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Unpaid commissions in Delaware: earned is earned

Commissions earned in the final pay period are wages and are due within the same 7 days.

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
19 Del. C. § 1103
If fired
Wages must be paid within 7 days from the close of the pay period in which they were earned (19 Del. C. § 1103). That applies to the final pay period as well.
If you resigned
Resignation does not extend the deadline: wages for the final pay period are due within 7 days of its close.
Late-pay penalty
Delaware's Department of Labor may impose a civil penalty on the employer, but the statute does not add a liquidated-damages multiple to the employee's claim. The remedy is the wages, plus the department's penalty power.
PTO
Delaware requires payout of accrued vacation only if the employer's written policy or agreement provides for it.
Small claims limit
$25,000 for an individual
Last verified
2026-11-03 single source

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 Delaware Department of Labor, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from 19 Del. C. § 1103 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 $25,000, 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 Delaware?

Commissions earned in the final pay period are wages and are due within the same 7 days.

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

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 Delaware

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

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