Does my previous employer have to pay me my bonus which i earned before termination
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Does my previous employer have to pay me my bonus which i earned before termination
Couldnt show me proof for the reasons of
terminating didnt pay me within 72 hrs
and i was do a bonus on my next payday
which was approximately week after
termination
Asked on December 24, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, West Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Did you have a written employment contract with objective and measurable goals to obtain the bonus (e.g. sales goals; revenue goals; etc.), which goals you provably met? If so, they have to pay you the bonus, since they were contractually obligated to do so. In this event, if they did not pay, you could sue for "breach of contract" for the money they owe you.
But without a written contract guarantying the bonus based on measurable, provable, and objective goals or targets, the bonsus would have been up to the discretion, or free choice of the employer; that in turn means they could choose to not pay it.
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