Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Recourse to bonus earned
I was due a bonus from my employer on 3/29/02. I received approximately half of the amount due on 3/29. My employer conceded making a mistake in calculating the payout amount -and that they would re-calculate and pay the balance as soon as possible. My terms of agreement with my employer state that ''under no circumstances will the bonus be paid to any participant who, for any reason, are not employed on the day of payout of the bonus.'' The fact of the matter is that I was employed on the date of the payout, but due to my employer's error, I did not receive the full amount due. I have decided to resign and accept a position with another company, if I leave prior to the payout of the remaining bonus due, do I lose it?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Recourse to bonus earned
Your rights to the bonus will be determined by the governing documents for the bonus. Generally, if the payment was due on a particular date and through no fault of your own the employer fails to pay the full amount due, you will still be entitled to full payment, even if you leave afther the bonus due date.