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Unpaid commissions in Ohio: earned is earned
Earned commissions are wages under § 4113.15; a written plan can set when they are earned, but not 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
- Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15; § 4113.99
- If fired
- Ohio sets no separate deadline for a discharge. Wages must be paid on the employer's regularly scheduled payday, and most employers must pay at least twice a month (Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15(A)) — so the final check is due on the next regular payday.
- If you resigned
- Same rule on resignation: the final wages are due on the next regularly scheduled payday, not on the day you leave.
- Late-pay penalty
- Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15(B): if wages stay unpaid for 30 days beyond the regularly scheduled payday, the employer is liable for liquidated damages equal to 6% of the amount still unpaid or $200, whichever is greater — but only for amounts not in good-faith dispute.
- PTO
- Ohio does not require payout of unused vacation unless the employer's written policy or an employment contract promises it.
- Small claims limit
- $6,000 for an individual
- Last verified
- 2026-11-03 single source
What to put in the file before you write anything
- The commission plan or comp letter, including every amendment, and the exact definition of when a commission is earned.
- Deal records showing the sale closed, the customer paid, or whatever condition the plan requires.
- A calculation of each commission claimed, with the deal, the rate and the date the condition was met.
- 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 Ohio Department of Commerce — Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is
built from Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15; § 4113.99 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 $6,000, 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.
Questions
Are commissions wages in Ohio?
Earned commissions are wages under § 4113.15; a written plan can set when they are earned, but not erase commissions already earned.
My employer says commissions are paid only to current employees. Is that enforceable in Ohio?
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 Ohio
being fired · resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · all Ohio rules
Reviewed 2026-11-03 against the sources listed on the Ohio page.
This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.