employment by the grantor
(B) Ordinary income realized by a taxpayer upon the transfer of property pursuant to the exercise, or sale or other disposition, of an option which is not a statutory option (as defined in 1.4217(b)) and which was granted on or before December 15, 1971, is not deferred compensation for purposes of subparagraph (1) of this paragraph and, therefore, constitutes earned income. Ordinary income realized by a taxpayer upon the transfer of property pursuant to the exercise, or sale or other disposition, of an option which is not a statutory option (as defined in 1.421(b)) and which is granted after December 15, 1971 constitutes earned income rather than deferred compensation if such option cannot, by its terms, be exercised more than three months after termination (for any reason other than death) of the grantee's employment by the grantor of the option. If the terms of such an option granted after December 15, 1971 permit the exercise of the option more than three months after termination (for any reason other than death) of the grantee's employment by the grantor, ordinary income realized by a taxpayer upon the transfer of property pursuant to exercise, or sale or other disposition, of the option constitutes earned income rather than deferred compensation only if such income is realized in a taxable year no later than that following the taxable year in which the option was granted. In the case of the grantee's death within a period during which ordinary income realized upon the transfer of property pursuant to his exercise, or sale or other disposition, of an option described in this subdivision would have constituted earned income as provided in this subdivision had the grantee lived, ordinary income realized subsequently upon the transfer of property pursuant to exercise, or sale or other disposition, of an option described in this subdivision, by the grantee's legal represedntatives or beneficiary constitutes earned income only if such exercise or sale or other disposition, occurs on a date no later than the date twelve months following that of the grantee's death. For purposes of this subdivision, the term employment by the grantor includes employment by a related corporation as defined in 1.4217(i), and by a corporation which is considered a related corporation under 1.4217(h)(3). Therefore, the transfer of an employee from the grantor corporation to such a related corporation or from one related corporation to another related corporation or to the grantor corporation will not be treated as a termination of employment by the grantor.