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The following is not meant to be legal advice.

In Neisendorf v. Levi Strauss & Co., 143 Cal. App. 4th 509 (2006), an employer terminated an employee following Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)/California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave for failure to address performance issues raised in her mid-year performance review.  The employee was denied a bonus payment pursuant to the company bonus plan.  The plan specifically stated “If a Participant’s employment is terminated for unsatisfactory performance or for gross misconduct...prior to any Award Payment Date, the Participant will not be entitled to receive” the bonus.

The employee argued that she should receive her bonus because she worked for almost the entire fiscal year and because she was involuntarily terminated.  The court upheld the employer’s denial of the bonus as the plan clearly and unambiguously stated that employees terminated for cause before the payout date would not receive the bonus.

The court stated it was not addressing whether it would have ruled similarly if the employee had been terminated without cause, or if the termination was found to be unlawful.