The Michigan Court of Appeals recently affirmed a jury's verdict for employees for lost commission pay.  (Radina v. Wieland Sales, Inc., Docket No. 301090) The Michigan statute (MCL 600.2961) requires that all commissions be paid upon termination or according to the contract between the employee and employer.  

In this case, the employee agreed to be paid over the course of the leases rather than at the time of the sale.  The Plaintiff was terminated and sought the payment for the amount still due on the contract.  

The Defendant argued that the Employee was selling leases which are not goods under the act.  The Court disagreed and held that selling leases on vehicles were covered by the Statute.  The Jury awarded the employee $63,750.

If you are an employee whose main purpose is the solicitation of sales and paid on commission, the Michigan Sales Representative Commission Act likely applies to you.  An employer can not avoid the statute by arguing that the item that you solicit sales for is not a good.  Employees who sell on commissions need to be aware that their several statutes that apply to the payment of their wages and definitions may differ from statute to statute.