If my boss set up a bonus payout when we started work, how can we make sure that he pays it?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If my boss set up a bonus payout when we started work, how can we make sure that he pays it?
Over the years he’s paid out some of it but not all. It has gotten into the thousands now and he hasn’t paid anything for a while. He keeps putting us off saying that he will catch it up later. This concerns me, if he will ever pay. Is there some action we can take to assure that we will get paid.
Asked on November 19, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
The issue is whether there was a written bonus agreement or employment contract setting out criteria to earn the bonus--which criteria you met--or whether it was discretionary, in the sense that your boss simply, on his own, decided to pay you a bonus, withou you having to accomplish certain goals or targets.
If there a written agreement setting out what you had to do to earn the bonus, and you did those things, then you should be entitled to it contractually; if your boss doesn't pay the bonus, you could sue him for breach of contract to get the money.
But if it was a discretionary bonus, it's at his complete and total discretion: he can pay it if and when he wants to, or not.
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.