am paid a commission on sales,as well as a base salary.I have a
signed agreement that states that my commission check is due me on the
the first business day after the end of each month. My check is now
several days overdue. This is not the first time that this has
happened. My boss is arrogant and has done many such things in the
three years I have been here. He acts with total impunity. I will (I
hope) eventually get this money, but will likely bounce checks in the
meantime.This must be illegal.What legal recourse do I have? I am in
California.

Richard Summer <dumpitems@yahoo.com> wrote:am paid a commission on sales,as well as a base salary.I have asigned agreement that states that my commission check is due me on thethe first business day after the end of each month. My check is nowseveral days overdue. This is not the first time that this hashappened. My boss is arrogant and has done many such things in thethree years I have been here. He acts with total impunity. I will (Ihope) eventually get this money, but will likely bounce checks in themeantime.This must be illegal.What legal recourse do I have? I am inCalifornia.

Unfortunately I doubt there's much you can do about it. Your boss is
legally required to pay you on time, and you could complain to the
labor commission. The labor commission would give your boss a hard
time over it, possibly even levy a fine if he doesn't start paying you
on time. The problem is that your boss would probably find a reason
why your services are no longer needed. (In other words, he would
fire you.) Retaliatory firing is also illegal, but you'd need to be
able to prove that it was in retaliation for your complaining to the
labor commission.

Your best bets are:
1. Live with it
2. Go work for somebody who pays his salespeople on time.

Other possibilities are:
3. Complain to the labor commission (with the possibility of losing
your job)
4. Wait until the late payment causes _you_ to miss paying a bill, or
otherwise causes you financial trouble. Then when your boss asks
why your sales are down that month, explain that you had to spend
(so many) hours straightening out the consequences of your late
payment and that it left you with less energy for really
aggressive selling. Again, this may well cost you your job,
especially if your boss is arrogant.
5. Talk to an attorney who specializes in employer/employee relations.

--
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and
to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising
liberty and justice for all.

In article <8vr8ovsv7u6v4sl6dn989qh4jbsk6pnqqd@4ax.com> in
misc.legal.moderated, Richard Summer <dumpitems@yahoo.com> wrote:I have asigned agreement that states that my commission check is due me on thethe first business day after the end of each month.

[but boss writes checks several days late, fairly often]
I will (I hope) eventually get this money, but will likely bounce checks in the meantime. This must be illegal.

Yes indeed, bouncing checks is illegal. But that is _your_ fault,
not your boss's. It's your job, not his, to know how much you have
in your account.

What you're basically telling us is that because you feel aggrieved
(with good reason), you are spreading the misery by writing bad
checks. Sorry, that just doesn't fly.
What legal recourse do I have? I am in California.

If he flat-out refused to pay you, you could sue. But your situation
is more frustrating because you really have no effective remedy, I
fear. Since he pays you a few days late, by the time the case came
to trial (even in small-claims court) you would long since have been
paid, so the judge would dismiss the case.

You _might_ sue for interest on the amount owed, but this isn't
going to be much in today's climate where typical money market funds
pay about a percent a year. Just to take some arbitrary numbers: If
your check for $5,000 is ten days late, that's $1.37 in interest. A
judge will not have a lot of patience with someone who sues for
$1.37. (Even if there's a statutory interest rate, it's not going to
be high enough to make the amount worth suing over.)

You can _not_ sue for bounced-check fees. (Maybe, repeat maybe, you
could if the boss told you he had direct-deposited a certain amount
and he was lying, but even then I doubt it.)

Bottom line: Really about all you can do legally (see disclaimer
below) is live with it, or change jobs.

You might ask him to kick in an extra $10 for the inconvenience.
Then if he does, bask in the knowledge that you've actually made a
profit on the deal.

--
If you e-mail me from a fake address, I'll delete it unread.

I am not a lawyer; this is not legal advice. When you read anything
legal on the net, always verify it on your own, in light of your
particular circumstances. You may also need to consult a lawyer.

Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cortland County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 15:49:43 -0400, Stan Brown
<the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
In article <8vr8ovsv7u6v4sl6dn989qh4jbsk6pnqqd@4ax.com> inmisc.legal.moderated, Richard Summer <dumpitems@yahoo.com> wrote:I have asigned agreement that states that my commission check is due me on thethe first business day after the end of each month.[but boss writes checks several days late, fairly often]
. . . .. . . .
What legal recourse do I have? I am in California.
If he flat-out refused to pay you, you could sue. But your situationis more frustrating because you really have no effective remedy, Ifear. Since he pays you a few days late, by the time the case cameto trial (even in small-claims court) you would long since have beenpaid, so the judge would dismiss the case.
. . . .. . . .

I don't know about California, but the Oregon wage statutes might
impose a penalty for this behavior. See a California labor/employment
lawyer.

Daniel R. Reitman
17112 SE Powell Blvd., Suite 2
Portland, OR 97236
(503) 674-5111
(503) 465-2838 (Fax)
dreitman@spiritone.com