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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
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    3

    Default Refusing to Pay Commissions As Agreed in Email

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: UT - though the employer is based out of another state

    My friend is in sales and is employed (not contracted) by a company and is paid both a base rate and a commission.

    She was pulling double duty and covering sales for two territories while her employer was looking to hire a new individual. As a result of the extra work, her manager agreed, in an email with the compensation team CC'd, to pay 1:1 commissions for the extra territory without needing to carry that territory's quota. All of the potential sales in that area were spelled out.

    Now that the quarter is over and it's time to be paid, the manager is saying they can't pay what was agreed because it exceeds the company's compensation fund (or some such language). The manager is now saying that my friend needs to carry the quota for an entire region, and this significantly changes the payout.

    The amount that my friend loses is over 50K.

    Not sure where to start to rectify this. Already put in a call to the local DOL (left a message). Should she contact her employer's HR or go straight to a lawyer for breach of contract or what? Obviously the manager knows what was agreed to and doesn't care.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    18,340

    Default Re: Refusing to Pay Commissions As Agreed in Email

    Quote Quoting migoso
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    The amount that my friend loses is over 50K.

    Not sure where to start to rectify this. Already put in a call to the local DOL (left a message). Should she contact her employer's HR or go straight to a lawyer for breach of contract or what? Obviously the manager knows what was agreed to and doesn't care.
    Lawyer and file suit for the $50,000. Period.

    DOL won't be any help.

    And HR works for the enemy.

    Once she files the lawsuit she can count on being fired so tell her to make sure she's financially prepared for that.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
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    988

    Default Re: Refusing to Pay Commissions As Agreed in Email

    Let me suggest an alternate route...read the UT wage law Ch28 Sec 12. And the various regs and file a prompt,written wage claim per the rules...wages in UT include commissions. The regulations give you a bit of protection as to employer retialitory conduct such as firing.. and the employer gets it wrong and loses the employer can be stuck to pay the UT DOl attorney costs!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Refusing to Pay Commissions As Agreed in Email

    Thank you for the responses.

    HRinDEVON, I don't really know what you mean - where do you file a written wage claim? DOL won't help because it's over 10K. Once a lawyer is involved you pretty much sign over all the money to them, so what's the point? I don't see why all employers don't just screw their employees over since it's such a hassle and expense for the employee to do anything about it and they will just lose the money and their job to fight it (at least the lawyers I spoke with told me that she'd likely lose her job).

    She may visit with an attorney just for a consultation, but most likely will just stay at the job until the year is up (to get the accelerator money owed) and then leave and sue. Still, doesn't sound like she'll come out with much after all is said and done. It's depressing.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Refusing to Pay Commissions As Agreed in Email

    Oh please. No, you don't "sign over all the money" to an attorney.

    Get a grip, and advise your friend that obtaining an attorney could work very well in her favor.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Refusing to Pay Commissions As Agreed in Email

    Sorry. You're right. Just roughly a third. So, after a third to taxes, and a third to a lawyer (is that before or after taxes), that leaves not that much... worth the fight and loss of job? Do these kinds of things ever end well?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: Refusing to Pay Commissions As Agreed in Email

    Quote Quoting migoso
    View Post
    Sorry. You're right. Just roughly a third. So, after a third to taxes, and a third to a lawyer (is that before or after taxes), that leaves not that much... worth the fight and loss of job?
    The lawyer's fee will be tax deductible so, basically, she'd be paying tax on about $33,000 when she would have been paying tax on the whole $50,000 had the employer paid her properly. If she's in the 25% bracket for example, her tax would be about $8000 and she'd keep about $25,000 which would be a nice little nest egg as it probably wouldn't take her very long to find another job.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Quoting HRinDEVON
    View Post
    Let me suggest an alternate route...read the UT wage law Ch28 Sec 12. And the various regs and file a prompt,written wage claim per the rules...wages in UT include commissions. The regulations give you a bit of protection as to employer retialitory conduct such as firing.. and the employer gets it wrong and loses the employer can be stuck to pay the UT DOl attorney costs!
    Sure, there are laws against retaliatory conduct. But laws don't prevent people from doing wrong they give people a way of cleaning up afterwards.

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