The employment lawyers at The Wilhite Law Firm dedicate most of their time to combating “wage theft,” which occurs when an employer either intentionally or unintentionally fails to pay its employees the money that is legally owed to them.
Common examples of wage theft include:
- Paying employees less than their agreed wage rates, the federal minimum wage, or the Colorado Minimum Wage of $11.10 per hour;
- Misclassifying employees as “independent contractors;”
- Misclassifying employees who are entitled to overtime compensation as “exempt” from overtime laws;
- Requiring employees to work off the clock (for example, before or after their shifts begin or when they are supposed to be taking paid breaks);
- Deducting money from employees’ wages for meal breaks that are not actually provided;
- Deducting money from employees’ wages to punish them for supposed policy violations (for example, being late or not following proper protocol with customers);
- Refusing to pay employees’ wages based on the employees’ apparent immigration status; and
- Failing to pay employees’ final wages and/or vacation pay that is owed to them when they leave employment.
These are only a few examples of the ways employers deprive their employees of the money that is owed to them. An employer who commits wage theft is liable for the wages that are withheld, and may also be required to pay civil penalties and/or criminal fines, as well as attorney’s fees and costs.
Wage theft is prohibited by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, by the Colorado Wage Act, and by the Colorado Minimum Wage Order.
What is the Minimum Wage in Colorado?
If you work in Colorado, your employer is prohibited from paying you less than the agreed hourly rate that was promised to you before you performed the work. Under the Colorado Minimum Wage Order, that rate must be at least $11.10 per hour for the vast majority of workers.
The current Minimum Wage Order, which is Minimum Wage Order Number 35, can be viewed online here.
What is Overtime Compensation?
Most Colorado employees are also entitled to overtime compensation. As you are probably aware “overtime” is defined by federal law to include any work that exceeds 40 hours per week. What you may not know is that Colorado law additionally defines overtime to include any work in excess of 12 hours per day. So, for example, if an employee covered by the Wage Order works 12 ½ on Monday, but does not work more than 40 hours that week, the employee is still owed overtime for the 30 minutes they worked over 12 hours on Monday.
The overtime regulations under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Colorado Minimum Wage Order contain some “exemptions” for certain kinds of workers. Those exemptions are highly technical and can be confusing.
If you believe you have not been properly paid overtime compensation, or believe you may have been subjected to wage theft in some other way (e.g., being misclassified, receiving pay that is less than your agreed rate, working without rest breaks, etc.), please consider speaking with one of our experienced wage and hour attorneys.
