Document:

Exhibit
10.B(iii)

 

MUTUAL RELEASE BY ALLAN L. SCHUMAN 

AND ECOLAB INC.

 

Definitions.  The parties intend all words used in this Release to have their
plain meanings in ordinary English. 
Specific terms that are used in this Release have the following meanings:

 

A.                                   Schuman includes
both Allan L. Schuman and anyone who has or obtains any legal rights or claims
through him.

 

B.                                     Ecolab
means Ecolab Inc., any company related to Ecolab Inc., in the present or past
(including without limitation, its predecessors, parents, subsidiaries,
affiliates, and divisions), and any successors of Ecolab Inc.

 

C.                                     Company
means Ecolab; the present and past officers, directors, committees,
shareholders, and employees of Ecolab; any company providing insurance
to Ecolab in the present or past; the present and past fiduciaries of any
employee benefit plan sponsored or maintained by Ecolab (other than
multiemployer plans); the attorneys for Ecolab; and anyone who acted on behalf
of Ecolab or on instructions from Ecolab.

 

D.                                    Agreement
means the Transition Agreement between Ecolab and Schuman that the parties are
executing on the same date on which they execute this Release, including all of
the documents attached to the Agreement.

 

E.                                      Schuman’s
Claims means all of the rights that Schuman now has to any relief of any
kind or nature from the Company, whether or not Schuman knows about such
rights, including without limitation:

 

1.                                       all
claims arising out of or relating to Schuman’s employment with Ecolab or the
termination of that employment;

 

2.                                       all
claims arising out of or relating to the statements, actions, or omissions of
the Company;

 

3.                                       all
claims for any alleged unlawful discrimination, harassment, retaliation or
reprisal, or other alleged unlawful practices arising under any federal, state,
or local statute, ordinance, or regulation, including without limitation,
claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with
Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and workers’ compensation
non-interference or non-retaliation statutes (such as Minn. Stat.
§ 176.82);

 

1

 

4.                                       all
claims for alleged wrongful discharge; breach of contract; breach of implied
contract; failure to keep any promise; breach of a covenant of good faith and
fair dealing; breach of fiduciary duty; estoppel; activities, if any, as a
“whistleblower”; defamation; infliction of emotional distress; fraud;
misrepresentation; negligence; harassment; retaliation or reprisal;
constructive discharge; assault; battery; false imprisonment; invasion of
privacy; interference with contractual or business relationships; any other
wrongful employment practices; and violation of any other principle of common
law;

 

5.                                       all
claims for compensation of any kind, including without limitation, bonuses,
commissions, stock-based compensation or stock options, vacation pay, and
expense reimbursements;

 

6.                                       all
claims for back pay, front pay, reinstatement, other equitable relief,
compensatory damages, damages for alleged personal injury, liquidated damages,
and punitive damages; and

 

7.                                       all
claims for attorneys’ fees, costs, and interest.

 

However, Schuman’s
Claims does not include any claims that the law does not allow to be
waived; any claims that may arise after the date on which Schuman signs this
Release, including claims for indemnification arising out of or from this
Agreement; any claims Schuman may have under any federal or state
discrimination laws that require for effective waiver of such claims that
Schuman be given a period of time to rescind or revoke such waiver; any claims
for earned but unpaid salary or benefits for the pay period in which this
Release is signed; any claims for accrued benefits under any employee benefit
plan of the Company in which Schuman is a participant as of the date on which
Schuman signs this Release; any claims for indemnification from the Company
under the Company’s certificate of incorporation or by-laws or for benefits
under any applicable policy of directors’ or officers’ liability insurance; any
claim for benefits under any written stock option agreement between Schuman and
the Company; or any claim for breach of the Agreement.

 

F.                                Ecolab’s
Claims means all of Ecolab’s rights that it now has to any relief of any
kind or nature from Schuman, whether or not Ecolab now knows about those
rights, including without limitation:

 

1.                                       all
claims arising out of or that relate to Schuman’s employment with Ecolab or the
termination of that employment;

 

2.                                       all
claims arising out of or that relate to the statements, actions, or omissions
made by Schuman;

 

2

 

3.                                       all
claims for breach of contract; breach of implied contract; breach of a covenant
of good faith and fair dealing; breach of fiduciary duty; estoppel; or breach
of any other contract or agreement of any kind between Schuman and Ecolab;

 

4.                                       all
claims Ecolab could have made in response to any claims that Schuman could have
asserted against Ecolab; and

 

5.                                       all
claims for damages of any kind, attorneys’ fees, costs, disbursements, and
interest.

 

However, Ecolab’s
Claims does not include any claims that the law does not allow to be
waived; any claims that may arise after the date on which Ecolab signs this
Release; any claims against Schuman based on intentional misconduct or gross
negligence, fraud, misappropriation or gross neglect; or any claims under the
Agreement or the Employment Agreement between Schuman and Ecolab dated
December 19, 1994.

