In most cases, no - an employer generally cannot keep a commission you have already earned just because you quit. Once a commission is "earned" under your contract or your state's wage laws, it is your wages, and your employer must pay it. The hard part is figuring out exactly when a commission counts as earned, because that depends on your written agreement and on the state where you work. This is general information, not legal advice for your specific situation, but it will help you understand your rights and what to do next.
The Core Issue: When Is a Commission "Earned"?
A commission is a form of wages tied to sales or performance. The whole dispute over quitting usually comes down to a single question: had you already earned the commission before your last day? If yes, it is owed to you. If the conditions for earning it had not yet been met, the answer is murkier.
Most courts and labor agencies look first to your commission agreement or compensation plan. That document defines what you have to do to earn the money - for example, close the sale, deliver the product, collect payment from the customer, or simply book the order. If you completed every condition before you resigned, the commission is earned and the employer owes it, even if it would not normally be paid out until weeks later.
Where employers and workers clash is over plans that say commissions are only paid if you are "still employed on the payout date" or that commissions are "forfeited upon resignation." Whether those clauses are enforceable varies a great deal by state, as you will see below.
The Federal Baseline
At the federal level, commissions are treated as wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. However, the FLSA mostly governs minimum wage and overtime. It does not set detailed rules about when commissions must be paid or whether they can be forfeited when you quit. There is no federal law that broadly guarantees payment of every earned commission.
Because of that gap, the real protection for commission disputes comes from state wage-payment laws and from ordinary contract law. This is why the same fact pattern can produce very different outcomes in California versus Texas versus Florida. The federal floor matters mainly if withholding your commission drops your effective pay below minimum wage or affects overtime, in which case the Wage and Hour Division can get involved.
State Law Is Where the Real Protection Lives
Nearly every state has a wage-payment statute and a state labor department (sometimes called a Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, or Workforce Commission). These laws commonly do several things: define commissions as wages, require employers to pay all earned wages by a certain time after you leave, and sometimes add penalties when an employer wrongfully withholds wages. The specifics - the deadline to pay a departing employee, the size of any penalty, and how strictly forfeiture clauses are read - vary by state, so always check your own state's rules rather than assuming a national standard.
California
California is strongly protective of employees. Commissions are considered wages, and once a commission is earned under the terms of the agreement, the employer must pay it. California also requires commission agreements to be in writing. Importantly, California treats earned wages as the employee's property, and a plan provision that tries to forfeit a commission you have already fully earned is generally unenforceable. California law also requires prompt payment of final wages when you leave, and an employer who willfully fails to pay can face additional "waiting time" penalties. The exact amounts and timing are set by California law and can change, so confirm the current rules with the California Labor Commissioner's Office. The key takeaway: if you completed everything required to earn the commission while employed in California, quitting does not erase your right to it.
Texas
Texas is more contract-driven. Under the Texas Payday Law, enforced by the Texas Workforce Commission, commissions are wages and must be paid according to the agreement between you and your employer. The terms of your written commission plan carry significant weight. If your plan clearly and lawfully states that commissions are earned only when paid out, or are forfeited if you are not employed on a certain date, Texas will often enforce that language. Conversely, if you met all the conditions to earn the commission before quitting, the Texas Workforce Commission can order the employer to pay. The lesson in Texas is to read your plan closely - the written terms usually decide the case.
Florida
Florida does not have a broad state wage-payment statute like California's, so commission disputes there usually turn on contract law and, where there is no written contract, on the parties' course of dealing and industry custom. If you have a clear agreement and you satisfied its conditions, you can pursue the unpaid commission as a breach-of-contract claim. Without a written plan, Florida courts may look at how commissions were historically calculated and paid. Because there is less statutory backup, documentation of your sales and the agreed terms is especially valuable in Florida.
Other States
Many states fall somewhere between the California and Texas approaches. Some have specific statutes for sales representatives - particularly outside or independent sales reps - that impose deadlines and even multiplied (double or treble) damages for unpaid commissions. Whether such a statute covers you depends on your role and your state. Again, this varies by state, so check your state labor department's wage-claim process.
Forfeiture Clauses: Can a Plan Really Say "Quit and Lose It"?
This is the heart of most disputes. Employers often include language saying commissions are forfeited if you are not employed on the payout date. The enforceability of these clauses is exactly where states diverge: