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Unpaid commissions in Wisconsin: earned is earned

Commissions are wages under § 109.03 when earned; the employer's established plan sets the earning event, and the payroll-schedule deadline still applies 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
Wis. Stat. §§ 109.03, 109.11
If fired
A discharged employee must be paid in full no later than the date the employee would regularly have been paid under the employer's established payroll schedule (Wis. Stat. § 109.03(1)).
If you resigned
An employee who quits must be paid in full by the next date on which the employee would regularly have been paid under the payroll schedule.
Late-pay penalty
Wis. Stat. § 109.11: in addition to the wages due, the department or a court may award increased wages of up to 50% of the amount owed unless the employer shows extreme hardship.
PTO
Wisconsin treats vacation pay as wages when the employer's policy or contract creates it; earned vacation must be paid unless a valid written policy provides otherwise.
Small claims limit
$10,000 for an individual
Last verified
2026-11-03 two sources agree

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 Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — Equal Rights Division, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from Wis. Stat. §§ 109.03, 109.11 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 Wisconsin?

Commissions are wages under § 109.03 when earned; the employer's established plan sets the earning event, and the payroll-schedule deadline still applies at separation.

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

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 Wisconsin

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

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