 

Agreement to Release Schuman’s Claims.   Schuman will receive consideration from
Ecolab as set forth in the Agreement if he signs this Release as provided
below.  Schuman hereby understands and
acknowledges that that consideration is in addition to anything of value that
he would be entitled to receive from Ecolab if he did not sign this
Release.  In exchange for that
consideration Schuman gives up and releases all of Schuman’s Claims.  Schuman will not make any demands or claims
against the Company for compensation or damages relating to Schuman’s
Claims.  Schuman acknowledges that the
consideration that he is receiving is a fair compromise for the release of
Schuman’s Claims.

 

Agreement to Release Ecolab’s Claims.  In consideration of the release of Schuman’s
Claims and the other consideration provided by Schuman in the Agreement, Ecolab
gives up and releases all of Ecolab’s Claims. 
Ecolab will not make any demands of claims against Schuman for
compensation or damages relating to Ecolab’s Claims.  The consideration that Ecolab is receiving is a fair compromise
for the release of Ecolab’s Claims.

 

Additional Agreements and Understandings.  Even though Ecolab and Schuman are providing
consideration to settle and release Schuman’s Claims and Ecolab’s Claims,
neither Schuman nor the Company admit that he or it is responsible or legally
obligated to the other party.  In fact,
each party denies that he or it is responsible or legally obligated to the
other for Ecolab’s Claims or Schuman’s Claims, denies that he or it engaged in
any unlawful or improper conduct toward the other, and denies that he or it
treated the other party unfairly.

 

Confidentiality.  Ecolab and Schuman each understands that the
terms of this Release are confidential and that they may not disclose those
terms to any person except under the circumstances described in the Agreement.

 

3

 

Advice to Consult with an Attorney.  Schuman understands and acknowledges that he
is hereby being advised by the Company to consult with an attorney prior to
signing this Release and he has done so. 
Schuman understands and acknowledges that his decision whether to sign
this Release is his own voluntary decision made with full knowledge that the
Company has advised him to consult with an attorney.

 

Interpretation of the Release.  This Release should be interpreted as
broadly as possible to achieve the parties intentions to resolve all of Schuman’s
Claims against the Company and all of Ecolab’s Claims against Schuman.  If this Release is held by a court to be
inadequate to release a particular claim encompassed within Schuman’s Claims or
Ecolab’s Claims, this Release will remain in full force and effect with respect
to all the rest of Schuman’s Claims and Ecolab’s Claims.

 

Schuman’s Representations.  Schuman acknowledges that he is legally able
and entitled to receive the consideration being provided  to him in settlement of Schuman’s Claims.  Schuman further acknowledges that he has not
been involved in any personal bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings at any
time since he began his employment with Ecolab. Schuman affirms that no child
support orders, garnishment orders, or other orders requiring that money owed
to Schuman by Ecolab be paid to any other person are now in effect.  Schuman acknowledges that he has not relied
upon any statements or explanations made by the Company, except as specifically
set forth in the Agreement, in signing this Release.

 

Ecolab’s Representations.  The undersigned director of the Company
has the legal capacity to execute and deliver this Release on behalf of the
Company.  The Company acknowledges that
it has not relied upon any statements or representations made by Schuman or his
attorneys, except as specifically set forth in the Agreement, in signing this
Release.

 

The parties acknowledge
that they have read this Release carefully, understand all of its terms, and
are voluntarily releasing their respective claims.  The parties intend this Release and the Agreement to be legally
binding.

 

	
  ECOLAB INC.

  	
  ALLAN L. SCHUMAN

  	 

	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  By:

  	
  /s/
  Les S. Biller

  	
   

  	
  /s/
  Allan L. Schuman

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Les S. Biller

  	
   

  	
  Signature

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Its:

  	
  Chairman of the
  Compensation

  	
  Dated:

  	
  02/28/04

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Committee of the Board
  of

  Directors

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Dated:

  	
  02/28/04

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
							

 

4Exhibit
10.B(iv)

 

	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
  CORP.

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  EMPLOYMENT
  AGREEMENT

  (MANAGEMENT)

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SCHUMAN

  	
   

  	
  ALLAN

  	
   

  	
  L.

