NJ Justices Boost Sales Commission Compensation Suits (1)

New Jersey workers can sue their bosses for stiffing them on sales commissions under the state’s powerful Wage Payment Law, the state high court ruled Monday.

A commission for hitting sales figures isn’t a supplementary incentive like a bonus—it always qualifies as wages, the unanimous court ruled. Employees can therefore sue if they were denied part of this compensation, potentially reaping triple the amount of the lost commission and attorneys’ fees under the New Jersey law.

Just “because compensation has the capacity to incentivize does not mean it is automatically excluded from being a wage as a ‘supplementary incentive’'' ...