Bonus Payout after being Fired

[njseven]

I worked at Company A from December of 2007 to February of 2009. I wasn't eligible for the 2007 bonus, but worked a solid year and did not miss a day. Now after being told all January we were getting paid our 2008 bonus's I got fired on a Tuesday, and the checks were being handed out on Friday. I gave my boss a week to mail it to me, and called him to see what was up. He said that since I wasn't with the company when they were handed out I wasn't entitled to one, even though we knew the amount and that we were getting them for over 2 months, and in every meeting they are a company performance bonus for 2008. Should I be entitled to this check? Thanks for your help.

Nick

 

[FlaRiptide]

Not unless you were a contracted employee stipulating that the bonus was part of your compensation. As a regular hourly and/or salaried employee there is no legal requirement for bonuses to be paid. Only minimum wage and overtime are regulated.

 

[cbg]

It is a fairly common practice, and legal in most if not all states, for an employee to have to be employed on the day that the bonus checks are handed out for them to be eligible.

Unless you have a valid and supportable reason to believe that you were fired at the time you were for the specific reason of preventing you from getting the bonus (in which case you need to talk to an attorney in your state) this falls under the possibly unfair but not illegal category.