  
	
  Employee’s Last Name

  	
   

  	
  First Name

  	
   

  	
  Middle Initial

  
						

 

Ecolab Inc.’s (“Ecolab”)
business is highly competitive and Ecolab has invested considerable sums of
money in developing products, equipment, training programs, sales programs,
technical service programs and account records for the proper servicing of its
customers.  You are employed by Ecolab
in a management position where you have an opportunity to help shape, supervise
and carry out strategic business plans and opportunities for Ecolab.  You  acknowledge that this Agreement is a
condition of eligibility for the Management Incentive Bonus Program or
equivalent plan; you will not receive a bonus under such program without
signing this Agreement.  While employed
with Ecolab, you have and will continue to receive valuable training and have
been and will be entrusted with sensitive, confidential information about
Ecolab.  In return, you agree not to use
this training and information to unfairly compete against Ecolab.  You also agree that the restraints imposed
by this Agreement are reasonable and necessary to protect Ecolab’s business and
the jobs of other Ecolab employees.

 

Therefore, in
consideration of the covenants and agreements contained herein, you and Ecolab
agree as follows:

 

1.                                       Ecolab
will employ you in a management position for such period of time and for such
compensation, including salary and employee benefits, as may be mutually
agreeable to both parties.  Both Ecolab
and you shall have the right to terminate the employment at any time, and your
employment shall be, at all times, terminable at will.

 

2.                                       Ecolab
will train you in your particular management position and will provide you with
special techniques and information, including Confidential Information, which
Ecolab believes will be helpful and necessary to the performance of your
duties.  For the purposes of this
Agreement, “Confidential Information” means information and trade secrets not
generally known about Ecolab’s business such as, but not limited to,
unpublished financial data, marketing, financial or other plans, customer or
vendor lists, sales reports, price lists, blueprints, formulae, manufacturing
processes, inventions and other proprietary data.

 

3.                                       You
will not at any time, both during and after employment by Ecolab, communicate
or disclose to any person, firm or corporation, or use for your benefit or for
the benefit of any other person, firm or corporation, directly or indirectly,
any of Ecolab’s Confidential Information acquired by you while employed by
Ecolab.

 

1

 

4.                                       You
will not accept any other full or part-time employment to be performed in whole
or in part while still employed by Ecolab without first notifying Ecolab of the
nature and location of such other employment and the name of such other
employer.  You will not accept any such
employment if it in any way interferes with the performance of your duties to
Ecolab or represents an unreasonable risk of compromising Confidential
Information.

 

5.                                       During
your employment with Ecolab, you agree not to plan, organize or engage in any
business competitive with any product or service marketed or planned for
marketing by Ecolab or participate with or assist others to do so.

 

6.                                       Subject
to the provisions of Paragraph 7, you are free at any time to leave the
employment of Ecolab upon proper notice and, subject to the limitations set
forth herein, accept any job that utilizes your general education and skills
except one that would create an unreasonable risk of compromising Ecolab’s
Confidential Information.

 

7.                                       For
a period of one (1) year after termination of your employment with Ecolab:

 

(a)                                  If
your new employer could be construed as a Conflicting Organization, you will
inform your new employer, prior to accepting employment, of the existence of
this Agreement and provide such employer with a copy.

 

(b)                                 You
will not render services, directly or indirectly, to any Conflicting
Organization, except that you may accept employment with a Conflicting
Organization whose business is diversified and which, as to that part of its
business in which you will be employed, is not a Conflicting Organization,
provided that Ecolab, prior to your beginning such employment, receives
separate written assurances satisfactory to Ecolab from such Conflicting
Organization and from you stating that you will not render services, directly
or indirectly in connection with any Conflicting Product or Service for the one
(1) year noncompete period.

 

(c)                                  You
will not hire or induce, attempt to induce or in any way assist or act in
concert with any other person or organization in hiring, inducing or attempting
to induce any employee or agent of Ecolab to terminate such employee’s or
agent’s relationship with Ecolab.

 

(d)                                 You
will not service, sell, solicit the sale of, or accept orders for any
Conflicting Product or Service to any customer of Ecolab (i) with whom you, or
employees who you supervised did business or attempted to business or (ii) for
which you provided Ecolab with counsel or advice or, management assistance or
(iii) whose account was supervised by you or (iv) which formed the basis in
whole or part of the compensation you earned, at anytime during the twelve (12)
month period immediately preceding the termination of your employment.

 

8.                                       For
the purposes of this Agreement, a “Conflicting Product or Service” means any
product or process of, or service by, any person or organization other than
Ecolab, in existence or under development, which is the same as or similar to
or improves upon or competes with a product or process of, or service rendered
by, Ecolab (a) which you either worked on, performed services related to or
sold during your last twelve (12) months of employment by Ecolab; or (b) about
which you acquired Confidential Information as a result of your

 

2

 

employment by
Ecolab.  A “Conflicting Organization”
means any person or organization (including one owned in whole or in part by
you) which is engaged in or is about to become engaged in the research on, or
the development, production, marketing or sale of, or consulting pertaining to,
a Conflicting Product or Service.

