News & Analysis as of

Employer Liability Issues Sales Commissions

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Employees Not Automatically Entitled to Attorneys' Fees Under North Carolina Wage and Hour Act

When litigating claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), litigants are aware of long-standing case law that essentially awards a prevailing plaintiff with their attorneys’ fees absent extraordinary...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Asking Again-Do You Really Want to Keep Paying Commissions to the Salesperson You Fired? (Update)

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We previously wrote about the procuring-cause doctrine here. As a refresher, the procuring-cause doctrine provides that a salesperson or other agent who contracts for a commission becomes entitled to payment of the commission...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rejects Compensation Plan Allocating Commissions to Overtime and Premium Pay

On March 28, 2024, in Sutton v. Jordan’s Furniture, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upheld a Massachusetts Superior Court decision finding the furniture retailer’s commission-based compensation scheme...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

First Circuit Finds Commission Plan’s Windfall Provision Permissible Under Massachusetts Wage Act

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In Klauber v. VMWare, the First Circuit upheld an employer’s use of a provision in its compensation plan that allowed it to modify commissions on certain large or atypical sales. These “windfall” clauses are common in sales...more

Epstein Becker & Green

First Circuit Upholds Employer’s Discretion to Reduce Commission Payments Under the Massachusetts Wage Act

Epstein Becker & Green on

Psychologist Abraham Maslow once observed, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.” That sums up the state of commission litigation under the Massachusetts Wage Act:...more

Genova Burns LLC

Appellate Division Concludes that ABC Test Does Not Apply in Determining Real Estate Agent Employment Status

Genova Burns LLC on

In a recent decision in Kennedy v. Weichert Co., the New Jersey Appellate Division concluded that the “ABC Test” under the Unemployment Compensation Law is inapplicable in determining a real estate salesperson status an...more

Butler Snow LLP

Texas Supreme Court to Texas Employers: Employee Sales Commission Agreement Terms Better be Clear or Commissions Could be Owed...

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The Texas Supreme Court recently established a “default rule” which, as the dissent puts it, may “threaten the expectations of Texas at-will employers and employees who have agreed to a commission structure but, for whatever...more

McAfee & Taft

'I got fired …. but I still want my commissions'

McAfee & Taft on

Although it involves Texas law, a recent case illustrates the pitfalls that an employer can face when a former employee makes a claim for commissions or compensation after their employment has ended. It also offers...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

The Ugly Side of Salon & Spa Compensation Revisited

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Several years ago, the payment structure for numerous salon and spa employees was turned on its head, as these salons and spas faced liability for paying employees a commission when they were not involved in sales. ...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

Financial Daily Dose 3.17.2021 | Top Story: Uber to Reclassify Its 70k British Drivers as “Workers”

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Uber will officially classify its British drivers, all 70,000 of them, as “workers” following a “major legal defeat” for the ride-hailing company in the British Supreme Court last month. The move entitles the drivers to “a...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

California Court of Appeal Analyzes ‘Salary’ Test Under Administrative Exemption

Under California law, an employee is exempt from California’s overtime requirements and other wage and hour laws if the person is employed in an administrative capacity. To meet this exemption, California’s wage orders and...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada: Court Considers Employee’s Entitlement to Commissions “Booked and Billed” after Termination but During...

Littler on

A recent Ontario Superior Court decision, Kerner v. Information Builders (Canada) Inc., 2020 ONSC 2975, clarified whether an employee was entitled to commissions that were “booked and billed” after his job termination, but...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

Trebling of Commission Under Wage Act Required Even Though Commission Was Not ‘Due and Payable’ When Employee Was Wrongfully...

In Parker v. EnerNOC, Parker alleged that she was terminated less than one month after closing the most lucrative client contract in EnerNOC’s history in part because she complained about the amount of her commission for the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Trebles Jury Award of Future Commissions

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Seyfarth Synopsis: In a February 12, 2020 decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that future commissions a plaintiff would have earned but for her retaliatory termination were subject to trebling under the...more

Jaburg Wilk

What Happens if Bonuses or Commissions are Not Paid in Arizona?

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Arizona law with respect to payment of bonuses and/or commissions is not always clear. There are many issues for both the employer and employee to consider. Below is a summary of some of things both parties should consider in...more

Foley Hoag LLP

Unpaid Future Commissions Can Be Trebled under Massachusetts Wage Act, SJC Rules

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In Massachusetts, a commission is a wage subject to the Wage Act when the amount of the commission “has been definitely determined and has become due and payable.” Accordingly, an employer’s failure to pay a commission which...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Treble Ahead? SJC Opinion Offers Damages Caution for Massachusetts Employers With Commissioned Employees

On February 12, 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an opinion with significant implications for Massachusetts employers with commissioned employees. In Parker v. EnerNOC, Inc. (SJC-12703), the SJC...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

DOL Adopts New Salary Threshold for White Collar Overtime Exemption

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has revised its Overtime Rule that updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) minimum...more

Hutchison PLLC

Changes to Overtime Exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act

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In 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor introduced a proposed rule which would, in part, double the salary threshold required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to maintain exempt status under the “white-collar”...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

DOL Finalizes New Overtime Rule For White-Collar Exemptions: 1.3 Million Additional Workers Will Be Eligible For Overtime Pay...

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On September 24, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule revising the overtime exemptions that cover employees designated as executive, administrative and professional – the so-called...more

Hogan Lovells

DOL Finalizes New Rule That Will Potentially Make Millions of Employees Eligible For Overtime Pay In January 2020

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On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule that, effective January 1, 2020, will increase the salary threshold, by approximately 50%, that so-called “white collar” employees must be paid...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

It’s Here: The DOL’s Final Overtime Rule has Been Released

After years of uncertainty, on September 24, 2019, the Department of Labor released a Final Rule making changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) overtime regulations. BACKGROUND - Since 2004, there had been no...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

The New Federal Overtime Rule: What You Need to Know

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule amending the overtime regulations today, without any significant changes from the proposed rule the agency issued in March 2019.  Here’s the bottom line....more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Peace for Piece-Rate Employers in Washington

On September 5, 2019, the Washington Supreme Court issued a huge win for all non-agricultural employers who pay commission or piece-rate pay to their employees in Washington state. In a 6-3 decision, the Washington Supreme...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Supreme Court of Ohio Rules That Defendants Need Not Plead An Arbitration Defense To Defeat Class Certification

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Complex class actions often present a scenario in which some or most of the putative class members are subject to arbitration agreements, but the named plaintiff is not. In Gembarski v. PartsSource, Inc.,...more

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