Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

NCNR sales (non-cancellable non-returnable) commission

I made a NCNR sales 1.5 weeks prior to my being terminated from the position. The president told me ''we don't pay commission on sales that have not shipped'', and ''we give the commission to the next person who does your job''

Is this legal? My understanding is that upon termination, all EARNED sales commissions must be paid because they are considered wages. (are commissions EARNED when they are SHIPPED?)

This sale was made to a very stable and financially strong company. It is a custom product and therefore was sold as an NCNR - non-canceelable non-returnable.

Incidentally, the product will start to ship in November going out another 6 months. Please advise, Thank you.


Asked on 9/17/03, 8:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Keith Stern Shavitz Law Group

Re: NCNR sales (non-cancellable non-returnable) commission

There is no definitive answer to your question under Florida law and I've recently had 2 cases exactly like this where the ER argued that no commissions were owed. We ultimately did not have a court resolve the question, but many ERs like yours claim that the conditions attached to their commissions mean that the commissions are not technically earned until the conditions have been satisfied. However, until a court expressly rules otherwise, it is my opinion that the commission is earned and therefore constitutes unpaid pages. If you would like further assistance in this matter, please feel free to contact me at (305) 755-9441.

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Answered on 9/18/03, 3:40 pm


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