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Hello. My employer and I signed a contract in march 2010 without an expiration date. During my time with the practice the practice has grown from physical therapy being offered 4 days a week to physical therapy 6 days a week. It has also grown from one practice location to two practice locations offering physical therapy. When I was hired the was the other location in Jersey city was a question mark. Since Jan of this year it was a reality and was performing well. Currently I received a 5% bonus every 3 months from the one location, Contractually i am supposed to receive a 5% bonus from both locations. There is no transparency currently so I don't know what the totals are that we collect from PT. When I was hired I was told the annual but currently that information is not shared. Last week I asked my employer if I was receiving the bonuses from both locations. He informed me that I was not. Do I have any legal grounds for action. below are excerpts from the contract:The Employer hereby employs, engages, and hires the Employee on a full-time basis, and the Employee hereby accepts this employment subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The Employee agrees and understands that he is an employee “at will,” and nothing herein shall be interpreted to mean that the Employee is anything other than an employee at will. The Employee’s employment may be terminated by either Party at any time pursuant to Section 12 hereof2. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall begin on March 23, 2010 and continue until terminated by either Party in accordance with the provisions of Section 12 of this Agreement or by law. The period during which the Employee is employed pursuant to this Agreement shall be referred to as the “Employment Period.”3. COMPENSATION. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Employee shall be compensated for his services as follows:(a) Base Salary. The Employer shall pay the Employee an annual base salary of $ (the “Salary”), payable in equal bimonthly installments of $ at the end of each such period during the Employment Period. (b) non-Salary Benefits. The Employee shall be entitled to the following additional benefits: 5% of gross Physical therapy collection annually associated with Hoboken and Jersey City Locations.(c) Vacation /Personal days. During the Employment Period, the Employee shall be entitled to 15 days of paid vacation each year.(d) Other Benefits. The Employee shall be entitled to such other benefits as may be customarily granted by the Employer to employees of similar rank and position including but not limited to expenses incurred in connection with promoting the practice.(e) Withholding. All sums payable to the Employee under this Agreement shall be reduced by all federal, state, local, and other withholdings and similar taxes and payments required by applicable law.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: New Jersey Already Tried: Spoke with employer to which he responded that the contract states "with the possibility of other locations"
Seems pretty straightforward to me. You are entitled to 5% from both locations, and if you're not receiving it, then that's a material breach of the employment agreement and you are entitled to damages for the breach in the amount of the unpaid amounts.The downside of this situation is that if you sue, your employer can terminate the agreement (assuming that Section 12 permits "at will" employment, and there is no fixed future termination date stated in the contract), which means that you will be able to get your bonus money, but you will have lost your job and any right to ongoing payment. Hope this helps. NOTICE: My goal here is to entertain while educating the public about the law. I hope my answer is useful and informative to you. During our conversation, the website may ask you to rate my answer. If you rate my answer lower than the middle rating, then the website retains your entire payment, and I receive nothing. It is entirely your choice as to how you rate my answer. However, because your payment to me is in the nature of a donation/gift, rather than as compensation for any services rendered, you are entitled to know how your rating affects the final distribution of your donation. If you need to contact me again, please put my user id at the beginning of your question ("To Socrateaser"), and the system will send me an alert. Please Click the following link for IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION. Thanks and best wishes!
so lets say that my employer does not want to honor the contract and decides that they would prefer to terminate me. Does that mean that I am still entitled to the bonus for time that I worked up until the time of my termination?
Absolutely yes.
Experience: Retired (mostly)