation, and (v) any other method authorized by applicable law or contract. No action taken by the Company to recover Erroneously Awarded Compensation under this Policy from an Executive Officer, whether alone or in combination with any other action, event or condition, shall be deemed to constitute (x) “good reason” for resignation or to serve as a basis for a claim of constructive termination under any benefits or compensation arrangement applicable to such Executive Officer, or (y) a breach of a contract or other arrangement to which such Executive Officer is a party.
(c) To the extent that an Executive Officer fails to repay all Erroneously Awarded Compensation to the Company Group when due (as determined in accordance with Section 4(b) above), the Company shall, or shall cause one or more other members of the Company Group to, take all actions reasonable and appropriate to recover such Erroneously Awarded Compensation from the applicable Executive Officer. The applicable Executive Officer shall be required to reimburse the Company Group for any and all expenses reasonably incurred (including legal fees) by the Company Group in recovering such Erroneously Awarded Compensation in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence.
(d) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company shall not be required to take the actions contemplated by Section 4(b) above if the following conditions are met and the Committee determines that recovery would be impracticable:
(i) The direct expenses paid to a third party to assist in enforcing the Policy against an Executive Officer would exceed the amount to be recovered, after the Company has made a reasonable attempt to recover the applicable Erroneously Awarded Compensation, documented such reasonable attempt(s) to recover and provided such documentation to NYSE American;
(ii) Recovery would violate home country law where that law was adopted prior to November 28, 2022, provided that, before determining that it would be impracticable to recover any amount of Erroneously Awarded Compensation based on violation of home country law, the Company has obtained an opinion of home country counsel, acceptable to NYSE American, that recovery would result in such a violation and a copy of such opinion is provided to NYSE American; or
(iii) Recovery would likely cause an otherwise tax-qualified retirement plan, under which benefits are broadly available to employees of the Company Group, to fail to meet the requirements of 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(13) or 26 U.S.C. 411(a) and regulations thereunder.
5. Reporting and Disclosure. The Company shall file all disclosures with respect to this Policy in accordance with the requirement of the federal securities laws, including the disclosure required by the applicable SEC filings.
6. Indemnification Prohibition. No member of the Company Group shall be permitted to indemnify any Executive Officer against (a) the loss of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation that is repaid, returned or recovered pursuant to the terms of this Policy, or (b) any claims relating to the Company Group’s enforcement of its rights under this Policy. Further, no member of the Company Group shall enter into any agreement that exempts any Incentive-based Compensation from the application of this Policy or that waives the Company Group’s right to recovery of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation and this Policy shall supersede any such agreement (whether entered into before, on or after the Effective Date).
7. Interpretation. The Committee is authorized to interpret and construe this Policy and to make all determinations necessary, appropriate, or advisable for the administration of this Policy.
8. Effective Date. This Policy shall be effective as of the Effective Date.
9. Amendment; Termination. The Committee may amend this Policy from time to time in its discretion and shall amend this Policy as the Committee deems necessary, including as and when the Committee determines that it is legally required by any federal securities laws, SEC rule or the rules of any national securities exchange or national securities association on which the Company’s securities are listed. The Committee may terminate this Policy at any time. Notwithstanding anything in this Section 9 to the contrary, no amendment or termination of this Policy shall be effective if such amendment or termination would (after taking into account any actions taken by the Company contemporaneously with such amendment or termination) cause the Company to violate any federal securities laws, SEC rule or the rules of any national securities exchange or national securities association on which the Company’s securities are listed.
10. Other Recoupment Rights; No Additional Payments. The Committee intends that this Policy will be applied to the fullest extent of the law. The Committee may require that any employment agreement, equity award agreement, or any other agreement entered into on or after the Effective Date shall, as a condition to the grant of any benefit thereunder, require an Executive Officer to agree to abide by the terms of this Policy. Any right of recoupment under this Policy is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other remedies or rights of recoupment that may be available to the Company Group under applicable law, regulation or rule or pursuant to the terms of any similar policy in any employment agreement, equity award agreement, or similar agreement and any other legal remedies available to the Company Group, including but not limited to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. § 7243). Notwithstanding the foregoing, there shall be no duplication of recovery of the same Erroneously Awarded Compensation under this Policy and any such rights of recovery, unless required by applicable law.
11. Successors. This Policy shall be binding and enforceable against all Executive Officers and their beneficiaries, heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives.
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Change Record:
| | | |
Rev. | Effective Date | Corporate Sponsor | Reason for revision |
Original | 03/05/2015 | | New policy |
001 | August 1, 2019 | | Amended and restated |
002 | August 1, 2020 | Legal | Amended |
003 | October 25, 2023 | Legal | Amended and restated |
Exhibit A
POLICY FOR THE RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM
By signing below, the undersigned acknowledges and confirms that the undersigned has received and reviewed a copy of the Myers Industries, Inc. Policy for the Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation (the “Policy”). Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined in this Acknowledgement Form (this “Acknowledgement Form”) shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Policy.
By signing this Acknowledgement Form, the undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the undersigned is and will continue to be subject to the Policy and that the Policy will apply both during and after the undersigned’s employment with the Company Group. Further, by signing below, the undersigned agrees to abide by the terms of the Policy, including, without limitation, by returning any Erroneously Awarded Compensation (as defined in the Policy) to the Company Group to the extent required by, and in a manner permitted by, the Policy.
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