my employer takes away bonuses if you call in sick but the law states that if i have and use sick leave they may not retaliate against me for calling out sick, what is right?
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my employer takes away bonuses if you call in sick but the law states that if i have and use sick leave they may not retaliate against me for calling out sick, what is right?
my employer takes away bonuses if you call in sick but the law states that if i
have and use sick leave they may not retaliate against me for calling out sick,
what is right?
Asked on June 10, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
It depends on what kind of a bonus it is. If it is based on a written agreement with specified targets to earn the bonus and you hit those targets, they cannot do this: you had a right to the bonus in this situation, and taking away something to which you have a right would be illegal retaliation.
If it is a discretionary bonus, or one where there is no guaranty of getting it and the employer is free to decide whether, when, and how much of a bonus to give, then you had no right to or guaranty of it. Not having a right to it, nothing was taken away if the employer decided, as is the employer's right in a discretionary bonus case, to not give it to you. It's like if a friend had offered to take you to dinner, but then got angry at you and decided not to--you have no right to force him to pay for your dinner. Similarly, you have no right to be paid a discretionary bonus, so the employer can decide to not pay it for any reason whatsoever and that is legal.
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