New Jersey Sales Representatives’ Rights Act

Does a principal client owe you an unpaid commission in an amount that you believe is too small to justify retaining an attorney to assist in your collection efforts? Our New Jersey Sales Representative Attorneys represent independent sales representations in cases of unpaid commissions no matter how small or large. If your unpaid commission is governed by the New Jersey Sales Representative Act, you may be entitled to treble damages (up 3 times the amount of the unpaid commission) and reimbursement of all attorney fees and costs incurred in recovering the debt owed.

The New Jersey Sales Representatives’ Rights Act provides strong legal protections to independent sales representatives for the unpaid commissions from their principal. The New Jersey Sales Representatives’ Rights Act mandates that an independent sales representative is paid their commission from the principal when due and that failure to do so will render the principal liable to the sales representative for all amounts due the sales representative, exemplary damages in an amount three times the amount of commissions owed to the sales representative and all attorney’s fees and costs. This law is designed to provide an incentive for the rapid payment of commissions that were earned by independent sales representatives. The law ensures that independent sales representatives do not have the amount of unpaid commission be reduced by the costs of collections, litigation and attorney fees by allowing them to recoup these out of pocket expenses from the principal who has violated the Sales Representative Rights Act.

Termination to Avoid Paying Bonus

It may be unlawful for an employer to terminate a sales representative solely to avoid having to pay a bonus that would otherwise need to be paid to the employee.If a sales representative has a contract with his or her employer that entitles them to a bonus or other additional compensation, the contract has an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.In an employee-employer relationship, a claim of breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing will exist if the employer terminates the sales representative in bad faith to deprive him or her of the benefits of the employment agreement, including the bonus.In these situations, the sales representative would have to show that there was no good reason to terminate their employment other than to avoid having to pay the bonus that would have had to be paid if the employer did not breach the employment agreement.

Because the Sales Representative Rights Act provides for an award of treble damages, attorney fees and costs, we are often able to represent our clients in cases of unpaid commissions on a contingency basis – meaning we only get paid if you recover. In other words, we are paid only if we are able to collect your unpaid commission. Therefore, no unpaid commission is too small, which is the corner stone of the Sales Representatives Act. New Jersey law recognizes that your commissions are your source of your income and the law is designed to protect this critical part of your sales business.

If you are an independent sales or manufacturing representative or company who is owed commissions from your principal client, please call one of our Sales Representative Attorneys to discuss the particulars of your situation.