Former Halo Music Composer Sues Bungie

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I think we all saw this coming when O’Donnell was suddenly fired back in April.

Former Halo music composer Marty O’Donnell has filed a lawsuit against game maker Bungie and its chief executive, Harold Ryan, for failing to pay him for unpaid vacation time, paid time off, and other benefits. The suit was filed May 1. In an answer on May 27, Bungie and Ryan denied that O’Donnell was due any relief.
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If he was fired, then guess what? Yeah, vacation time, paid time off, benefits? Those belong to the company. You quit or get laid off, they pay you (depending on the company -- typically vacation time is paid, but sick time isn't)
 
I am still confused as to why you would fire the only person who produces consistent, good work for your IP.
 
somecallmeTim said:
If he was fired, then guess what? Yeah, vacation time, paid time off, benefits? Those belong to the company. You quit or get laid off, they pay you (depending on the company -- typically vacation time is paid, but sick time isn't)
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I am not lawyer, but I am pretty sure workers in the US are entitled to vacation time if fired.
 
It depends on the reason for the dismissal. Some cases you are entitled to your accrued benefits, others you aren't. So with out knowing the reason for the firing it is hard to tell. (I didn't read the article because well its just a waste of time)
 
Well obviously him and his lawyer think the have a valid case. I don't think both of them would spent the time or money pursuing this.

O'Donnel and his lawyer know what happened we don't.
 
Az Syndicate said:
I am not lawyer, but I am pretty sure workers in the US are entitled to vacation time if fired.
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Same as it is in Britain as well, any unused time gets paid up, had an ex boss try and weasel out of that, until I brought up that it is the law even the article number...t'was funny watching him go a little pale and reluctantly pay up.
 
Depends on the state laws on weather an employer is required to pay out pto. Also depends on if fired with or without cause. I'm not saying this is what happened, but if they violated their employment terms with the company and were fired with cause, the employer doesn't need to pay a dime other than hours worked at the time. Fired without cause/layoffs, typically the company will pay out your pto and other benefits (and any severance) because they don't want to deal with a lawsuit.

My hunch says that they were probably fired with cause, but we'll probably never find out.
 
From my limited understanding, if its not in writing you are going to have a devil of a time proving they said anything to the extent that he would get paid out.

The whole situation smells fishy to me. How he left and what was said. Could just be politics or could be a skeleton in a closet. seems both parties don't want the world to know.

if it has any merit at all, bungie will settle.
 
For such a great composer, why would he care? I mean I can see just about any game or movie studio wanting his services.
 
Az Syndicate said:
I am not lawyer, but I am pretty sure workers in the US are entitled to vacation time if fired.
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Yes.
You are unless the company switches ownership then it is considered a new entity.
Then sorry, you're screwed.


But Halo, the music made the game for me. It was a solid FPS with great co-op play and epic music, dear god I loved running my original Xbox through my 5.1 surround system and cranking it up on high while playing Halo.
 
Pay the man, he earned it IMO. His work is part of what made the Halo series great instead of good!
 
I've been a huge bungie fan since the early, early days (marathon). After them not releasing Destiny on pc, then firing Marty, they are officially dead to me :(
 
SGA76 said:
Yes.
You are unless the company switches ownership then it is considered a new entity.
Then sorry, you're screwed.
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An employer is only obligated to pay employee wages if they are terminated. Leave and vacation time are not considered wages (at least by the US federal laws), so they are not required to be paid out to terminated employees. If it's a layoff, typically accrued PTO and other leave is paid out along with a severance package. If it's being fired for cause, or if the employee chooses to leave, their PTO is not required to be paid out. Many employers choose to pay out PTO, but are not required by law to do so.
 
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