Administration November 22, 2006

Corporate Carnage Continues in Stock Options Scandal with Monster Firing

November 22, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The corporate carnage over issues relating to the stock options backdating scandal continued Wednesday with the announcement from online employment firm Monster Worldwide that it was firing its general counsel.
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In a brief statement, the company said it was terminating Myron Olesnyckyj as its senior vice president, general counsel and secretary “for cause.” Olesnyckyj was suspended September 19, 2006.

“The Board’s action was taken with the concurrence of the Special Committee of independent directors reviewing the company’s historical stock option grant practices,” the Monster statement said.

In July, Monster announced the company may need to restate its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005 and prior years to record additional non-cash charges for stock based compensation expense relating to various stock option grants (See Monster, Apollo Group Join Companies Investigating Stock Options ).

A recent study by Glass Lewis & Co. found the options backdating scandal has resulted in the resignation or dismissal of at least 45 executives and directors at 25 companies (See Scorecard: 153 Firms Snared in Options Scandal ). Among those affected both before and after the study were:

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