Employment Agreements

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

NOTE 15: EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS

Paul E. Rothamel, our former President and Chief Executive Officer, had an employment agreement that provided for certain benefits (principally, a payment equal to one year of then-current base salary plus, in some cases, the prorated annual incentive bonus at target amount) if Mr. Rothamel’s employment was terminated under certain circumstances. This employment agreement was terminated on July 18, 2014, and in November 2015 we paid Mr. Rothamel approximately $2.6 million (representing one year of base salary and the prorated annual incentive bonus at target amount for fiscal 2014). This amount was previously charged to expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.

In June 2014, the Board of Directors approved two plans that provide severance benefits to certain senior executives (including the executive officers).

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As approved, the EZCORP, Inc. Change in Control Severance Plan provides certain of our senior executives with certain severance benefits if (1) the executive’s employment is either terminated by the Company for any reason other than Cause (as defined in the plan) and (2) such termination of employment occurs within two years after a “Change in Control” of the Company or prior to, but in connection with, a potential Change in Control. The term “Change in Control” is defined in the plan and includes not only a change in beneficial ownership of our voting stock, but also certain changes in the composition of the Board of Directors. To date, a Change in Control (as defined in the plan) has not occurred, and there are no current participants in the plan.

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As approved, the EZCORP, Inc. Executive Severance Pay Plan provided participants with certain severance benefits in non-change in control circumstances, generally if the participant’s employment was either terminated by the Company for any reason other than Cause (as defined in the plan), death, disability or mandatory retirement or terminated by the participant for Good Reason (as defined in the plan). The original participants in the plan included certain of our senior executives. The plan was intended to replace various severance arrangements that were otherwise reflected in offer letters and other documents. On August 25, 2014, the Board of Directors terminated the Executive Severance Pay Plan and reinstated the various severance arrangements that existed prior to the adoption of the plan.

We provide the following severance benefits to our executive officers:

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Each of our executive officers will receive salary continuation for one year if his or her employment is terminated without cause. In addition, the severance arrangement for Jodie E. B. Maccarrone, an executive officer, includes (a) an amount equal to prorated annual incentive bonus at target, (b) continuation of healthcare benefits for one year and(c) accelerated vesting of outstanding restricted stock, restricted stock units and SERP contributions awarded prior to July 29, 2015; provided, however, that such enhanced benefits are payable only if Ms. Maccarrone’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause prior to August 1, 2017.


•	Generally, restricted stock awards, including those granted to the executive officers, provide for accelerated vesting of some or all of the unvested shares in the event of the holder’s death or disability.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for compensation costs, including compensated absences accruals, compensated absences liability, deferred compensation arrangements and income statement compensation items. Deferred compensation arrangements may include a description of an arrangement with an individual employee, which is generally an employment contract between the entity and a selected officer or key employee containing a promise by the employer to pay certain amounts at designated future dates, usually including a period after retirement, upon compliance with stipulated requirements. This type of arrangement is distinguished from broader based employee benefit plans as it is usually tailored to the employee. Disclosure also typically includes the amount of related compensation expense recognized during the reporting period, the number of shares (units) issued during the period under such arrangements, and the carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of the related liability.

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