Equity component of offer not being honored. What to do?

Monkeys,

i'm roughly 4 months into a new gig in a corp dev leadership position at a public MLP. for privacy's sake, i won't be relaying any of the details on the title or shop.

this isn't an issue yet, but my new company is taking their time with my equity grant. apparently, i'm the first of few to get this type of arrangement here so it needed to be setup logistically, legally and approved by the board.

i know it takes time for that and i've spoken to the vp of hr who continues to promise it will be taken care of and is doing just that.

that said, i'm curious to options if down the line in the next few weeks or months it's not.

my offer letter states specifically what the terms are:

"Annually, you will be eligible to receive long-term equity incentive awards, currently targeted at XX% of Base Salary, subject to the Compensation Committee's approval".

this language is obviously vague and lacks the specificity i wanted. there were relationships and communications outside of the offer letter that led me believe the grants wouldn't be an issue. i still don't think it will be and that i just need more patience. but with that, comes obvious concern.

how would you all suggest i proceed? i started in early 2016 and have not received grant 1. grant 2 would come next jan and so on and so forth.

Thanks,
Fellow Monkey

 

Thanks. It's a little more tricky than that I think, but point taken. Assume a timeline isn't provided, what's the last straw before moving to the next steps? What are those next steps in your eyes?

 
Best Response

Did they tell you the terms associated with the equity? If I was you, I wouldn't make a huge fuss until the plan is approved lest they sneak in a one year cliff-vest or weird vesting schedule. You can politely let HR know that this was financial compensation you were counting on when you made your decision. A little guilt may help them to see it as "needed compensation" vs "whining" if they think you are worried about paying your bills in the future.

As to your legal rights to the money, you could probably find an attorney who would sue them but I'm not sure that you'd win since you're lacking the approval which is needed for that award to be granted. You'd be in a different boat if they had the approval and were just dragging on the admin stuff.

 

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