Securities Industry Professionals Bonus Disputes

Most Securities industry professionals work on a base salary plus bonus basis (bonuses are often referred to as discretionary compensation or incentive compensation). Most often, bonus compensation constitutes the bulk of a securities professional’s earnings. Bonus compensation is generally paid out by Investment Banks and Broker-Dealers a month or two following the calendar year in which it was earned, and is often comprised of both cash and a stock component.

Bonus Dispute & Compensation Dispute

Legal Advice for Securities Industry Professionals

Employees who fail to receive bonus compensation as a result of a layoff or termination forfeit the benefit of many months of work. Contact the securities law firm of Singer Deutsch LLP for a consultation on possible strategies regarding incentive compensation, discretionary compensation or bonus dispute resolution for:

• Investment Bankers
• Stock & Option Traders
• Commodities & Futures Traders
• Derivatives & Currency Traders
• Research Analysts
• Financial Analysts

Securities Firms' Arbitrary Decision Not To Pay Bonuses

Bonus disputes in the securities industry often arise in the wake of terminations and layoffs. Investment Banks and Broker-Dealers often fail to pay out any bonus compensation at all, or offer dramatically reduced bonus compensation as part of a separation package.

The arbitrary failure by securities firms to pay bonus compensation to terminated employees (whether through layoff or ordinary termination) is oftentimes completely unrelated to performance and/or profitability, and unrelated to the profitability of a specific employee’s division or the firm as a whole. As bonus compensation is generally significantly higher than base salary, the financial ramifications for a terminated employee can be devastating.

Time and again, in the last several years alone, NYSE and NASD (now the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority “FINRA”) Arbitration Panels have awarded substantial monetary damages to former employees on unjust enrichment, unpaid compensation, unpaid bonus, and quantum meruit claims related to a failure to pay bonus compensation or other compensation related claims (including those related to unvested stock). Numerous other bonus disputes have settled through mediation or other means.

Singer Deutsch LLP's securities and employment law attorneys, located in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, can help resolve any bonus disputes that may arise, including those in which an employee has been involuntarily terminated or laid off (made redundant) prior to the issuance of yearly bonuses, and can examine whether discrimination played a part in the reduction of a bonus. The firm also handles other issues related to compensation, including unvested stock and stock option awards. In addition, they can assist employees in obtaining a U-5 record expungement.

Individuals nationwide involved in bonus disputes are invited to contact the securities lawyers of Singer Deutsch LLP for a consultation on possible strategies for pursuing recovery of withheld bonus compensation, unvested stock, or other compensation issues. In addition, Singer Deutsch LLP can provide consultations on potential monetary damages and expungement actions related to defamatory Form U-5 filings in connection with their termination.