Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1446 – Compensation; independent contractor status of salespersons and associate brokers
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1446
- Active licensee: means any currently licensed person whose license has not been transferred to inactive status and who is authorized to act in the capacity of a real estate broker or salesperson as provided for in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- Associate broker: means a person who holds a broker's license and who is exclusively affiliated with and sponsored by another licensed real estate broker to participate in any activity described in this Section. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- Commission: means the Louisiana Real Estate Commission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Licensee: means any person who has been issued a license by the commission to participate in any activity described in this Section. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Qualifying broker: means the sponsoring broker for a licensed corporation, limited liability company, or partnership and is the individual real estate broker designated by a licensed corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, by resolution, as its representative in all matters relating to its real estate business activities in Louisiana and in administrative and regulatory matters before the commission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- Real estate: shall mean and include condominiums and leaseholds, as well as any other interest in land, with the exceptions of oil, gas and other minerals and whether the real estate is situated in this state or elsewhere. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- Real estate salesperson: means a person, other than an associate broker, sponsored by a licensed real estate broker to participate in any activity described in this Section. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- Real estate transaction: means the selling, offering for sale, buying, offering to buy, soliciting for prospective purchasers, managing, offering to manage, leasing, offering to lease, renting, or offering to rent any real estate or improvements thereon, or any business or other entity whose assets include real estate or leases of real estate. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
- Sponsoring broker: means any individual real estate broker who sponsors associate brokers or real estate salespersons who participate in any activity described in this Section. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1431
A. No payment of a commission or compensation shall be made by any licensee or registrant to any person who has not first secured a license or registration under the provisions of this Chapter. This Subsection shall not apply to a nonresident broker who is currently licensed in his state of residence.
B. No payment of a commission or other compensation shall be made by any broker to any licensee when the paying broker has knowledge that the receiving licensee has agreed to pay or intends to pay or otherwise deliver a portion of the commission or compensation to an unlicensed person or entity.
C. Associate brokers, salespersons, and timeshare interest salespersons shall not pay or offer to pay any commission or valuable consideration for the performance of any act herein specified.
D. Payment of a commission or compensation may be made to and accepted by former licensees and registrants for transactions negotiated by them while duly licensed or registered by the commission.
E. An active licensee may accept compensation for transactions that were initiated by the licensee while under sponsorship of a former sponsoring or qualifying broker, provided that the compensation is transmitted through the current sponsoring or qualifying broker.
F. An active real estate licensee shall not accept a commission or other valuable consideration for the performance of any act herein specified, or for performing any act relating thereto, from any person, except their sponsoring or qualifying broker.
G. Associate brokers and salespersons may assign or direct that commissions or other compensation earned in connection with a real estate transaction be paid by their licensed sponsoring broker to an unlicensed corporation of which the associate broker or salesperson is the sole officer, director, and shareholder, or an unlicensed limited liability company of which the associate broker or salesperson is the sole manager.
H. A sponsored real estate licensee shall be an independent contractor of the sponsoring or qualifying broker for all purposes and shall not be an employee of the sponsoring or qualifying broker, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The real estate salesperson or associate broker is a licensee.
(2) Substantially all of the sponsored licensee’s remuneration for the services performed is directly related to sales or other output rather than the number of hours worked.
(3) There is a written agreement between the sponsored licensee and the sponsoring or qualifying broker that specifies that the sponsored licensee will not be treated as an employee.
Acts 1978, No. 514, §1; Acts 1989, No. 655, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1990; Acts 1995, No. 1207, §1; Acts 1997, No. 845, §1; Acts 1999, No. 452, §2; Acts 2003, No. 321, §1; Acts 2006, No. 332, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2016, No. 533, §1.