Executive Compensation

An executive compensation lawyer untangles the plans, side letters, and grant documents that govern your pay and holds the company to them. Labor Law PC represents executives, senior managers, and highly compensated professionals across Los Angeles, from our Santa Monica headquarters, in disputes over bonuses, commissions, equity, and deferred compensation, during employment and at its end. We represent employees only, never companies.

This page is about compensation disputes: money and equity you earned that the company will not pay. If you are reviewing an exit package, start with our executive severance page instead; the two often overlap, and we handle both.

Common Executive Compensation Disputes

• Unpaid or "discretionary" bonuses. If a bonus is promised under a plan or agreement and you satisfied the conditions, California law generally treats it as an earned wage, not a gift the company can withhold because leadership changed or budgets tightened.
• Bonus clawbacks and forfeitures. Labor Code section 221 generally prohibits an employer from taking back wages already paid, and provisions that strip compensation you already earned deserve hard scrutiny.
• Commission plan disputes. Labor Code section 2751 requires commission agreements to be in writing, signed, with the method of calculation spelled out. Disputes over when a commission is "earned," post-termination commissions on deals you closed, and mid-year plan changes are among the most common cases we see.
• Equity, RSU, and option vesting disputes. Terminations timed just before a vesting date, disputed "cause" determinations that trigger forfeiture, repurchase rights exercised at unfair values, and exercise windows that quietly expire.
• Forfeiture-on-termination clauses. Plans sometimes say you forfeit earned bonuses or commissions unless you are still employed on the payment date. Depending on how and when the compensation was earned, such conditions can conflict with California wage law, and the label the plan uses does not decide the question.
• Deferred compensation. Missed payouts, disputed account balances, and separation terms that conflict with the plan's strict timing rules.
• Employment contract breach. Guaranteed salary or bonus terms, "good reason" protections, and promised titles, budgets, or equity grants that never materialized.
• Golden handcuffs. Retention packages that condition earned pay on staying, or on signing restrictive covenants, may overreach under California law.

California Law Treats Earned Executive Pay as Wages

Executives sometimes assume the Labor Code is for hourly workers. It is not. California defines wages broadly, and courts have applied wage protections to bonuses, commissions, and other incentive pay earned under a plan or agreement, whatever your title or salary.

Earned means owed

Under the Labor Code, wages you have earned must be paid, and when employment ends they come due fast: generally the same day if you are terminated, and within 72 hours if you resign without notice, under Labor Code sections 201 through 203. Willfully late final wages can accrue waiting time penalties of up to 30 days of pay. Our final paycheck violations page covers those rules in depth. The recurring fight in executive cases is what counts as "earned": we build that case from the plan language, your performance data, and how the company actually administered the plan.

Commissions: the written plan is the battlefield

Labor Code section 2751 requires employers to provide a signed, written commission agreement stating how commissions are computed and paid. When the writing is missing, ambiguous, or contradicted by practice, ambiguities are generally construed against the employer that drafted them. Plans that let the company retroactively change rates on closed deals, or forfeit commissions on revenue you already produced, invite challenge.

Deductions and clawbacks

Labor Code section 221 generally makes it unlawful for an employer to collect back wages already paid, and related sections restrict deductions from pay. A "clawback" or offset that reaches compensation you earned under California law may be unenforceable regardless of what the plan says. Public-company clawbacks required by federal securities rules operate differently, which is one more reason these disputes need counsel rather than assumptions.

Forfeitures, golden handcuffs, and non-competes as leverage

California's hostility to forfeiting earned compensation pairs with Business and Professions Code section 16600, which voids nearly all post-employment non-competes. Some companies condition equity, bonuses, or deferred comp on covenants not to compete or on forfeiture if you join a competitor. In California, terms that function as restraints on your right to work are vulnerable, and that vulnerability is negotiating leverage: a company enforcing a questionable forfeiture while relying on a void covenant has real exposure. How these doctrines apply to any specific plan is fact-intensive, so have yours reviewed before you act.

