Company Not Providing Statement of Earnings & Lost Wages

[Atty]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

Is it required for an employer to provide a Statement of Earnings upon request? Despite numerous written requests, my employer did not provide me with a statement of earnings on my commissions for 9 months AFTER I first began working at my company.

Since I didn't get a statement of earnings to verify which accounts I was getting paid on, I wasn't able to see that my company didn't pay me a commission on one of my biggest account.

Long-story short, once I saw a commission statement 9 months later and noticed this discrepancy, it was after my Sales SVP was laid-off in a reorg, and my company is claiming that my Sales SVP told them verbally that I wasn't supposed to be paid commission on this account...which is 100% untrue.

I'm wondering what options I have available to get paid on my unpaid commission? Had my company provided my a commission statement of earnings while my previous boss was employed there, this never would've happened.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[cbg]

Although there is no Federal law requiring pay stubs, most (not quite all) states do have such a requirement. NY state does require your employer to provide a statement of wages for each pay period.

NY is a bit funny regarding what claims they will take at the state agency level. I would start by contacting the State DOL and see if this is something they will take a wage claim on. If they do not, you may have to file a civil suit - small claims would be best if the amount falls within the limit.

However, I would try EVERY possible means to resolve it within the company first, since a lawsuit against a company you are still employed by can be uncomfortable at best.

 

[Atty]

Thanks for the reply, and for the info. I'm trying to resolve this amicably to the best of my abilities, but this commission is for $10k+, so it's worth fighting for in my opinion.

Do you think an affidavit from my former boss stating that I should've received the commission would help me resolve this matter amicably? The Business Manager is claiming that my former boss "verbally" told them to give my commission to someone else, which my former boss never did. The Business Manager is trying to get out of paying me this commission since my boss is no longer an employee of the company.

 

[cbg]

Since I don't know your employer or how firmly they're inclined to stick on the matter, I really can't say whether it would help or not. You know them all better than I do - do YOU think it would help? Does it feel to you as if this is an honest misunderstanding or a deliberate attempt to avoid paying the commission to anyone?

 

[Atty]

I would say it's deliberate, at least as far the Business Manager is concerned. This isn't the first time this person has made an arbitrary decision on a commission for an account, when it's not their decision to make.

My new SVP is trying to help get me this commission, but since they're new and this is a "he said, she said" scenario between me and the Business Manager, I figured an affidavit from my former boss would help clear up this matter.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[cbg]

I don't know if it will help, but I can't see that it will hurt.