Hernandez Technology, Inc. v. Rivera

What the court decided

A sales representative's commissions were "vested and mandatory as opposed to discretionary and forfeitable," so they were wages, and whether the employer's "30% keep" before calculating them was an unlawful deduction was a question for trial. The 2021 amendment is remedial and applies retroactively: the Legislature called it a "remedial amendment," said it would "take effect immediately," and passed it to correct court decisions that had read the statute narrowly. The court expressly departed from the First Department on this point.

Who won

Neither side won outright. Both sides' summary judgment motions on the Labor Law claims were denied, so the claims go to trial; the order was affirmed with one change to the recoverable period.

Why it matters for salespeople

The leading case applying the 2021 amendment to pay withheld before August 2021. It binds trial courts in the Fourth Department (western and central New York), but the First Department disagrees.

Key passage: 239 A.D.3d 1354 at 1357-1358.

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This page summarizes the decision in plain language.