Can my employer change my commission pay agreement which will cause me to make half of what I was making before?
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Can my employer change my commission pay agreement which will cause me to make half of what I was making before?
I have been under a commission agreement for 4 years. My employer now wants to change it which will cause me to not be able to make as much money as I have in the past.
Asked on April 6, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Connecticut
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you have a written commission (or other employement agreement affecting commissions), it's terms must be honored for as long as it is in force. Thus, if the commission rate is set in a written agreement or contract, the employer may only change it when and under the conditions allowed for in the agreement. Since these agreements are often annual, the employer would have to wait until the current one runs out, for example.
If you don't have an agreement, however, then the employer may change your commission structure or rate at will going forward. That is, he cannot alter what you should be commissioned for sales that you have already made under the current commission rate. He may change the rate for sales not yet made.
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