In January 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted the listing standards regarding compensation committee member independence that were proposed by the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Listed companies will have until the earlier of their first annual meeting after January 15, 2014 and October 31, 2014 to comply with the new standards.

Although the various independence criteria that apply to public company directors do enable them to better fulfill their fiduciary duties to company stakeholders, the standards can be burdensome to navigate. Click on the link below to view tables outlining director independence standards set by each exchange. The tables also set out additional SEC and Internal Revenue Code independence standards for members of certain board committees, including the new independence criteria applicable to compensation committee members.

Please click here to view the tables.

 

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Additional Articles from the Winter 2013 Public Company Forum:

Main

Doug’s Note: Crisis Management

Potential Pitfalls of Employer-Owned Life Insurance

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Remix

Your Questions, Our Answers: SEC Comment Letters