holding that an annual bonus, calculated on the basis of yearly performance, should be pro-rated over the entire year in which it was earned
How later courts described this case
- holding that an annual bonus, calculated on the basis of yearly performance, should be pro-rated over the entire year in which it was earned
- holding that an annual bonus based on yearly performance is included in wage
- including bonuses as wages for purposes of computing workers' compensation benefits
- applying same rule to annual bonus
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
PAPADAKOS, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached by the majority only because Appellee’s brief admits (at page 5 thereof) that the bonus earned by the claimant in this case was, in fact, a distribution from an established profit sharing plan (although it was not, for tax reasons, so characterized) and hence earned over the course of the full previous year. We should not, however, adopt a per se rule treating all bonuses that way under the Worker’s Compensation Act. It is entirely possible that a “bonus” may be paid in some circumstances that is a one-time payment that should not be prorated over a full year’s period. A per se rule is, on that basis, inherently unfair and may unlawfully punish workers in many cases.
CAPPY, J., joins this concurring opinion.