Articles Posted in commission

In an effort to avoid their obligations under the Massachusetts Wage Act (“Wage Act”), many employers now condition the payment of commission on continued employment.  Sometimes those same employers the fire employees to avoid the commissions because the employee was not working when the commission came due.  This may no longer work. The Wage Act…

A simple discretionary clause in a commission plan does not disqualify earned commissions from protection of the Wage Act. Prudential Insurance offered commissions to its sales employees under a commission plan. Prudential retained the discretion to interpret and administer the plan, and to deny earned commissions to those employees Prudential terminated for cause, including poor…

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has affirmed that all employees who receive commissions as a part of their compensation packages, are entitled to the protections of the Massachusetts Wage Act. The case is Okerman v. VA Software. According to the plain language of the statute, the Massachusetts Wage Act applies “to the payment of commissions when…