Articles Discussing Colorado Wage & Hour Issues.

Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (SB 19-085), originally introduced on January 17, received its first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 20, 2019.

Under the Colorado Wage Claim Act (CWCA), a terminated employee’s right to seek unpaid wages or compensation at termination is subject to the two- or three-year statute of limitations found in the CWCA, the Colorado Supreme Court has held. Hernandez v. Domenico Farms, Inc., 2018 CO 15 (Mar. 5, 2018).

The minimum wage and overtime pay rules in Colorado’s Minimum Wage Order (MWO) apply to companions for the elderly or infirm who work for third-party employers, a federal judge in Colorado has ruled. Kennett v. Bayada Home Health Care, Inc., 14-cv-2005-CMA-MJW (D. Colo. Sept. 24, 2015).

Significant changes to Colorado’s wage and hour law are set to go into effect on January 1, 2015, with the implementation of the Wage Protection Act of 2014 (the Act or the amendments). The Act amends the Colorado Wage Claim Act by establishing a procedure for the Colorado Division of Labor to adjudicate complaints for unpaid wages or compensation of $7,500 or less per employee, increases fines that can be imposed on employers, and provides for attorneys’ fees for employees paid less than the applicable minimum wage.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced that it has adopted Minimum Wage Order 30, which will govern minimum wages in 2014. Effective January 1, 2014, the state’s minimum wage will increase from $7.78 to $8.00 per hour. For tipped employees, the minimum cash wage will increase from $4.76 to $4.98 per hour, whereas the maximum tip credit an employer may apply towards meeting its minimum wage obligation will remain $3.02 per hour.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has announced that, effective January 1, 2013, the minimum wage for non-exempt employees will increase from $7.64 to $7.78 per hour. Moreover, the minimum wage that tipped employees must be paid increases from $4.62 to $4.76 per hour, whereas the maximum tip credit employers may apply towards meeting their minimum wage obligation remains $3.02 per hour. Colorado joins Missouri, Vermont, and 7 other states that will have increased minimum wage rates in 2013.

On December 5, 2011, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the improper classification of employees as independent contractors.