Level 3 ex-COO to earn more after departure

Level 3 Communications may pay its former chief operating officer more in the year following his resignation than it did when he was employed with the company, regulatory filings show.

Kevin O’Hara became an ex-employee of Level 3 on March 10. Today, in accordance with his separation agreement, the company will pay him his 2008 base salary of $585,000. And for up to a year thereafter, it will also pay him another $100,000 per month for consultation services as well as reimburse him for costs incurred in that role.

In 2007, O’Hara received a base salary of $566,154 and, like all of the company’s other top executives, no annual bonus. Stock and option awards, along with other compensation, gave O’Hara a total compensation of nearly $3 million in 2007, down 43% from the year before.

O’Hara still holds nearly $1.3 million in restricted stock whose restrictions will expire next month. So-called “outperform” stock options awarded to him before March 2007 will be fully vested until their expiration date, but any options awarded after that date are forfeited, Level 3 said.