i work for a lumber company as a commision sales person....my pay is based 100% on my sales. Recently my company permanently laid off about 16 hourly employees...in addition they have reduced the hours for our yard man who is hourly. Now i have been told that i must cover the yard duties, load orders, returns, cut lumber and various other duties from 3-5 p.m. daily. As a commision salesperson my pay is based on what i sell. The other salesperson that i work with at this location is a female and is not able to do some of the tasks required to complete the yard duties. what are my options? how can they make me do an hourly employees job for 10 hours a week and expect me to maintain my commision sales at the same time? do i have any options?

First off, straight commission is allowable only for outside sales persons. I don't think you meet the criteria unless you are spending a lot of time away from the company site making calls on customers and potential customers. IMHO, you should be getting at least minimum wage. Then there are a variety of ways your pay could be increased based on commissions.

The change in your duties only makes it more clear that you probably won't qualify to be classified as an outside sales rep. The company CAN change your duties. They don't HAVE to increase your pay (if they were doing it legally to begin with).

ty for your fast response. i am not an outside salesperson, strictly inside sales. i guess my next question is if i refuse to do this work and quit or get fired will i still be eligable for unemployment benefits?

If you refuse to do the work, yes, you can be fired. And, it is unlikely (not impossible, but unlikely) that you would get UI benefits. The employer is within his rights to change the responsibilities of the job; if you are not getting paid in accordance with the law as ScottB described, you can file a claim with the state Dept. of Labor.