Levy v. Verizon Information Services, Inc.
498 F. Supp. 2d 586 (E.D.N.Y. 2007)
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York · July 25, 2007
What the court decided
Section 193 "does not restrict how an employer determines entitlement to commissions"; it bars deductions from wages already earned. Where the plan said incentive pay was not earned until a sale was final and reconciled, advances paid earlier were not yet wages, and "advanced, unearned incentive compensation is subject to the employer's recovery."
Who won
The employer won; the motion to dismiss was granted in full, largely on federal labor-law preemption grounds.
Why it matters for salespeople
The leading case employers cite on recoverable draws. It was decided before New York's 2012 amendment to section 193 and the 2014 regulations that now define an "advance" and require written, signed repayment terms.
Key passage: 498 F. Supp. 2d 586 (E.D.N.Y. 2007) at 600-602.
Read the decision (PDF) Marked with official reporter pages for citation.
Source of the text: govinfo.gov (the court's filed opinion) — https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-nyed-1_06-cv-01583. This page summarizes the decision in plain language; the court's own words are in the opinion below.