Legal Question in Employment Law in Ohio

My husband is in advertising sales and makes commission. On or about April 09 he sold a new business a sales package of $3500/year. On new accounts the commission is 18% paid as soon as the customer pays 20% of the bill. The customer put a 10% down payment and then never paid again. In the months of Feb, March my husband contacted the company, personally collected a check for the full amount for the 2009 sale and renewed then for 2010. When he inquired as to why he didn't get the back commission, he was told that he would not get it. The company said the account was written off in Nov 09 and they do not pay commission on written off accounts. I can understand that if it was never paid, or collected by using a collection agency, but my husband initiated the sale, collected the back payment, and renewed the customer again. Morally he should be paid his $630 commission. Please tell me that legally he should also be paid. Thank-you in advance


Asked on 4/29/10, 7:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Neil Rubin Neil S. Rubin, Attorney at Law, LLC

The question is a bit confusing,however, there is an Ohio statute which controls paying commission on sales. (Ohio Revised Code section 1335.11). From what you state, it appears that the employer is obligated to pay the commission. Because of the relatively small amount of money in question, I suggest you go to small claims court to get a judgment and then remind the judge or magistrate that a COMPANY must have legal counsel. In that way, the employer will need to spend much more money for a lawyer than to just pay up.

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Answered on 5/11/10, 1:47 pm


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