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Unpaid commissions in West Virginia: earned is earned

Commissions earned before separation are wages under § 21-5-4 and follow the same payday rule.

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
W. Va. Code § 21-5-4; § 21-5-4a (written demand)
If fired
On discharge, resignation or any other separation, wages due for work already performed must be paid on or before the next regular payday on which those wages would otherwise be payable (W. Va. Code § 21-5-4).
If you resigned
Resignation is covered by the same rule: payment on or before the next regular payday.
Late-pay penalty
W. Va. Code § 21-5-4a: liquidated damages of twice the unpaid wages and attorney's fees are available, but only to an employee who first makes a written demand and gives the employer the statutory period to pay. This letter is that demand.
PTO
West Virginia does not require payout of unused vacation unless the employer's written policy or an agreement provides for it.
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 West Virginia Division of Labor — Wage and Hour, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from W. Va. Code § 21-5-4; § 21-5-4a (written demand) 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 West Virginia?

Commissions earned before separation are wages under § 21-5-4 and follow the same payday rule.

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

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 West Virginia

being fired · resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · all West Virginia rules

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