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STOCK BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

STOCK BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

12. STOCK BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

Phantom Stock Plan

Plan Description. On April 1, 2006, the Company adopted the Omega Flex, Inc. 2006 Phantom Stock Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan authorizes the grant of up to one million units of phantom stock to employees, officers, or directors of the Company. The phantom stock units (“Units”) each represent a contractual right to payment of compensation in the future based on the market value of the Company’s common stock. The Units are not shares of the Company’s common stock, and a recipient of the Units does not receive any of the following:

	■	ownership interest in the Company
	■	shareholder voting rights
	■	other incidents of ownership to the Company’s common stock

The Units are granted to participants upon the recommendation of the Company’s President, and the approval of the Compensation Committee. Each of the Units that are granted to a participant will be initially valued by the Compensation Committee at an amount equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date but are recorded at fair value using the Black-Sholes method as described below. The Units follow a vesting schedule, with a maximum vesting of three years after the grant date. Grants made on or after January 1, 2023, will fully vest three years from the grant date. Upon vesting, the Units represent a contractual right of payment for the value of the Unit and therefore are stated as liabilities in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation. The Units will be paid on their maturity date, one year after all the Units granted in a particular award have fully vested, unless a specified event occurs under the terms of the Plan, which would allow for earlier payment. The value of each Unit at the maturity date will equal the closing price of the Company’s common stock as of the maturity date (Full Value).

In 2009, the Board of Directors authorized an amendment to the Plan to pay an amount equal to the value of any cash or stock dividend declared by the Company on its common stock to be accrued to the Units outstanding as of the record date of the common stock dividend. The dividend equivalent will be paid at the same time the underlying Units are paid to the participant.

In addition, the Plan has been amended and restated, for all grants made starting January 1, 2023, to set the vesting method to three-year cliff vesting following the grant date, with full value paid upon maturity. Additionally, for grants made starting January 1, 2023, upon retirement at age 67 or greater, and with one year of continuous service prior to retirement, vesting of the issued grant(s) would accelerate on a pro-rata basis, 1/3 per year from the grant date.

In certain circumstances, the Units may be immediately vested upon the participant’s death or disability. All Units granted to a participant are forfeited if the participant is terminated from their relationship with the Company or its subsidiary for “cause,” which is defined under the Plan. If a participant’s employment or relationship with the Company is terminated for reasons other than for “cause,” then any vested Units will be paid to the participant upon termination. However, Units granted to certain “specified employees” as defined in Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code will be paid approximately 181 days after termination.

Grants of Units. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had 8,358 nonvested and unmatured Units outstanding, all of which were granted at Full Value. On February 22, 2022, the Company granted an additional 2,471 Full Value Units with a fair value of $148.03 per Unit on grant date, using historical volatility. In February 2022, the Company paid $838,000 for 5,450 fully vested and matured Units that were granted during 2018, including their respective earned dividend values. In March 2022, the Company paid $295,000 for 1,870 fully vested Units that were granted during 2018, 2019 and 2020, including their respective earned dividend values. On August 19, 2022, the Company granted an additional 1,022 Full Value Units with a fair value of $113.63 per Unit on grant date, using historical volatility. In August 2022, the Company paid $107,000 for the 950 fully vested and matured Units that were granted during August 2018, including their respective earned dividend values. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had 6,653 nonvested and unmatured Units outstanding.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model as its method for determining fair value of the Units. The Company uses the straight-line method of attributing the value of the stock based compensation expense relating to the Units. The compensation expense (including adjustment of the liability to its fair value) from the Units is recognized over the vesting and maturity periods of each grant.

The FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, requires forfeitures either to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates to derive an estimate of awards ultimately to vest or to recognize the effect of any forfeited awards for which the requisite vesting period is not completed in the period that the award is forfeited.

The Company recognizes the reversal of any previously recognized compensation expense on forfeited awards in the period that the award is forfeited. For the year ended December 31, 2022, no awards were forfeited. However, for the year ended December 31, 2021, a reversal of $56,000 of previously recognized compensation expense was recognized on 1,212 nonvested forfeited Units.

The total liability related to the Units as of December 31, 2022 was $1,343,000 of which $665,000 is included in Other Liabilities, as it is expected to be paid within the next twelve months, and the balance of $678,000 is included in Other Long Term Liabilities. The total liability related to the Units as of December 31, 2021 was $2,427,000 of which $1,156,000 was included in Other Liabilities, and the balance of $1,271,000 was included in Other Long Term Liabilities.

Related to the Plan, in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, the Company recorded compensation expense of approximately $156,000, $506,000, and $1,453,000 related to the Plan for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Compensation expense (or income) for a given period largely depends upon fluctuations in the Company’s stock price.

The following table summarizes information about the Company’s nonvested and unmatured Units as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022:

		Units				Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Number of Units:
Nonvested and Unmatured as of December 31, 2021			8,358			$	100.93
Granted			3,493			$	137.97
Vested			(5,198	)		$	89.78
Forfeited			-				-
Canceled			-				-
Nonvested and Unmatured as of December 31, 2022			6,653			$	129.09
Units Expected to Vest and Mature			6,653			$	129.09

The total unrecognized compensation costs calculated on December 31, 2022 are $387,000 which will be recognized through August of 2025. The Company will recognize the related expense over the weighted average period of 1.2 years.