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Unpaid commissions in the District of Columbia: earned is earned

Commissions earned before separation are wages under § 32-1303 and follow the same next-working-day and next-payday deadlines.

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
D.C. Code §§ 32-1302, 32-1303
If fired
If you are discharged, your wages must be paid not later than the working day after the discharge. If you were responsible for the employer's money, the employer may take up to 4 days to verify your accounts before paying (D.C. Code § 32-1303(1)).
If you resigned
If you resign, wages are due on the next regular payday or within 7 days of resigning, whichever comes first (§ 32-1303(2)).
Late-pay penalty
D.C. Code § 32-1303(4): liquidated damages of 10% of the unpaid wages for each working day the failure continues after the due date, or treble the unpaid wages, whichever is smaller. Ten working days of delay already reaches the treble ceiling.
PTO
District law treats vacation pay as wages once the right to it has been earned; a policy that forfeits accrued time at separation has to be one that applied while the time was accruing.
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 D.C. Department of Employment Services — Office of Wage and Hour Compliance, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from D.C. Code §§ 32-1302, 32-1303 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 the District of Columbia?

Commissions earned before separation are wages under § 32-1303 and follow the same next-working-day and next-payday deadlines.

My employer says commissions are paid only to current employees. Is that enforceable in the District of Columbia?

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 the District of Columbia

being fired · resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · all District of Columbia rules

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