About Commissioned Employees

Employment Law Class Action Attorney Serving California

A commissioned employee, or commission-based employee, is someone who works for a company and is paid partially or entirely on commission. A commission is compensation paid for services rendered in the sale of property and/or services, based proportionately on the value of property/services delivered. For example, if a sales employee received a 10% commission on all sales that he or she was responsible for bringing to the company, that employee would receive $100 for a sale worth $1,000.

If you are a commissioned employee and have questions about overtime or your wages, please take a moment to contact a California employment lawyer at the R. Rex Parris Law Firm today. We help all types of employees throughout California with employment law matters and wage and hour claims. Your initial consultation with an attorney at our firm is free.

Commissioned Employees and Overtime Pay in California

How do California overtime and minimum wage laws affect commissioned employees? According to California Labor Code section 510a, all employees who work more than 40 hours in one workweek or more than 8 hours in one day must receive overtime pay (which is typically one and a half times their usual hourly rate). However, overtime in this section does not apply to an employee “whose earnings exceed one and a half time of the minimum wage if more than half of that employee’s compensation represents commissions.” Accordingly, a salesman who earns $400 per week and another approximately $1,000 every week in commissions would likely not be eligible for overtime. However, if that same employee made $400 each week and averaged only $100 every week in commissions, he or she may be entitled to overtime.

If you are a commission-based employee in California and you need legal help, contact a California employment law attorney at the R. Rex Parris Law Firm today.