HELP! Any employment attorneys out there?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The law in Virginia is that discretionary bonuses are money that an employer give to an employee on top of money earned by the employee.

If it is truly a bonus and not deferred compensation, he has no case. You only are entitle to money earned. He has a better argument if there is a structure in place that removes the discretion, ie, bill x dollars and earn y bonus.

I have won a number of cases like this for employers.

This is the part that doesn't make sense: if the law says bonuses are discretionary, and by the discretion of the firm, they put in writing that he is due X amount in 2014, why can't that be upheld in a court?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The law in Virginia is that discretionary bonuses are money that an employer give to an employee on top of money earned by the employee.

If it is truly a bonus and not deferred compensation, he has no case. You only are entitle to money earned. He has a better argument if there is a structure in place that removes the discretion, ie, bill x dollars and earn y bonus.

I have won a number of cases like this for employers.

This is the part that doesn't make sense: if the law says bonuses are discretionary, and by the discretion of the firm, they put in writing that he is due X amount in 2014, why can't that be upheld in a court?

If I say I will pay you x for a year's work and on top of that I intend to give you y as a Christmas bonus, without you doing anything else to earn it, my promise of that extra gift is a discretionary bonus. These can be close calls and the wording of the letter the OP"s husband received and any writen policy are important to resolving the issue. The way OP is explaining the letter, what the company is calling a bonus sounds more like deferred compensation that was earned by her husband and that the pay,met is not discretionary.

But if the company has cash flow problems, you have to keep in mind that you can't get blood from a Stome and negotiating an agreement where they give you some of the money without having to sue for it may be a better option in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The law in Virginia is that discretionary bonuses are money that an employer give to an employee on top of money earned by the employee.

If it is truly a bonus and not deferred compensation, he has no case. You only are entitle to money earned. He has a better argument if there is a structure in place that removes the discretion, ie, bill x dollars and earn y bonus.

I have won a number of cases like this for employers.

This is the part that doesn't make sense: if the law says bonuses are discretionary, and by the discretion of the firm, they put in writing that he is due X amount in 2014, why can't that be upheld in a court?

If I say I will pay you x for a year's work and on top of that I intend to give you y as a Christmas bonus, without you doing anything else to earn it, my promise of that extra gift is a discretionary bonus. These can be close calls and the wording of the letter the OP"s husband received and any writen policy are important to resolving the issue. The way OP is explaining the letter, what the company is calling a bonus sounds more like deferred compensation that was earned by her husband and that the pay,met is not discretionary.

OP here: thank you for this helpful advice. My other concern is that the firm is asking DH to sign a form saying he won't sue them for any reason, ever. Would you recommend DH sign or not sign that form? Also, what do you think are appropriate terms for a negotiation? Thank you!

But if the company has cash flow problems, you have to keep in mind that you can't get blood from a Stome and negotiating an agreement where they give you some of the money without having to sue for it may be a better option in the long run.

[Anonymous]

OP here: thank you to above PP. Would you recommend DH sign the form that says he will not sue the company for any reason ever? Also, what do you think appropriate terms of a negotiation might be? 50-50?? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Have him tell the employer that the bonus is "wages" that he has earned, and if they don't pay him, he will have no choice but to pursue legal action.

[Anonymous]

If your DH is resigning because he found a new job, why does he need to sign anything? It sounds suspicious to me that the firm is even making this request. Usually, companies only ask you to sign a waiver in return for a severance package, which is doesn't sound like DH is getting. Absolutely consult an attorney. Especially before signing anything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have him tell the employer that the bonus is "wages" that he has earned, and if they don't pay him, he will have no choice but to pursue legal action.

OP here: thank you. Is this from an employment attorney?? Just wondering if there is legal merit behind this or just someone's personal opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: thank you to above PP. Would you recommend DH sign the form that says he will not sue the company for any reason ever? Also, what do you think appropriate terms of a negotiation might be? 50-50?? Thank you.

No why would he sign this? Only if he is doing it to get the bonus or some other money.

[Anonymous]

OP here: the founder of the firm is now sending emails to DH saying "if you want this to end well" you will take what I offer. Another partner called him a "girl" for asking for the full amount (bc according to them he's whining and he's going to a new firm with a signing bonus so why should he care- is their attitude.) From what I've been able to uncover, under Virginia law bonuses are considered wages if they are promised to an employee and they were offered before the work was completed. This was the case for DH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: the founder of the firm is now sending emails to DH saying "if you want this to end well" you will take what I offer. Another partner called him a "girl" for asking for the full amount (bc according to them he's whining and he's going to a new firm with a signing bonus so why should he care- is their attitude.) From what I've been able to uncover, under Virginia law bonuses are considered wages if they are promised to an employee and they were offered before the work was completed. This was the case for DH.

Make sure husband is printing out all the emails or immediately forwarding them to a personal account.
Get off DCUM and get a real lawyer. Sounds like they are trying to intimidate them.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you call the Wage and Hour office and see what they say? There are laws in each jurisdiction regarding when and how pay must be made. While I believe that PP has successfully defended employers in bonus cases, her success was totally based on how the bonus was structured and her experience does not translate to every single bonus case. I don't know how much the bonus is, but I would think if it is more than a few hundred dollars, it is worth your effort to contact wage and hour and/or an attorney.

[Anonymous]

OP, based on your description, they sound like wages, but none of us can be sure without seeing the letter. Also, without reviewing any other employment agreement or company policies, no one can tell you how strong of a case your husband has. You have also not said how much money is as issue. These are all important pieces of information that need to be considered when deciding whether to fight or settle.

If you do decide to take a partial payment, make sure that the waiver he signs also includes an agreement that the company and the owners of the company waive their rights to file any kind of lawsuit against him.

Also, if he signed a non-competition agreement while at the company, you need to look at that. You will want the company to waive any right to enforce the agreement if he signed one.

Bottom line, if you think there is enough money on the table to fight about, contact an attorney who can look at all of the relevant documents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you call the Wage and Hour office and see what they say? There are laws in each jurisdiction regarding when and how pay must be made. While I believe that PP has successfully defended employers in bonus cases, her success was totally based on how the bonus was structured and her experience does not translate to every single bonus case. I don't know how much the bonus is, but I would think if it is more than a few hundred dollars, it is worth your effort to contact wage and hour and/or an attorney.

If the amount at issus is less than $15,000 and your husband was not an executive, they Virginai Wage and Hiur office should be able to help.

[Anonymous]

OP here: the amount in question is well north of 15K. Also they asked him to sign a non compete on his last day but he did not sign it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: the amount in question is well north of 15K. Also they asked him to sign a non compete on his last day but he did not sign it.

With that amount of money you should consult an attorney. And don't panic when they threaten to sue him for breach of his duty of loyalty, tortious interference with economic advantage or contract, or violations of trade secrets laws.