Can a company change you from hourly pay to commission pay without telling you first?
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Can a company change you from hourly pay to commission pay without telling you first?
My husband works as body technician trainee. He is training under a licensed body tech, and they told him that he would be paid hourly until further notice. The company, without letting my husband know, changed his pay to commission after only giving him 20 hours worth of work, and did not
give him any notice. He received only 14 hours worth of work this week, and the manager of the shop said that there is nothing he can do.
Asked on September 23, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Arkansas
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
A wage can be changed from hourly to commission pay without prior notice. However, it cannot be done retroactively. In other words, any hours worked before the change went into effect and the employee was actually informed of it would have to be at the former rate of pay. Only hours going forward would be based on commission (versus the hourly rate). This assumes that there is no employment contract or union agreement to the contrary. Otherwise, an "at will" employer can set the conditions of the workplace much as it sees fit.
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