The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision holding that hhgregg Inc.’s practice of paying at least minimum wage to commissioned employees when earned commissions fell short of minimum wage during a given pay period, and then later deducting that amount if the employee made more than minimum wage in the future, did not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Stein v. HHGregg, Inc., 873 F.3d 523 (6th Cir. 2017). The Sixth Circuit’s jurisdiction extends to Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. Wisconsin businesses are not directly affected by the outcome of this case, but the circuit’s decision is informative.

Background

Hhgregg’s retail employees are paid on commission. If the employees do not sell enough products to meet minimum-wage requirements in a given week, then hhgregg advances a “draw” to the employees to bring their wages up to minimum wage. If an employee later makes more than minimum-wage in a work week, then hhgregg will deduct the amount of previous draws from the employee’s paycheck. Current and former employees sued hhgregg claiming that the recoupment of draw advances from later paychecks violated the FLSA. Specifically, the plaintiffs argued that hhgregg’s policy violated the requirement that minimum wage be paid “finally and unconditionally or ‘free and clear.’” 29 C.F.R. § 531.35. That is, the employees claimed that this scheme resulted in an unlawful “kick back” of wages.

The Court’s Decision

The court concluded that recouping draws from later paychecks does not constitute an unlawful kick-back. The court explained that the regulations prohibit employers from demanding that employees return wages already delivered. However, the court held that hhgregg’s practice did not violate the anti-kick back FLSA regulations because hhgregg employees keep all draws received from the company in the paycheck in which the draw is received. If and when the employee makes more than minimum wage, hhgregg deducts draws from wages before they are delivered to the employee. Therefore, hhgregg was not receiving a kick-back from delivered wages, and thus did not violate the regulations.

Employer Take-Away

Stein v. Hhgregg provides helpful insight for Wisconsin employers who have commissioned employees. Wisconsin employers may wish to review their policies in light of this decision and consult with legal counsel.

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