Employee Referal Bonus

I work for a Texas based IT company. They have an employee referal program that promises $300 for every referal hired that stays for at least 90 days. I refered someone who was hired and did not recieve my bonus after 3 months. I called the HR department to find out what was going on. They informed me that my referal form was invalid since I did not include my referal's social security number as stated on the form. They tell me that they will not be paying me the $300 because of this. I argued that they used the info on the referal form so it was obviously not invalid. What recourse do I have if they don't see things my way?

Thanks,

Betrayed

If that's the only thing that was missing from your referral form and you followed all other requirements of the referral program, my advice would be to bring this issue to a higher level.

I don't believe you really have any other recourse since this is probably a "discretionary" plan and it has nothing to do with wage and hour laws under state or federal laws.

As an HR manager myself, I can't imagine requiring a SSN in a referral program unless the company is so large. BEsides, not everyone is comfortable handing out their SSN to anyone. Sounds like a ridiculous policy. I would challenge whether or not the HR department really wants to solicit referrals from employees if they are going to be so ridiculous. Are you sure there isn't more to this?