State Commission Laws for Roofing: What You Owe and When

Your rep quits Monday. They claim you owe $8,400 in commission on deals that funded after their last day. You say the deals were too late to count. Three weeks later, you are sitting in a state labor board hearing trying to explain your commission plan to a hearing officer who has never heard of a roof supplement.

Commission disputes cost roofing companies more money than they should because most owners do not know what their state actually requires. Here is the short version for the states where most roofing happens.

California

California requires a written commission agreement signed by both parties before any commission is earned. This is not a suggestion, it is Labor Code 2751. No written agreement, no enforceable commission plan. The employee gets what they claim was promised.

Final wages including earned commission are due immediately upon termination or within 72 hours if the employee quits without notice. If you miss this window, the employee can claim waiting time penalties of up to 30 days of wages.

Commissions are "earned" when the conditions to be met are fulfilled. If your plan says commission earns when the check clears, that is enforceable if it is written clearly. If your plan is vague, California regulators will read it in the rep's favor.

Texas

Texas has no state requirement for a written commission agreement, but without one you are fighting a verbal contract argument and Texas courts often side with the employer if the commission plan is reasonable.

Final paycheck is due on the next regular payday for employees who quit. For employees fired, final wages (including earned commission) are due within six days.

Unpaid commission claims go through the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). TWC claims are fast (often resolved in 60 to 90 days) and fees are minimal. If TWC rules for the rep, you pay plus potential penalties. Texas favors "commission earned when signed" plans more than California does.

Florida

Florida has no state statute specifically requiring written commission agreements, but Florida Statute 448.08 allows employees to recover attorney fees on wage claims, which makes unpaid commission suits financially attractive for plaintiff lawyers.

Final paycheck timing follows your regular pay schedule unless otherwise agreed. There is no waiting time penalty in Florida.

Florida courts enforce reasonable commission plans including post-termination clawback provisions. You can draft a plan that only pays commission on deals funded before termination, and it will generally hold if signed in writing.

New York

New York requires commission agreements for commissioned salespeople to be in writing (New York Labor Law Section 191-c). Without a written agreement, the presumption is the employee's claim of what they were promised.

Final wages including commission are due on the next regular payday. Late payment can trigger liquidated damages of 100% of the unpaid amount.

New York is one of the worst states for a roofing company in a commission dispute. The presumption favors the employee. Attorney fees are recoverable. Penalties can double the exposure. Get your written agreements right before you hire.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma has no written commission requirement, but the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission handles unpaid wage claims and tends to enforce written plans when they exist.

Final paycheck is due on the next regular payday.

Oklahoma is generally employer-friendly on commission disputes if you have written documentation. Without it, verbal promises carry real weight.

What a Commission Agreement Needs to Cover

• Rate: Exact percentage or flat amount per deal
• When earned: Signed, funded, or collected
• When paid: Next payroll, 30 days after funding, etc.
• Clawback: What happens if the deal cancels or a check bounces
• Post-termination: What deals pay out after the rep leaves
• Draw: If used, terms of recovery
• Splits: If setters and closers share, exact percentages
• Disputes: How disputes get resolved (internal review, arbitration, etc.)

A Real Scenario

Rep quits a Sacramento roofing company with $12,000 of signed but unfunded deals. Contract says commission earns "when payment is received." Deals fund over the next 45 days. Rep files a California DLSE claim. Company argues that earning requires the rep to still be employed. Problem: the contract does not say that.

DLSE rules for the rep. Company pays $12,000 commission plus waiting time penalties of 30 days wages (approximately $6,000) because the company argued in bad faith about a term not in the contract. Total: $18,000. All of it avoidable with a single sentence: "Commission is earned only on deals where payment is received while the sales representative is actively employed."

What to Put in Writing Today

If you have reps working without a signed commission agreement, fix that this week. Not next month, this week. Template language exists. Have a labor attorney in your state review a 2-page agreement. Cost: $500 to $1,000 one time. Exposure avoided: often $20,000 to $100,000 per unpaid commission claim.

Store signed agreements digitally with timestamps. Paper copies get lost. A signed PDF with date stamps is evidence that holds up in every state. RoofKnockers keeps signed commission agreements attached to each rep's profile so you can pull the document in 10 seconds during a dispute.

FAQ

Can I change a commission plan mid-year?

Yes, prospectively. You can announce a change effective next pay period. You cannot retroactively change rates on deals already signed. That is where companies get sued. Apply changes forward only and get reps to sign an acknowledgment of the new plan.

What if my rep claims a verbal promise I never made?

If you have no written agreement, it is your word against theirs. In California and New York, this favors the rep. In Texas and Florida, it favors whoever has better documentation. Always document commission conversations via email so there is a paper trail.

Is there a federal commission law?

No federal statute governs commission specifically. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers minimum wage and overtime, which can apply to commissioned reps if they are W-2. Commission specifics are governed at the state level.

Do 1099 contractors have the same commission protections?

Usually fewer. State wage claim statutes typically apply to W-2 employees. 1099 contractors enforce commission through contract law (breach of contract lawsuits) rather than labor boards. This is faster for employers but reps will sometimes argue they were misclassified and should have been W-2 to access the labor board route.