Received bonus, now it's an error?!?

[mrobison14]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

Last week I received a bonus on my paycheck. I wasn't expecting it, so I asked my manager. He told me it was for our sales performance last year. I asked to confirm if it was correct since it was for $6,000. He said if it is on your check, then you got it. He proceeded to talk to me about keeping the performance up and saying that all that hard work is paying off now.

Later on the next day, I received a call from our district manager and he told me that he thinks the bonus was in error and I will probably have to pay it back. So now I am confused and not sure what rights I have to this bonus? It was called a "Guarantee Bonus" on the paystub. Not much of a guarantee if they yank it back right away.

Due to the confirmation from my manager, I had already spent some of that bonus money.

Any comments and advice would be appreciated.

 

[swalsh411]

That would depend on if the bonus is discretionary or tied to some sort of pay-for-performance system. If it's discretionary, and you were only supposed to get 600 but payroll keyed in an extra 0, then no you don't get to keep it. Do you have any sort of formal bonus plan with your employer? Are they saying you were supposed to get no bonus at all or a lower amount?

 

[mrobison14]

I'll have to check on the formal bonus details. As of right now, it sounds like they will be requesting the full amount returned. Odd that my manager was discussing as he did.

 

[HomeGuru]

If you were not expecting the bonus then chances are it needs to be returned. Unless you can prove that you earned it through some prior written contractual agreement with your employer.

 

[disneykid52]

There are only 2 things that are "Guaranteed" in life.