GoDaddy employees told they were getting a holiday bonus in a phishing test

Re:GoDaddy employees told they were getting a holiday bonus ... by otterley on Thursday December 24, 2020 @02:33PM (#25530637)

IAAL (this is not legal advice). An offered but undelivered gift conveys no legal obligation on the would-be donor. In order for it to become an enforceable contract, some sort of additional consideration would need to be required from the employee over and above their existing work (e.g. overtime, extending a contract, etc.), and a promise to do that would need to be accepted from the company.

This is covered in first-year contract law.

That said, an employee might be able to recover from injuries on the basis of promissory estoppel if they relied on the promise of a bonus to their detriment.

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Re:GoDaddy employees told they were getting a holiday bonus ... by gamblor956 on Thursday December 24, 2020 @03:36PM (#25531168)

Employee bonuses are not gifts. They are compensation.

Moreover, as labor-related/compensation, they are generally subject to administrative regulations that trump general rules of contract law.

They cover that your second or third year of law school, if you take employment law or administrative law.

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Re:GoDaddy employees told they were getting a holiday bonus ... by jldugger on Thursday December 24, 2020 @04:09PM (#25531448)

Remember kids, stay in school!

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Re:GoDaddy employees told they were getting a holiday bonus ... by quiescant_dodo on Thursday December 24, 2020 @03:32PM (#25531145)

If: 1. The company sent bonus emails in 2019 via email 2. The offending email was from '[email protected]' (instead of 'goCLaddy.com')

would it change the legal perspective? I could totally see myself seeing such an email and making decisions based on the premise that I had additional income coming. I think I've read advice in the past that if a "reasonable person" would believe it, then it counts as an informal contract or something.

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Re:GoDaddy employees told they were getting a holiday bonus ... by otterley on Thursday December 24, 2020 @03:36PM (#25531175)

Yeah, promissory estoppel is a thing. It's not technically a contract, but it's equitable relief that might be available if there's reliance and no other remedy.

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Re:GoDaddy employees told they were getting a holiday bonus ... by runarberg on Friday December 25, 2020 @02:32AM (#25534923)

I wonder if any jurisdiction has laws against entrapment against their workers. If not there ought to be a law that forbids employees from setting their workers up for failure.

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