Deadlines

Limitations periods differ by theory: statutory wage claims, written contract claims, and unfair competition claims each run on their own multi-year clocks, and some are shorter. Deadlines vary by claim and by when the compensation came due, so talk to a lawyer promptly, especially if you are still negotiating with the company while time runs.

How We Handle Executive Compensation Claims

1. Confidential consultation. We review your employment agreement, bonus and commission plans, grant notices and equity plan documents, and the correspondence around the dispute. Free and privileged.
2. Valuation. We quantify what was earned and unpaid: cash, equity value, deferred amounts, penalties, and interest, so you negotiate from a number, not a grievance.
3. Demand and negotiation. Many disputes resolve quietly once the company sees the plan language and wage-law exposure laid out by counsel. Discretion is standard in these matters.
4. Litigation or arbitration when needed. Executive agreements often contain arbitration clauses. We evaluate the forum, assert every available claim, and try the case if the company will not pay what it owes.

If your dispute surfaces during exit negotiations, we coordinate it with severance negotiation strategy so unpaid compensation is priced into the package rather than released for nothing.

What You May Recover

Depending on the facts and legal theory, executives in compensation disputes may recover unpaid bonuses and commissions, the value of wrongfully forfeited equity or deferred compensation, contract damages, waiting time penalties, interest, and in some cases attorney's fees under wage statutes. No outcome can be promised; what we offer is a candid, numbers-first assessment before you decide anything.

Fees That Fit the Matter

Most compensation disputes fit our contingency model: no upfront fees and no attorney's fees unless we recover for you. Some engagements, such as plan reviews during ongoing employment, may fit other structures agreed in advance. Every matter starts with a free, confidential consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

• My bonus plan says bonuses are discretionary. Do I have any claim?

  Possibly. Courts look past labels to how the bonus was promised, calculated, and administered. A "discretionary" bonus tied to objective targets, promised in writing, or paid by consistent formula may be an earned wage. Bring the plan documents to a consultation before assuming the label controls.

• Can my employer refuse to pay commissions on deals that closed before I left?

  Generally, commissions you earned under the plan's own terms remain owed even after separation, and final-pay deadlines and waiting time penalties can apply. The fight is usually over when the commission was "earned," which is why the section 2751 written plan is the first document we read.

• I was fired weeks before my equity vested. Is that legal?

  It depends on the plan terms and the real reason for the timing. A termination engineered to defeat compensation you were on the verge of earning can support claims, including breach of the implied covenant of good faith, and disputed "cause" findings that trigger forfeiture can be challenged. These cases are document-driven, so move quickly while evidence is fresh.

• Is a forfeiture clause enforceable if I go work for a competitor?

  In California, provisions that punish you for lawful competition are on shaky ground under Business and Professions Code section 16600, and forfeiting earned wages raises separate Labor Code problems. Enforceability depends on the specific terms and facts, so have the clause reviewed before you resign or sign anything.

• Do I have to arbitrate my compensation dispute?

  Many executive agreements require arbitration, and enforceability varies with the clause and the claims. Arbitration changes strategy, not your substantive rights under the Labor Code. We assess the forum question at the outset.

• How long do I have to bring a claim?

  It varies by legal theory, from statutory wage claims to written contract claims, each with its own multi-year deadline, and some related claims are shorter. Waiting also lets evidence and leverage erode. Deadlines vary, so talk to a lawyer as soon as the dispute is real.

Related Practice Areas

• Severance Agreements: our full severance and executive practice for California employees.
• Executive Severance: exit package review and negotiation, where compensation disputes often surface.
• Severance Negotiation: turning claims and leverage into a better package.
• Final Paycheck Violations: the wage deadlines and penalties that apply when employment ends.

Serving Executives Across Los Angeles and California

Labor Law PC advises executives and senior professionals from our Santa Monica headquarters throughout Los Angeles County, including Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Long Beach, and Torrance, and statewide through our Palo Alto office serving the Bay Area.

Get Your Compensation Dispute Valued, for Free

The company has lawyers reading its plan documents. You should too. Call (877) 775-2267 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation with an executive compensation lawyer. No fees until we win.