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Generally, yes, assuming this termination is made for good-faith reasons, such as business downsizing or poor work performance. Most employees are "at will," which means you are hired and fired at the company's discretion without a contract. An employer is free to terminate "at will" employees at any time. An article in The Wall Street Journal reports on another approach: instead of firing someone before vesting, the company can restructure the stock grant in a way that returns some unvested stock or options to the company for reuse in grants to others.
Some state courts have implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing by employers when a bad-faith termination results in employees losing benefits almost earned by past services. Your stock plan and grant agreements, or perhaps any severance arrangement, may also cover this situation. Also failing in the courts are arguments that unvested options are protected by state laws that require all wages to be paid for work before employment termination. (See a decision made in 2010 by the Maryland Court of Appeals.) |
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