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Unpaid commissions in Oregon: earned is earned

Commissions earned under the agreed plan are wages under ORS 652.140 and follow the 48-hour deadline 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
ORS 652.140; ORS 652.150 (penalty wages)
If fired
On discharge, all wages earned and unpaid are due and payable within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays (ORS 652.140).
If you resigned
If you quit without giving at least 48 hours' notice, all wages earned are due and payable within five days (ORS 652.140). If you gave at least 48 hours' notice, wages are due within 48 hours or by the next regular payday, whichever the employer chooses.
Late-pay penalty
ORS 652.150: if wages are not paid when due, the employer owes penalty wages equal to eight hours' pay at the employee's regular rate for each day the wages remain unpaid, up to 30 days.
PTO
Oregon treats accrued vacation as wages when the employer's policy creates the right; earned vacation is payable at separation unless a valid policy provides otherwise.
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 Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from ORS 652.140; ORS 652.150 (penalty wages) 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 Oregon?

Commissions earned under the agreed plan are wages under ORS 652.140 and follow the 48-hour deadline at separation.

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

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 Oregon

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

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