malus

noun3

1. •
   The loss or return of performance-related compensation originally paid by an employer to an employee as a result of the discovery of a defect in the performance.

   • When bank fired the loan originator, they recovered the last two years of her bonuses under the malus clause in her contract.
2. •
   (rare) A penalty or negative thing.
3. •
   A plant of the genus Malus (the apples).

   • Malus ‘Dartmouth’ is a variety of M. pumila, the wild crab-apple, and is only one of the several maluses which offer a wider choice than the commonly planted ‘John Downie,’ lemoinei and eleyi. — 1959