AFSA Extra Credit Podcast: Auto Remote Sales Compliance
Representing Commission Salespeople
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
Now is the time to review overtime exemptions and pay plans for sales employees to be ready for 2024. The changing tech economy has created a class of sales employees who may not fit traditional overtime exemptions. Moreover,...more
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
Seyfarth Synopsis: Baylor Miraca Genetics Laboratories, LLC (“BMGL”) is in the genetic test business. BMGL sells its tests to its “channel partners,” who in return test specimens ordered by physicians. Brandon Perthuis became...more
Many companies do not formalize commission arrangements with sales representatives in a formal contract. They shake hands, they have a custom of paying a certain rate for several years, or they agree in a series of emails and...more
I have handled many commission cases, where someone sues, claiming they are owed commissions. The key issue in such cases is to determine if there is a written contract and then to ascertain what the vesting provisions for...more
On May 19, 2020, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) implemented a final rule withdrawing partial lists of establishments that it previously interpreted as either having “no retail concept” or...more
On May 18, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new final rule to govern the determination of whether an employer qualifies as a “retail or service” establishment for purposes of...more
Section 7(i) of the Fair Labor Standards Act provides an exemption from the usual overtime pay requirements for certain commissioned employees of retail or service establishments. For decades, the U.S. Department of Labor has...more
On October 29, 2019, the Utah Supreme Court issued a rare decision reversing the Utah Court of Appeals. At issue was whether an at-will salesperson who had completed six contracts for sale of television services, and who was...more
Massachusetts law permits employers to pay inside salespeople on a commission only basis, provided that the employer guarantees at least the minimum wage for all regular hours worked. However, according to a recent decision...more
In a blow to employers, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently clarified the overtime and Sunday premium pay rights of non-exempt inside sales employees paid solely by commissions or advances on commissions,...more
In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has found that, under Massachusetts law, retail and inside sales employees, paid entirely on a commission or draw basis, are entitled to separate and...more
On May 8, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a unanimous opinion holding that salespeople who are paid solely on draws and commissions are entitled to separate and additional overtime and Sunday pay...more
On May 8, 2019, Massachusetts’ highest court held that retail salespersons who are paid entirely on a commission or draw basis, may nevertheless be entitled to additional overtime or pay for work on Sundays. The Supreme...more
Adhering to the “plain and ordinary” language of the state’s overtime statute and related regulations, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that inside sales employees paid on a 100% commission basis are...more
Tip #2: Thorny Issues with Commissions Part 1: What Happens When a Salesperson Is Selling a Drug To Herself or Her Family Member? A key component of compensation for pharmaceutical salespeople is the sales commission, and...more
In the past, we have highlighted some of the legal risks of employing commission-based employees, as well as some of the methods for limiting those risks. A new court decision out of Illinois provides a good reminder that...more
Commissioned salespersons are employed in a variety of industries. While “outside salespeople” are generally exempt from minimum wage and meal and rest break requirements, so-called “inside” salespeople working at a retail...more
Under federal law, employers must pay employees time-and-a-half if they work over 40 hours in a workweek, unless the employees are exempt from the overtime law. Employers don’t usually think of an employee who takes home...more
Last month a California appellate court held that an employer violates California law by paying inside sales employees on a draw against commission. In Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, the court held that such a pay...more
On February 28, 2017, the California Court of Appeal issued a significant decision in Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC (No. B269657). The decision, which was certified for publication, is the first ruling by a California...more
A California appellate court ruled on February 28, 2017, that employees paid on a commission basis must be separately compensated for legally required rest periods (Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC). Although this decision...more
When we review employee sales commission plans or compensation agreements with sales representatives, the plans generally contain detailed language regarding how commissions are calculated and paid. For example, the plans may...more
Domestic and foreign manufacturers and suppliers that sell their products at wholesale in the United States may benefit from contracting with local independent sales representatives in the United States to help promote sales...more