My husband was terminated (replaced with a cheaper substitute) from his job on January 5th. His wages consist of a combination of base salary and a commisson-based pay plan. On the day he was let go, he was paid a check for his Jan base salary (just a portion - through the 5th), but was not paid a commission check. He was told he would get a check when all other employees get their Jan commission checks - on Feb 15th. However, after 3 requests (2/15, 2/16, and 2/28), his boss will not pay him and even told him he'd have to sue him. We don't even know what the commission amount was, as they will not release the financial statement required to figure it out.

Can he go after them for his commission check and 30 days penalties for witholding his final check? If so, does he need an attorney? Are there people at the DLSE that will enforce this and that can help him determine (with his commission pay plan) the amount they have to pay him?

So my understanding is that the commission which is ‘earned’ (for Jan.) is gone when termination of employment occurred. Your husband is entitled to the commission and you can contact your local DLSE office for assistant.

Since the commission is “earned”, it cannot be forfeit. Refer to labor code 204.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=lab&group=00001-01000&file=200-243

It is hard to say for certain without actually reading the company's commission policy. I have worked for CA companies who had some degree of limitation of commisssions paid to terminated employees that was found to be legal. If you look in the CA-DLSE field policy manual there are indeed some distinctions made by CA. However, there is no substantial cost in filing a wage claim and no reason not. The burden of proof will be on the company to show that they do not have a legal obligation to make the payment. You can find the information you need below.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_WaitingTimePenalty.htm

I take it he got his commission check for December on Jan 15, give or take a day or so.

He may have sold during his four days of work in January (I assume the 1st was a holiday and not worked), but it is typical for companies to require that the bill have been paid before the commission is earned. Some sales may have been paid in those few days and there may have been sales from previous months that got paid, and earned as commissions.

As said above, you have nothing but some time to lose by filing a wage complaint. Let DLSE sort this out.