Can Commissions be Paid Monthly or Quarterly?
Timely Payment of Commissions Under the Massachusetts Wage ActThe Wage Act explicitly applies to commissions "when the amount of such commissions, less allowable or authorized deductions, has been definitely determined and has become due and payable to such employee."
Cases interpreting this language have said that a commission is "due and payable" where all contingencies to earning the commission have been met and the commission is arithmetically determinable. Historically, this issue has mostly come up in the context of payment of commissions at termination. Whether a system of paying commissions monthly or quarterly violates the weekly/bi-weekly requirements in the Wage Act did not get a lot of attention, because it was assumed that damages for that late payment- so long as it was in fact made- would only be the interest on the delayed sums. Recently, however, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that late payment of wages still subjects an employer to triple damages, even if the wages are ultimately paid before a lawsuit is filed. That decision dealt with vacation pay at termination, but the same analysis could easily apply to chronically late payments of commissions. If you are paid commissions on a monthly, quarterly, or even annual basis, you might want to consult an employment lawyer to determine whether this is a lawful practice or not. Learn more here about damages for untimely payment of wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act. |
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Meet Our Employment Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, been interviewed by the Massachusetts Superlawyers magazine about non compete agreements, and written an op-ed in the New York Times about the dangers of non competes. Along with the rest of the slnlaw team, she has helped hundreds of clients navigate, negotiate, or defend against their non compete agreements.
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped many clients understand and evaluate their non compete agreements and develop strategies for defending against non compete enforcement and negotiating resolution.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna works with employers to develop reasonable and enforceable employee agreements, including non competes. She has also helped employees understand and evaluate their non compete agreements and develop strategies for defending against non compete enforcement and negotiating resolution.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients both evaluate and negotiate their non compete agreements, and defended non compete claims in state and federal courts.
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We have years of experience representing individuals and small businesses solve many different employment problems, large and small. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team to learn more about working with us, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
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