> How does an unsuccessful salesman owe you several thousand dollars? And you are saying you withheld money at the time of firing.
There are many approaches to paying a sales person. I've probably tried them all. This particular variant was one where you pay a base salary, say, $30K/year and, on top of that, a advance on unearned commissions. So, every week the sales guy is getting a check with two components, one he earned and one he is presumed to earn in the future.
In most agreements the sales person is liable for any commission that was not earned at the time of separation. If I paid you $5,000 in advanced commissions and you only earned $2,500 at the time of separation you owe me $2,500. That's money I was loaning you every week on the assumption that you would sell and actually earn it in the future.
This is standard stuff, nothing revolutionary here. I have to say that as an engineer dealing with sales people was one of the most difficult and gut wrenching things I've ever had to do. It took me years to understand the, sorry, sub-species. I've seen it all.
Anyhow, the fellow in question had been advanced commissions for nearly 90 days before I let him go. Yes, I was a sap back then. I actually kept thinking that this guy would wake up after my frequent pep talks and start selling. I let him float by all the way to the 90 day mark. When I laid him off I gave him a check equivalent to four weeks of his base pay and withheld (did not pay him) the commission advance I had been paying him all along. Why? He was gone. Like I said, he actually owed me money. And, again, I was nice. I was only supposed to pay him two weeks at the point I let him go. It was near the holidays and I decided to give him another couple of weeks to be helpful. Big mistake. This was during my early days of dealing with such folks and, true to what I said above, I was a total sap. BTW, I've never had problems with engineers, web developers, marketing people, production folks, not even the shipping dudes (other than the occasional swiping of wrenches and minor tools from the shop). No, it was always the sales guys that kept me up at night until I learned.
Here in California the labor department is decidedly anti-business. It was almost a foregone conclusion that his complaint would be decided on his favor. I was too naive and inexperienced to understand the game being played.
There are many approaches to paying a sales person. I've probably tried them all. This particular variant was one where you pay a base salary, say, $30K/year and, on top of that, a advance on unearned commissions. So, every week the sales guy is getting a check with two components, one he earned and one he is presumed to earn in the future.
In most agreements the sales person is liable for any commission that was not earned at the time of separation. If I paid you $5,000 in advanced commissions and you only earned $2,500 at the time of separation you owe me $2,500. That's money I was loaning you every week on the assumption that you would sell and actually earn it in the future.
This is standard stuff, nothing revolutionary here. I have to say that as an engineer dealing with sales people was one of the most difficult and gut wrenching things I've ever had to do. It took me years to understand the, sorry, sub-species. I've seen it all.
Anyhow, the fellow in question had been advanced commissions for nearly 90 days before I let him go. Yes, I was a sap back then. I actually kept thinking that this guy would wake up after my frequent pep talks and start selling. I let him float by all the way to the 90 day mark. When I laid him off I gave him a check equivalent to four weeks of his base pay and withheld (did not pay him) the commission advance I had been paying him all along. Why? He was gone. Like I said, he actually owed me money. And, again, I was nice. I was only supposed to pay him two weeks at the point I let him go. It was near the holidays and I decided to give him another couple of weeks to be helpful. Big mistake. This was during my early days of dealing with such folks and, true to what I said above, I was a total sap. BTW, I've never had problems with engineers, web developers, marketing people, production folks, not even the shipping dudes (other than the occasional swiping of wrenches and minor tools from the shop). No, it was always the sales guys that kept me up at night until I learned.
Here in California the labor department is decidedly anti-business. It was almost a foregone conclusion that his complaint would be decided on his favor. I was too naive and inexperienced to understand the game being played.