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Unpaid commissions in Arizona: earned is earned

Commissions are wages once earned under the agreed plan; § 23-353 governs when they must be paid, and an unpaid commission can support a treble-damages claim.

Employers usually argue the commission was not "earned" yet. The answer is in the plan's own words: if every condition the plan sets had been satisfied before you left, the timing clause moves the payment date, it does not erase the debt.

Statute
A.R.S. § 23-353; § 23-355 (treble damages)
If fired
On discharge, wages due must be paid within seven working days or by the end of the next regular pay period, whichever is sooner (A.R.S. § 23-353).
If you resigned
If you quit, all wages due are payable in the usual manner no later than the regular payday for the pay period in which you stopped working.
Late-pay penalty
A.R.S. § 23-355: an employer that fails to pay wages when due is liable for treble damages — three times the wages owed — where the failure is not justified. The court decides whether the multiplier applies.
PTO
Arizona requires payout of accrued vacation only if the employer's policy or contract creates that right; a written use-it-or-lose-it policy can end the balance.
Small claims limit
$3,500 for an individual
Last verified
2026-11-03 two sources agree

What to put in the file before you write anything

  1. The commission plan or comp letter, including every amendment, and the exact definition of when a commission is earned.
  2. Deal records showing the sale closed, the customer paid, or whatever condition the plan requires.
  3. A calculation of each commission claimed, with the deal, the rate and the date the condition was met.
  4. Any email where a manager confirmed the amount — the most persuasive document in most commission disputes.

What the letter does that a phone call cannot

A demand letter fixes three things at once: the amount, the date each item was due, and the date the employer was on notice. Every forum that can help you — the Industrial Commission of Arizona — Labor Department, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from A.R.S. § 23-353; § 23-355 (treble damages) and your own figures, so the deadline it states is the one that applies to your separation, not a generic thirty days.

If the amount fits inside $3,500, small claims court is usually faster than an agency queue; if it does not, the agency route and a demand first is the cheaper path.

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Questions

Are commissions wages in Arizona?

Commissions are wages once earned under the agreed plan; § 23-353 governs when they must be paid, and an unpaid commission can support a treble-damages claim.

My employer says commissions are paid only to current employees. Is that enforceable in Arizona?

A clause that forfeits commissions already earned is the clause most often struck down when challenged. The employer can usually set the timing of payment; it is much harder for it to keep money the plan says you earned.

Other situations in Arizona

being fired · resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · all Arizona rules

Reviewed 2026-11-03 against the sources listed on the Arizona page. This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.