Commission? You earned it, you keep it, law says

DEAR CARRIE: I work as a loan officer for a mortgage bank on Long Island. Last year I closed a loan for a client who has since been issued foreclosure papers. The loan was written according to bank guidelines and approved by its underwriting department. Now that the loan is going into foreclosure, I am being told that I will have to give back my commission. I would like to know if this is legal in New York State, especially considering the bank approved and closed the loan. -- Legal Giveback?

DEAR LEGAL: Your employer's request for the giveback is illegal, according to the state Labor Department. Commission agreements determine when your commissions are earned, and once they are earned the company can't take them back. The key word is "earned."

"Once a person has earned their commission on a particular transaction, any charges or actions on the employer's part to recover that payment are in violation of the labor law," the department says. "Commissions are generally deemed to be earned either when they are paid or when the express terms of the written agreement say they are earned, whichever occurs first."

DEAR CARRIE: My employer has been greatly affected by the recession. Two years ago he cut me back to four days a week. Then he started missing the bi-weekly payday. But he usually paid me a week later. Now I don't know when I will get a paycheck. I have received just two since Jan. 1. What are my legal options to get my pay? And is my employer breaking any labor laws?

-- Elusive Payday

DEAR ELUSIVE PAYDAY: The employer is probably breaking the law by paying you so infrequently, because state labor law requires employers to pay most employees at least twice a month.

Even some employees whose duties exempt them from minimum wage and overtime have to be paid at least semimonthly. They include executives, administrative or professional employees earning $900 a week or less.

Some exceptions to that rule include manual workers, who must be paid weekly, and commissioned sales people, who have to be paid at least once a month, said employment attorney Richard Kass, a partner at Bond Schoeneck & King in Manhattan.

"If your employer has broken this law, you can call the New York State Department of Labor," Kass said. "They will contact your employer and make sure you get paid on time."

Contact the state at 516-794- 8195 or 212-775-3880.

He said you could also file a lawsuit in court, "but that would probably enrich a lawyer more than it would enrich you. Because the employer is paying you the right amount of money (although not on time), the penalties against the employer would mainly consist of having to reimburse your attorney for his/her fees."

DEAR CARRIE: My 17-year-old daughter was hired as a counselor at a summer camp. She was offered an employment contract that would pay her $1,000 for working eight weeks at 35 hours a week, plus 20 hours of training. That works out to far below the minimum wage. Are summer camp counselors exempt from minimum wage?

-- Legal Camp Wages

DEAR LEGAL: Under federal law, camp counselors are exempt from the minimum-wage requirements if the camp does not operate for more than seven months a year, said Ellen Storch, counsel at Kaufman Dolowich Voluck & Gonzo in Woodbury.

Under state law, camp counselors are exempt from the minimum-wage requirements if the camp does not operate for more than 17 consecutive weeks in a year.