Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey

Hi,

I worked for an Indian IT MNC for about 7 years of which 3 years in India and close to 4 years in USA.

I'm currently in USA and I resigned from this company last month after discussing with my managers and client about my last working date and everyone agreed to relieve me before my contractual notice period.

I even got my relieving letter and settlement letter from HR which mentioned about my last working day and encashment of leave-balance. They said that they would mail me my detailed experience letter once all no-dues were cleared.

Among no-dues, only thing they said pending with me was ID card, which I promptly returned to them.

I waited for a month for them to send me my detailed experience letter and when I mailed them about the status, they said I had to pay them the bonus amount back I got last year, as per the policy.

Well, I had received a bonus letter by email last year, but I hadn't signed/accepted/acknowledged it. I just ignored that email as the bonus was very negligible. The bonus letter was as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations! I am pleased to inform that you have been identified as a key talent of the

Company, and in recognition of your performance you have been selected for the Performance

Reward Program. This program is in-line with Company's commitment to drive a performance oriented culture and reward the organization�s key talent.

Under this program you are eligible for a total bonus of USD1000 payable in two installments.

The payment will be made along with the same month's salary, provided you are

on rolls of the Company and are not serving notice period during that time.

For e.g. for October, 2009 installment, the payment will be done along with October, 2009 payroll provided you are on rolls till 31st October, 2009 and are not serving notice period during that time.

Other terms and conditions of Performance Reward Program:

�In case you quit the Company before 1st October 2010, the entire bonus amount paid to you will be liable to be paid back to the company at the time of leaving.

All applicable taxes on the payout will be borne by you.

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My concern is:

1. I hadn't signed this contract.

2. My last working day was mid-September 2010. Had they told/reminded me about this policy, I would have stayed for 2 more weeks.

3. They paid me the bonus in US after deducting applicable tax and I actually got around USD600. Now they want me to return the whole amount of USD1000 in Rupees (Rs50000).

Could you please tell me whether I'm legally bound to pay this amount as I haven't signed the contract? Does not replying to their bonus-email that mean that I automatically accept the contract?

Please let me know what I could do about this.

Thanks in advance,

John.


Asked on 10/20/10, 10:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Davies The Davies Law Firm, P.A.

I have been fighting the employers who do this to guys that they bring in from overseas, since oh maybe 1997. Yes, you want to fight them on this.

Give me a call, make an appointment to come see me, and let's get moving on this for you.

Robert Davies, Esq. 201-820-3460

My contact information can be obtained from the links below, just click on the Attorney Profile link. Let my secretary know you found me through LawGuru.

Please keep in mind that my response is just a general comment on your question, and not legal advice. Your question and any response does NOT create an attorney-client relationship between you and this law firm. The exact details of your situation and things that you have not mentioned in your question can completely change the answer to your question. You can not rely upon what I have written, because I do not have all of the formation that I need to advise you, I only have the very small amount of information that you put into your question. For me to give you any legal advice, I would need for you to hire me to be your lawyer, and then we would need to discuss this in detail and go over the documents.

To get legal advice that you can rely on and use, please contact me directly. I would be happy to assist you.

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Answered on 10/26/10, 7:06 am


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