Whatcan I do if Iwas just fired from my job with no warning and was not paid for my sick days or Christmas bonus?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Whatcan I do if Iwas just fired from my job with no warning and was not paid for my sick days or Christmas bonus?
Asked on December 22, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
1) If you did not have an employment contact, you were an employee at will. An employee at will may, unfortunately, be fired at any time, for any reason, without any notice or warning. (If you had an employment contract, you may enforce its terms.)
2) Most employers do not pay for unused sick days. Only if there was some agreement that your employer would pay out sick days on termination should you get something--that is, the law itself does not require this, so it's up to any agreement between employer and employee.
3) If you had a bonus letter or plan which stated that if fired before the end of the year, you would get your bonus (or at least some portion of that), that is enforceable. Otherwise, the typical "Christmas bonus" is completely discretionary, and employers do not need to provide it to any employee they don't want to bonus--including especially those fired before (even just before) Christmas.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.