What are the minimum wage and/or tax laws protecting employees in AZ who are compensated by a draw against commissions?

I worked in a sales position at a recruiting firm, and signed a contract stating that upon termination of "at-will" employment, any outstanding draw amount is to be repaid in full to the employer within 30 days. Upon termination, my sales were lower than my draw. However, my employer had been withholding the taxes I owed on my draw amount from the commissions I had earned. Therefore, it would seem that if I repay the amount left on my draw, I will have made $0 in income, and still paid thousands of dollars in taxes.

Since I was an employee and not a private contractor, and since my employer falls within the requirements of companies liable to the law, is it not accurate that I should have been paid at least minimum wage? I am sure this is a common question, and any assistance on the laws pertaining to the situation would be greatly appreciated!

Inside sales or outside sales? Legally it makes a difference. For example, the rules for inside sales at retail establishments can be found at the following website. All inside sales positions are variants of Non-Exempt, which implies some type of mininum wage and overtime rules, although there are a number of variations and exceptions.

While we neither need or want the name of your employer, it sometimes makes a difference what the nature of the employer's business is.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs20.htm

Outside sales however have no minimum wage or overtime requirements at all, assuming the rules are otherwise complied with.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/fs17f_outsidesales.htm

The company was a recruiting firm, and my position was inside sales. According to the website you directed me to, I can be considered exempt from overtime pay under Section 7(i) because I was "paid entirely by commissions, or draws and commissions". So does being exempt from over-time pay mean that I am also exempt from minimum wage laws?

The same web page also said the following:

the employee's regular rate of pay must exceed one and one-half times the applicable minimum wage for every hour worked in a workweek in which overtime hours are worked,

The company was a recruiting firm, and my position was inside sales. According to the website you directed me to, I can be considered exempt from overtime pay under Section 7(i) because I was "paid entirely by commissions, or draws and commissions". So does being exempt from over-time pay mean that I am also exempt from minimum wage laws?


To be exempt under 7(i) the employer must be a retail or service establishment, plus you must make at least 1.5 of the applicable mw...