I really need some help here...I work for a car dealership in oregon where the pay scale is minimum wage or commission, whichever is greater...If you receive hourly wages for you first check of the month, and your second check of the month is commission, my company charges you back and deducts the wages paid on the first check from the 2nd check, so essentially you worked for free for the 1st 2 weeks of the month...this can't be legal, can it? Someone please let me know..thanks...

You can contact the state Dept. of Labor, but this sounds more like a draw against commissions. You receive a draw equal to minimum wage on the first check. Your commissions are paid on the second check and the draw is deducted; this is a very common practice for commission-only employees.

What happens if your commissions do not exceed at least minimum wage for all hours you worked in the month?