Ferraro Vega Employment Lawyers can help you if you work as a salesperson in Minnesota and you’re facing unpaid commissions or other wages. Not getting paid correctly is frustrating for anyone, but it’s a whole different animal when you work on commission. Our team can guide you through the process of making things right and getting what you’re owed. Set up a free consultation today.
Does a Lawyer Make Sense For Me?
You don’t always need a lawyer to deal with a situation where you’re not getting your commissions, but the problem is that it can really drag out. And once you figure out that something’s not right, your employer might not approach the situation in a positive way.
On top of that, your paycheck is lighter, and that brings even more problems. It’s all a lot to handle, and that’s where a lawyer starts making more sense. We can help you by:
- Looking at your commission agreement, employment contract, and company policies
- Figuring out whether your commissions were earned and improperly withheld
- Digging through pay and sales records
- Handling talks with your employer
- Going through the claims process if that’s what it takes
When you’re in sales, you already know how hard it is just hitting goals and getting commissions. You shouldn’t have to also deal with your employer not doing things the right way. With our team, you can focus on moving forward while we handle the legal side of things.
How Do Commission Payments Work in Minnesota?
In Minnesota, like in other states, there’s not really a set law or rule on commissions themselves. Rather, a lot of it is left up to the employer. It’s usually found in your contract, and it typically lays out the basics of:
- How your commission is calculated
- When commissions are considered earned versus not
- When your employer is required to pay your commissions out to you
- What happens to commissions after you leave the company. This is specifically covered by the law. In Minnesota, employers generally have:
- Three days to give you your commission if you’ve been fired or resigned with at least five days notice.
- If you don’t give notice, your employer has six days.
You might think that this covers everything, and like a lot of contracts, it should. But unfortunately, there’s a number of different ways that employers try to get around their own plans, usually by:
- Changing the rules after you’ve already made sales or completed the work required for your commission
- Pushing back payment dates or refusing to provide a clear explanation
- Claiming commissions were never earned because you didn’t meet certain requirements even though you believe you did
- Failing to track sales accurately, by design to make it difficult to figure out what commissions you actually earned
- Using vague or confusing language in the agreement to create a gray area on when and how you should be paid
While every situation is different, these things are going to be at the core of pretty much any dispute over your commission. And while you might feel like something is off, it takes a deeper look at other things to really clinch it.
Information That Can Help You Figure Out If You’re Not Being Paid Commission
Not surprisingly, unpaid commission cases usually come down to documentation. The more information you have showing how commissions were supposed to work, the easier it is to understand whether you were paid correctly. To really nail it down, it’s helpful to have copies of:
- Your commission agreement or employment contract
- Company policies explaining commission rules
- Pay stubs showing commission payments
- Sales reports and performance records
- Emails or messages discussing commission expectations
- Records showing completed sales or customer accounts
- Communications about changes to your commission plan
You don’t have to have all of this right now, or even try to figure out everything on your own. Our team can sit down with you, look at what you have, and lay out what the best path forward would be.
What Are Your Options If You’re Not Being Paid Commissions?
As a salesperson, you already know how difficult it can be when your commissions don’t come through. And while it’s a situation nobody wants to be in, there are options for making things right:
- Bringing it up directly, where you go to your bosses and review records and clarify how commissions should have been paid. Sometimes, that’s enough. But usually, it takes going further.
- Filing a wage complaint with MNDLI. This is the state agency that’s in charge of investigating unpaid wages and employer practices. It’s outside of court, so while they can issue orders, employers don’t necessarily have to follow through. When that happens, though, there’s one more option.
- Filing a lawsuit or joining a class action. If the other two methods don’t work, you can file a lawsuit in civil court, or join a class action if other salespeople at the same company are going through the same thing. Either way, you can get damages for your:
- Unpaid commissions
- Other unpaid wages or lost benefits
- Additional damages allowed under wage laws
- Attorney’s fees and legal costs
Remember, there’s deadlines in place. You only have two years from the date of your last unpaid commission to take action. That’s why it’s important to act sooner than later, and our team will be ready to jump in and help you.
Talk to Our Minnesota Commission Dispute Lawyers
As a salesperson, commission is your bread and butter. So when you’re not being paid out in the right way, it throws everything off. But more importantly, it’s also illegal for your employer to do that to you.
At Ferraro Vega Employment Lawyers, our Minnesota employment team will be there to help you understand your options and guide you through the claims process if that’s what it takes. Set up a free consultation today to talk over your options.
