Unpaid bonus matter

[falconsage]

TEXAS

Facts:
I quit this employer in April 2018.
The bonus verbiage in the employment agreement is pretty high level and says that I "may be" eligible for up to 20% bonus annually in addition to my base salary.
I also have an email stating that I earned X $ of bonus for the year 2017 and that it would be paid in 3 equal parts in Feb 2018, Dec 2018 and Jan 2019.
I received the Feb 2018 payment in time, however, I am no longer employed with this employer to receive the other 2 payments in Dec 2018 and Jan 2019
I requested for the payment and the employer said its "accrued benefits" and pulled some verbiage from employee handbook which says if I quit without 2 weeks notice then the accrued benefits are forfeited

Questions:
Since the employer has mentioned that I earned the X $ bonus in 2017, does that count as a non-discretionary bonus?
Does bonus earned in 2017 comes under "accrued benefits" as employer stated - it doesn't say explicitly in any of the documents I signed: does the employer has to specifically state this somewhere in the agreement?
I have filed a wage claim with TWC. What are my chances of collecting this amount
Do you recommend filing a lawsuit? do lawyers work on % commission for such cases, and what % would that be? The bonus is in 5 figures.

 

[HRZ]

Perhaps...I note that as posted your bonus was fixed as of 2017 and the handbook language as to "accrued " benefits is ambiguous at best and my read is that TX intreprents ambiguities against the authoring side...My rusty HR ball says your bonus was fixed as of end of 2017 . And apparently no clear language that you must be aboard to collect blah blah . Let your cards roll with TWC .

NOte , in general quitting does not accelerate bonus payment date and in your example Dec 2018 is not here yet and employer has not missed a payment , yet , ...so TWC might punt for now , facts are not yet " ripe

 

[falconsage]

Thanks, @HRZ, this is really helpful! The "ripe" part is something I never considered

 

[cbg]

Every once in a while HRZ gets it right. You got the February portion and the other two portions aren't due yet. You're WAY ahead of yourself even with a TWC claim, let alone a lawsuit.

I would not want to even guess at whether you are still owed the other two portions without seeing the exact wording of all the documentation related to it. My experience in Texas with this kind of bonus does not support your position.

 

[falconsage]

@cbg I can PM you the documents if you are ready to review them for me? let me know

 

[cbg]

I am not a licensed attorney or in Texas and cannot give you legal advice even if I read them. The best I could offer you would be a relatively informed opinion.

I am quite certain that unless the agreement expressly says otherwise, the employer is not required to provide you with any portion of the bonus before it is due, thus meaning you are way ahead of the game in filing any kind of complaint for the as yet unpaid sections. But you'll need an attorney in Texas to tell you whether or not those segments are due at all now that you no longer work there.

What I can tell you is that at a former employer we had a similar bonus program in ten states, including Texas. In nine of them, including Texas, the bonus was not due to employees who were no longer employed at the time of disbursement. The exact wording of the agreement is what will determine whether it it due to former employees as well as current, but unless it states in so many words that it is due immediately on your termination of employment (be that termination voluntary or involuntary) your employer is on very firm legal ground not paying it out until December and January.

 

[falconsage]

Thanks @cbg

All: Any other Texas case experiences similar to this are welcome.