A VP of Sales, a regional director, or a senior account executive who is let go is usually holding four documents at once: a commission plan, an employment agreement, a non-solicitation or non-compete, and a proposed separation agreement. The money is in how they fit together, and the separation agreement is written to make you stop asking.
In Ohio, a commission that was earned under the plan before you left is yours, and a separation agreement that conditions it on a release is trading your own money back to you. For W-2 sales employees, earned commissions are wages under R.C. 4113.15 and are due on the regular payday for the period in which they were earned; for independent representatives, R.C. 1335.11 sets a 30-day deadline after termination with up to triple damages for willful nonpayment. Whether a commission was earned is decided by the plan language, and where the plan is silent, Ohio's procuring cause doctrine generally awards it to the person who generated the sale. Sean H. Sobel represents sales executives, directors, and account managers across Ohio, from Cleveland to Columbus and Cincinnati, on unpaid commissions, non-solicitation and non-compete terms, performance plans, and separation packages, with the review fee quoted in writing before any work begins.
Sales leaders are among the firm's most frequent flat-fee clients: a VP of Sales handed a separation agreement the week before a quarterly payout, a territory manager whose accounts were reassigned after a complaint, a senior account executive leaving for a competitor with a non-solicit in the drawer. The work is done in writing, on a fee quoted before anything begins.
The plan decides when a commission is earned: at signature, at booking, at invoice, at payment, or at some later date the company picks. That definition, and the version of the plan that was in effect when you made the sale, decide what you are owed. A plan circulated after the fact does not rewrite the deals already made, and a forfeiture clause that takes back earned commissions from an employee who is no longer on the payroll on payout day is the clause to challenge first. Read the sales commission practice page for how the plan, R.C. 4113.15, and the procuring cause doctrine fit together.
Senior sales roles often carry an employment agreement with a defined meaning of cause, a notice period, a guaranteed draw, or an equity or bonus component. Whether the company followed its own cause definition, and what the agreement says happens to the draw and the bonus at termination, are the first questions. A sales executive with equity is in the same position as any other executive, and the executive compensation page covers vesting, acceleration, and the cause label.
Ohio enforces a restrictive covenant that is no broader than needed to protect a legitimate employer interest, and narrows one that is too broad rather than voiding it. For a salesperson the operative clause is usually the non-solicit: which accounts, for how long, and whether it reaches customers you brought with you. Being laid off does not by itself release you from it. A written review tells you what you can and cannot do at the next job and how to handle the conversation with the new employer. The non-compete page explains the standard.
The company wants a release. In exchange it is offering severance, and it has often folded your earned commissions into the same number so that the whole package looks generous. Separate them. Earned commissions are owed regardless; severance is the price of the release. If you are 40 or older, the agreement must give you 21 days to consider it (45 in a group reduction) and 7 days to revoke after signing. The severance page and the severance self-check cover the rest of the document.
A dated written demand that lists the deals, the amounts, and the plan provision, which is the first step and often the last one needed. Where it is not, the claim is brought as a wage claim under R.C. 4113.15 for employees, or under R.C. 1335.11 for independent representatives, with the statutory penalties each provides. How long an employer has to pay commissions after termination covers the deadlines.
A quota raised mid-year, a territory carved up after you raised a concern, or a performance plan that arrives the month before a large payout is a pattern the firm sees often. For a sales leader who is still employed, the goal is to protect the position and the pipeline in writing without creating the record the company wants. The still-employed guide explains the approach, and the PIP post covers the plan itself.
What the non-solicit and non-compete allow, what to take and what to leave, how to handle customer contacts in the transition, and what to tell the new employer. The firm represents the salesperson, not the new company, and the advice is about staying on the right side of the agreement while keeping the career moving.
Where the timing of a termination tracks a complaint you made, a medical or family leave, or your age, the separation agreement is asking you to release a real claim, and its value changes the negotiation. The firm evaluates those claims before you sign, not after.
A written analysis and a recommended counter, typically within a few business days of receiving the complete set of documents, depending on their volume and current caseload. Starting fee $1,500 for a single agreement of typical length; the exact fee is quoted in writing before any work begins. All starting fees are listed on the document review page.
Document review for a sales executive is a flat fee, quoted in writing before any work begins, for a scope defined at the same time: the commission plan, the employment agreement, the covenants, and the separation agreement, a written analysis, and a call to work through it. Direct negotiation with the company is a separate scope quoted separately. A commission claim that goes to a demand letter or a lawsuit is handled on terms set out in writing before it starts, and the firm will tell you plainly whether the amount at stake justifies the step.
The firm represents the salesperson only, never the company, and checks for conflicts before opening any matter. Sean H. Sobel is licensed in Ohio; agreements governed by another state's law can be reviewed for their terms, with local counsel engaged where a question turns on that state's law.
Name the employer, what you are holding, and any deadline. You will get a written reply after a conflict check that says what the review would cover and the flat fee for that scope before anything is billed.
Do not attach or send the agreement or any customer data yet. The firm runs a conflict check first and then tells you how to send the documents. Sending this form does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Every matter is different. Descriptions of typical timing, fees, and outcomes are general and do not guarantee any particular result in your case.
Generally yes, if they were earned under the plan before you left. For a W-2 employee, earned commissions are wages under R.C. 4113.15 and are due on the regular payday for the period in which they were earned; once a payment is 30 days late the statute adds liquidated damages. For an independent sales representative, R.C. 1335.11 requires payment within 30 days of termination for commissions already due, with up to triple damages for willful nonpayment. The dispute is almost always over whether the commission was earned, and the plan language decides that.
That clause is the one to challenge, and the answer depends on how the plan defines earned. If the plan says a commission is earned when the deal is booked or invoiced, a later payout date is a payment mechanic, not a condition, and the commission is owed. If the plan genuinely conditions earning on being employed at payout, Ohio courts have enforced those terms in some cases, so the version of the plan you signed and when the sale closed both matter. Read the plan in effect when the sale was made, not the one circulated afterward.
Only what the non-solicit allows. Ohio enforces a non-solicitation clause that is reasonable in scope and duration, and a customer non-solicit tied to accounts you actually worked is the kind courts enforce most readily. Customers you brought with you, publicly available contact information, and accounts you never touched are the usual points of negotiation. The safe sequence is to have the covenant read before you resign, not after the first customer calls.
A performance plan is lawful on its own. The timing becomes a legal question when the plan follows a complaint, a leave, or a protected trait, or when it is used to terminate you before a commission that is already earned becomes payable. Document the deal timeline and the plan timeline side by side, respond to the plan in writing, and do not resign. The still-employed advisory engagement is built for this situation.
Yes, across Ohio, including Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Toledo, and Dayton, and for Ohio-based companies employing sales staff elsewhere. Document review is done in writing and by phone, so location rarely matters. Sean H. Sobel is licensed in Ohio; an agreement governed by another state's law can be reviewed for its terms, with local counsel engaged where a question turns on that state's law.
Separation agreement review starts at $1,500 for a single agreement of typical length, and non-compete or non-solicit review starts at $1,250, each including a written analysis and a call. A commission plan is usually reviewed together with the separation agreement as one scope. The exact fee is quoted in writing before any work begins, and direct negotiation with the company is quoted separately.
Name the employer and what you are holding. The first reply is in writing, after a conflict check.
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