UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
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| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On January 4, 2024, in connection with certain cost management efforts, Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into letter agreements with the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, James A. Hayward, Ph.D., Sc.D. (the “Hayward Letter Agreement”), and the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, Judith Murrah (the “Murrah Letter Agreement”). The Hayward Letter Agreement amends Dr. Hayward’s employment agreement with the Company and provides for a temporary 45% reduction to Dr. Hayward’s annual base salary, from $450,000 to $250,000, for a period of three months, effective as of January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024. Dr. Hayward also agreed to waive any right to resign for “good reason” under his employment agreement with the Company as a result of the foregoing salary reduction. The Murrah Letter Agreement provides for a temporary 25% reduction to Ms. Murrah’s annual base salary, from $325,000 to $243,750, for a period of three months, effective as of January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024.
The foregoing description of the Hayward Letter Agreement and the Murrah Letter Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Hayward Letter Agreement and the Murrah Letter Agreement, which are attached as Exhibit 10.1 and Exhiit 10.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits
| 10.1 | Letter Agreement, dated January 4, 2024, by and between Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. and James A. Hayward. |
| 10.2 | Letter Agreement, dated January 4, 2024, by and between Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. and Judith Murrah. |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted in Inline XBRL). |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Date: January 5, 2024 | APPLIED DNA SCIENCES, INC. | |
| By: | /s/ James A. Hayward | |
| Name: | James A. Hayward | |