Bonus was withheld

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Illinois

I work in the IT department of a large company in Chicago, Illinois. This past year we went through an extremely long and arduous migration of our entire firm to a new IT environment. After the project was completed, I was written-up (placed on corrective action) for a minor mistake. After this write-up, it was decided everyone involved in the migration would get a "migration bonus". This is NOT our annual bonus. I found out that I would not get this bonus, due to the write-up. The reason I question if this is legal is the following:

1) The writeup was AFTER the project and did not pertain to the project in any way.

2) Everyone involved that wasnt written up got a bonus. This includes people that hired on as we were completing the porject.

3) We have no policy regarding write-ups causing people not to get bonuses.

Is there ANYTHING I can do legally? I am kinda tired of getting the runaround on this from my company.

Thank you,

TheChanger

I don't see anything illegal here against which you would have any legal recourse. Short of a contract (not just an agreement or policy), the employer is within its rights to set the criteria for any bonus compensation. There is nothing in the law that requires all similarly situated employees to be treated the same nor is a written policy regarding such a bonus required.

You may or may not think this is fair, but I see nothing illegal here.

1) The writeup was AFTER the project and did not pertain to the project in any way. That's your employer's call.

2) Everyone involved that wasnt written up got a bonus. This includes people that hired on as we were completing the porject. That still doesn't obligate them to include you.

3) We have no policy regarding write-ups causing people not to get bonuses. And it also appears that the company has no policy at all concerning this "migration bonus" they decided to grant. That means they can make up any "rules" they want to concerning who receives it. (And even if they had a written policy, they could still deviate from it if they chose to.)

Is there ANYTHING I can do legally? No. The company had no obligation to give anyone a bonus and may exclude you if they wish to.

I am also in Chicago and I echo what the others said. The employer can decide - or not decide - to pay anybody any bonus anytime they choose.

In Illinois, a bonus is NOT considered wages and therefore no employee is ever entitled to receive one.

As this thread is almost 9 years old, I am sure the OP has moved on. Please don't necropost.

Reviving a nine year old thread is not wise. Start a thread and post your questions.