info@carolinalaw.com
info@carolinalaw.com
Commission-based professions, such as real estate, finance, pharmaceutical, and others, depend on individual employee performance for most of their income. While employees in these jobs typically receive a traditional salary in regular installments, this amount may only be a small part of what they actually earn. Therefore, employers must pay out these commissions fully and promptly. If you are trying to recover unpaid commissions and your employer refuses to pay you what you are owed, hiring an unpaid commissions attorney can significantly increase your chances of recovering your funds and damages for legal violations.
The North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA) regulates employment matters in the state, such as minimum wage, overtime, commissions, and more. Crucially, the NCWHA classifies commissions as “wages”. This stipulation means commissions are treated like traditional salary payments under the law. Every employer must pay all employee wages and tips on a regular payday (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly). Wages such as bonuses and commissions can be paid more infrequently; however, the employer and employee must agree in advance.
If an employer promises the payment of commissions, it must comply with its policies until the commission policy is:
This change applies to commissions in the future, but does not apply retroactively. For example, assume your employer had a policy in January to pay 10% commissions on sales, and you earned $6,000.00 in commissions during that month. If, in February, your employer changes the policy to pay 5% commissions on sales, you are still entitled to the full $6,000.00 in January’s commissions. In the future, however, you are only entitled to the 5% commissions provided you received notice of such a change in writing.
Earned commissions must be paid to the employee upon termination or resignation unless there is a “written forfeiture clause.” Even if an employee is terminated “for cause,” earned commissions must be paid to the employee with their final paycheck unless there is a written forfeiture clause that clarifies how such commissions are to be forfeited.
Because commissions are considered “wages” under the NCWHA, you may be awarded liquidated damages – twice the amount of unpaid commissions. In the example above, if your employee only paid $3,000.00 in January, a judge can award you up to $6,000.00 in commissions (double the $3,000 owed). A judge can also award you attorneys’ fees at our standard hourly rate. This benefits employees greatly and allows us to take unpaid commission cases on a contingency basis. This means you will not owe anything until your claim is resolved.
Sales commissions are essential to the annual compensation of many North Carolina employees, including those in real estate, finance, sales, private equities, pharmaceutical, and other sales-related industries. Recovering unpaid commissions is among the most contentious areas of wage and hour litigation. If your employer is not honoring wages earned, contact the dedicated unpaid commission attorneys at Maginnis Howard.
We offer free consultations and serve clients across the Carolinas from our Raleigh, Charlotte, and Fayetteville offices.