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Unpaid commissions in Illinois: earned is earned

Earned commissions are final compensation under the Act; a written commission plan can set the timing, but it cannot erase commissions already earned.

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
820 ILCS 115/5 (Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act); 115/14 (penalties)
If fired
Final compensation is due at the time of separation if possible; if it is not possible to calculate it then, it is due no later than the next regularly scheduled payday (820 ILCS 115/5).
If you resigned
Same rule on resignation: final compensation at separation if possible, otherwise by the next regularly scheduled payday.
Late-pay penalty
820 ILCS 115/14(a): damages of 5% of the underpayment per month it stays unpaid (2% per month where the underpayment is $200 or less), capped at 100%, plus a court-awarded attorney's fee and costs.
PTO
Illinois requires payout of earned, unused vacation only if the employer's written policy or contract provides for it; the policy is what a claim turns on.
Small claims limit
$10,000 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 Illinois Department of Labor — Wage Payment and Collection, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from 820 ILCS 115/5 (Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act); 115/14 (penalties) 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 $10,000, 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 Illinois?

Earned commissions are final compensation under the Act; a written commission plan can set the timing, but it cannot erase commissions already earned.

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

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 Illinois

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

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