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Unpaid commissions in Michigan: earned is earned

Fringe benefits and commissions covered by a written policy are due at separation under the Act; an unwritten plan is much harder for the employer to rely on.

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
Mich. Comp. Laws § 408.475 (Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act)
If fired
An employee who is discharged must be paid all wages earned and due at the time of discharge (MCL 408.475). Michigan does not add a separate waiting period.
If you resigned
An employee who leaves voluntarily must be paid all wages earned and due as soon as the amount can with due diligence be determined — in practice the next regular payday (MCL 408.475).
Late-pay penalty
Michigan's Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act provides no liquidated damages and no waiting-time penalty. This is the state where third-party summary sites most often invent one: the statute simply requires payment, and the remedy is a claim for the wages plus costs.
PTO
Michigan treats earned vacation as wages that must be paid at separation unless the employer's written policy states that unused time is forfeited.
Small claims limit
$7,000 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 Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity — Wage and Hour Division, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from Mich. Comp. Laws § 408.475 (Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act) 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 $7,000, 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 Michigan?

Fringe benefits and commissions covered by a written policy are due at separation under the Act; an unwritten plan is much harder for the employer to rely on.

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

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 Michigan

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

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