Under the legislation terms, you must include the following information in the written documentation that you will prepare for your salespeople:
1. Method of calculation of salary, other wages, commissions, draws against commissions, and any other money that can be earned.
2. Stipulate clearly when a commission payment is considered “earned.”
3. Clearly define when a commission payment will be forwarded or paid to the salesperson.
4. Identify how often a recoverable draw will be reconciled.
5. In the event of termination, enumerate what commissions will be paid and when.

The goal behind any sales compensation programs should be to drive the desired type of performance that you need to see.

It is unfortunate that many companies fail to balance the different demands of handling salespeople. Therefore, the plans that they have do not deliver the desired result. Before any salesperson files a complaint against your company, make sure that you provide the detailed information in the fulfillment of their jobs.

It is now the best time to review your sales compensation plan and make sure that:
1. There’s proper documentation.
2. There’s regular monitoring.
3. It provides a win-win situation for the company and the salespeople.
4. Sales activity and communications of earnings should be timely and accurately reported.
5. They meet the best practices and legal requirements.

A written documentation for the terms of employment of salespeople may be summed up by the acronym “FARM” which stands for the following:

Focus the attention on desired activities
Attract qualified applicants
Retain only the experienced or highly performing personnel.
Motivate your salespeople to maximize their performance and reach the top

In order to achieve these goals, a considerable amount of effort is required. Bear in mind that these goals have to meet various government regulations yet be simple enough to communicate to your salespeople. Of course the pay program has to be within the company’s ability to effectively administer it.

Door-to-door sales prohibited for some minors and regulated for others:

Oregon (1985) – Prohibited for minors under age 16. Registration required for employers of 16- and 17-year-olds.
Virginia (1991) – Prohibited for minors under age 16. Permit required for employers of 16- and 17-year-olds.
Washington (1989) – Prohibited for minors under age 16 unless the Department of Labor and Industries grants a variance. Registration required for employers of 16- and 17- year-olds.

Door-to-door sales regulated:

Massachusetts (1990) – Certificate of registration is required for employers of minors under age 18. Law is applicable only to minors who reside away from home while so employed and who receive their primary source of income from such activity.

Ohio (1990/91) – Registration is required for employers of minors under age 16. Special nightwork hours restrictions in door-to-door sales apply to minors under age 16 and to 16- and 17-year-olds.

Tennessee (1999) – Employers of minors under age 16, who transport the minors more than 5 miles from their residences, must comply with hours of work restrictions and record-keeping requirements.

Utah (1990) – Registration and local licensing is required for employers of minors under age 16.
Wisconsin (1989) – Certification is required for employers of minors under age 18.

Other restrictions:

Arizona (1985) – Work in door-to-door sales is prohibited after 7 p.m. for minors under age 16.

Prepared By:
Division of External Affairs
Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration
U.S. Department of Labor

Source: dol.gov

There are a lot of uncertainties in today’s real estate market. The buzz word phrase that a lot of people have been talking about is called sub-prime mortgage crisis. One lesson that can be learned from this situation is that having basic knowledge is definitely powerful. As a newcomer, you have to know the glossary of terms that will help you get familiar with real estate. Here they are:
Mortgage – a lien on property which secures the promise to repay a loan. It is a loan to finance the purchase of real estate, and usually has specified payment periods and interest rates.

The Sales and Marketing industries are not excluded from labor law offenses and could have been subject to scrutiny by their employers in different points of reference. The Male domination in the Forbes top 50 list of CEOs has also trickled down to this type of industry.

For the series of posts for this month, we will tackle several questions an employer should not ask an applicant on issues such as gender, and other factors such as disability and religion. America has been always regarded as the land of the free and has the highest tolerance to other people. But in the workplace, it seems to be a little different from what they are preaching, most especially these human resource developers – seeking efficiency more than other traits in a person, but the said traits/issues should not factor in according to several laws and also in the Amendments of the United States of America.

Pregnancy is one form of incapacity, but let us delve further on the general scope of incapacitation. Sure an employer can ask questions on what you are incapacitated of, and your requirements, but they cannot ask any other questions regarding that matter.
Questions pertaining to these matters involve such discrimination on to these incapacitated people. And would mean that they aren’t fit for the job that they are applying for. Although it is logical that some cannot do physical jobs due to their condition, other jobs, requiring technical skills doesn’t limit incapacitated people from doing their best and producing quality output.