New York Labor Law Section 191-A - Definitions.

191-a. Definitions. For purposes of this article the term:

(a) "Commission" means compensation accruing to a sales representative for payment by a principal, the rate of which is expressed as a percentage of the dollar amount of wholesale orders or sales.

(b) "Earned commission" means a commission due for services or merchandise which is due according to the terms of an applicable contract or, when there is no applicable contractual provision, a commission due for merchandise which has actually been delivered to, accepted by, and paid for by the customer, notwithstanding that the sales representative's services may have terminated.

(c) "Principal" means a person or company engaged in the business of manufacturing, and who:

(1) Manufactures, produces, imports, or distributes a product for wholesale;

(2) Contracts with a sales representative to solicit orders for the product; and

(3) Compensates the sales representative in whole or in part by commissions.

(d) "Sales representative" means a person or entity who solicits orders in New York state and is not covered by subdivision six of section one hundred ninety and paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section one hundred ninety-one of this article because he or she is an independent contractor, but does not include one who places orders for his own account for resale.


Last modified: February 3, 2019