 

9.                                       You
will fully and promptly communicate to Ecolab in writing all inventions,
improvements, devices, processes, treatments, formula, and compounds, whether
patentable or not (hereinafter “Inventions”) which are first conceived or first
reduced to practice by you, whether individually or jointly with others, during
your employment and which pertain to Ecolab’s business.  Inventions shall be deemed to pertain to
Ecolab’s business if they relate to any business in which Ecolab is actively
engaged, to any business in which Ecolab is conducting research or considering
conducting research and development, or to any business which is directly
related to any work actually assigned to you by Ecolab.  All such Inventions shall be the sole and
exclusive property of Ecolab and you hereby assign all right, title and
interest in and to such Inventions to Ecolab. 
Any Inventions, which relate to the business of Ecolab, first disclosed
by you to anyone within one (1) year after termination of your employment with
Ecolab shall be deemed to have been first conceived by you during your
employment with Ecolab.  The provisions
of this paragraph shall not apply to an Invention for which no equipment,
supplies, facilities or trade secret information of Ecolab was used and which
was developed entirely on your own time and (1) which does not relate to
Ecolab’s business or development, or (2) which does not result from any work
performed by you for Ecolab.

 

10.                                 You
will keep and maintain adequate and current written records of all Inventions
at all stages of development, in the form of notes, sketches, drawings and
reports relating thereto.  All such
records shall be and remain the property of Ecolab at all times.  Upon termination of employment, you agree to
return all such records to Ecolab and shall not keep copies of such records.  You will also, during and after your
employment by Ecolab, at the request of Ecolab, assist Ecolab in every way
proper to obtain and to vest in it title to patents on such Inventions in all
countries by executing and delivering all documents necessary or desirable to
accomplish such end.  If Ecolab becomes
involved in any litigation, arbitration proceeding or any administrative
proceeding that requires your assistance, you will cooperate with Ecolab both
during and after your employment and will render such assistance and advice to
Ecolab as Ecolab may deem necessary or desirable.  Ecolab will reimburse you for all expenses reasonably incurred by
you in performing the acts for Ecolab described in this paragraph and if you
are no longer employed by Ecolab at the time, Ecolab shall compensate you at an
hourly rate commensurate with your then current rate of salary.

 

11.                                 Upon
termination of your employment, you will immediately return in good order all
Ecolab property including but not limited to all Confidential Information in
tangible form.  You shall also
immediately return all credit cards, keys, automobiles and any other Ecolab
property in your possession.

 

12.                                 All
of the provisions of the Agreement which are to be effective following
termination of your employment, shall be effective whether or not such
termination was voluntary or involuntary. 
You warrant that prior to entering into this Agreement you have
disclosed to Ecolab any agreements with any previous employers which would
prevent you from performing any duties for Ecolab.

 

3

 

13.                                 This
Agreement shall not become effective or be binding upon you and Ecolab until
accepted on behalf of Ecolab by the signature hereon of a corporate, group or
division officer of Ecolab in St. Paul, Minnesota.  This Agreement supersedes any previous agreements between you and
Ecolab, written or oral, relating to this subject matter and may be amended or
modified only by a writing signed by you and a corporate, group or division
officer of Ecolab.  Notwithstanding the
previous sentence, should a court of competent jurisdiction invalidate or find
unenforceable the noncompetition provision(s) of this Agreement, the next most
recent agreement between you and Ecolab containing noncompetition provision(s),
if any, shall remain in full force and effect.

 

14.                                 This
Agreement shall be considered as made in the State of Minnesota, and shall be
governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota.  All references to Ecolab shall be construed to include
subsidiaries and affiliates of Ecolab. 
If any of the provisions of this Agreement are held to be invalid or
unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not
invalidate any of the other provisions of this Agreement.  The provision held to be invalid or
unenforceable shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make
that provision consistent with applicable law, and in its modified form, that
provision shall then be enforceable.

 

15.                                 If
a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the non-competition
restrictions of this Agreement are too broad as to ither time or other terms,
then such restrictions shall be enforced to the full extent permitted by law as
determined by said court.  In any
successful proceeding brought to enforce Ecolab’s rights under this Agreement,
Ecolab shall recover court costs and reimbursement of Ecolab’s attorney’s fee
and disbursements.  These damages are in
addition to any other relief, including injunctive relief, to which Ecolab may
be entitled.

 

 

	
  ECOLAB INC.

  	
   

  	
  I HAVE CAREFULLY READ,

  UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO

  ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS

  AGREEMENT.

  
	
  By:

  	
   

  	
  /s/
  Diana Doshan Lewis

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Title:

  	
   

  	
  V.P.
  – Human Resources

  	
   

  	
  /s/
  Allan L. Schuman

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
  (Employee’s Signature)

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Date:

  	
  December 19,
  1994

  	
   

  	
  Date:

  	
  December 19,
  1994

  	
   

  
										

 

4

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