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Unpaid commissions in Kansas: earned is earned

Commissions earned under the agreed plan are wages under § 44-315 and are due by the next regular payday at separation.

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
Kan. Stat. § 44-315
If fired
When an employer discharges an employee, earned wages must be paid not later than the next regular payday (Kan. Stat. § 44-315(a)).
If you resigned
If you quit or resign, earned wages are due not later than the next regular payday.
Late-pay penalty
Kan. Stat. § 44-315(b): where the failure to pay is wilful, the employer is liable for the wages plus a penalty of 1% of the unpaid wages for each day, excluding Sundays and legal holidays, that the failure continues after the eighth day.
PTO
Kansas requires payout of accrued vacation only where the employer's written policy or contract creates the right.
Small claims limit
$4,000 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 Kansas Department of Labor, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from Kan. Stat. § 44-315 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 $4,000, 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 Kansas?

Commissions earned under the agreed plan are wages under § 44-315 and are due by the next regular payday at separation.

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

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 Kansas

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

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