Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia

I am a 1099 employee in Virginia. Can my employer force me to repay commissions paid on a sold job that cancelled due to the company being unable to provide promised financing? This job was sold 6 months ago and I received 1/2 commission upon sale and would have gotten the other 1/2 upon project completion. The sale was cancelled when the purchaser was denied financing from the company that we use to finance projects and my employer told me not to worry about the money already paid and we moved forward. I have since quit, giving a full 2 week notice, and my employer is now telling me he is not going to pay me over $1000 in commissions sold at the end of last month and the beginning of this month because he already paid me for the job that cancelled. He also told me that really I OWE the company $300 but he would be willing to call it even. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 11/20/09, 9:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

If your employment was based on 1099 status, then you must have been an independent contractor rather than an employee and the issue of who is entitled to what in the cancelled sale situation described would normally be governed by the terms of your contract with this employer. And, if the contract does not really address this issue, then your position should be that you're entitled to these commissions that had been previously earned and were due and owing to you at the time you terminated the contract. (And, furthermore, the 1/2 commission which you had been paid for the earlier job that later "fell through" represented time and effort on your part for which you were entitled to be justly compensated.)

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Answered on 11/29/09, 9:22 am


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