Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Commission
My husband is an independant insurance agent who has worked for the same small brokerage for 20 years. He has been on informal medical leave, off and on, for the past 6 months. He is paid commission on commercial insurance polices he has written when the agency gets 50% and he gets 50%. It does not look like he will be able to return to work. Is he entitled to receive the commission on the policies he has written until they expire? He has written some of the policies for 10 to 15 years. He has no formal contract.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Commission
First, you should make absolutely sure that there is no written agreement. It seems unusual that there would not be such an agreement spelling out how you husband gets paid. If indeed there is no written agreement, I would look to a variety of factors in order to discover whether continuing payments are or are not part of the unwritten agreement between your husband and the brokerage: What was told or promised to your husband? What was told/promised to others? How has the brokerage handled the ongoing commissions issue in the past? How to other brokerages deal with the continuing commissions issue?
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Re: Commission
I suggest he promptly negotiate a clear 'deal' based upon the agreement that obviously has been in place for a long time. There must be some written record of his payment agreement. Insurance companies don't operate on a handshake basis. He probably signed an employment agreement in the beginning. If he needs legal help in this, feel free to contact me.
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