Restricted Stock Unit Award
(Employee)

Summary

Use this template notice of grant and award agreement to grant restricted stock units (RSUs) to an employee (or non-director independent contractor) under an equity compensation plan. RSU awards typically provide the grantee with the right to receive, at a designated time, shares of company stock for each RSU or a cash payment based on the value of such shares (or a combination of stock and cash). Often, RSUs are subject to time-based or performance-based vesting conditions. This template contains drafting notes and optional and alternate clauses to assist in customizing the template for different award designs and circumstances. For a full listing of key content covering equity incentive plan considerations, see Equity Incentive Plan Resource Kit. For an RSU award agreement designed for non-employee directors, see Restricted Stock Unit Award (Non-employee Director). For information on designing RSU awards that are compliant with, or exempt from, the I.R.C. § 409A nonqualified deferred compensation rules, see Equity Award Drafting Checklist (Section 409A Compliance). For a summary of equity compensation tax treatment, see Equity Compensation Tax Treatment Chart. For guidance on drafting equity compensation plans, see Equity Compensation Plan Design for Public Companies and Equity Compensation Plan Design for Private Companies, along with the templates Equity Incentive Plan (Public Company), Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan (Public Company) and Equity Incentive Plan (Private Company).