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Unpaid commissions in Vermont: earned is earned

Commissions earned under the employment agreement are wages under § 342 and follow the same deadline.

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
21 V.S.A. § 342; § 347
If fired
An employee who is discharged must be paid in full within 72 hours of the discharge (21 V.S.A. § 342).
If you resigned
An employee who leaves voluntarily is paid on the last regular pay day, or if there is no regular pay day, on the following Friday.
Late-pay penalty
Vermont does not add a computable liquidated-damages formula to the wages. The remedy is the unpaid wages through the Department of Labor or small claims court, with costs where the statute allows.
PTO
Vermont treats accrued vacation as wages when the employer's policy creates the right; earned time is payable at separation unless a valid policy ends it.
Small claims limit
$5,000 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 Vermont Department of Labor — Wage and Hour, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from 21 V.S.A. § 342; § 347 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 $5,000, 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 Vermont?

Commissions earned under the employment agreement are wages under § 342 and follow the same deadline.

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

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 Vermont

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

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