Accepted A Job At $19 An Hour, Only Getting Paid By Commissions.

I recently accepted a position at a nail salon where I signed paperwork clearly stating that I would be paid $19 an hour. However, when I received my first paycheck, I noticed that I was only paid based on commission, and the salon keeps 40% of those earnings.

In my first two weeks, I worked around 51.5 hours and only made $645, which is far less than what I expected based on my hourly rate. I know that in most cases, pay structures are either commission-only, hourly-only, or “whichever is higher.” Since my signed agreement made no mention of commission, I assumed I would be paid hourly as stated.

The only time commission pay was ever mentioned was during my interview, and even then, my manager wasn’t clear about how it would work. Nothing about it was included in the documents I signed.

When I asked about my pay, my manager told me that a “new law” (which he didn’t specify) was extended to 2029, allowing salons to continue paying commission only. He added, “So if you want, we can continue commission only.”

I replied and said:

“From my understanding, under California law, employees who are paid on commission are still required to receive at least their guaranteed hourly wage if commissions fall below that amount?”

His only response was, “I’d have to double check that.”

To make things more confusing, the salon just held a meeting stating that we now have to come in for our scheduled shifts even if we have no clients. I wouldn’t mind that if I were guaranteed my hourly pay, but since I’m only being paid commission, it feels unfair and potentially illegal.

Location: California — is this legal? And has anyone heard of this “law” being extended to 2029?