A new Colorado law updates several rules regarding the enforcement of wage and hour laws in the state:
- The definition of “employer” for purposes of wage and hour laws is amended to also include an individual who owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interest in an employer.
- Prohibits an employer from making a payroll deduction below a worker’s applicable minimum wage (not only the federal minimum wage).
- Allows the director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics to waive the penalty for an employer’s failure to pay claimed wages or compensation if the employer pays the claim within 14 days after the claim is sent to the employer. The penalty cannot be waived, however, if the alleged violation is a second or subsequent failure to pay within five years.
- Requires an employer found to have misclassified an employee as a nonemployee to pay a fine in the following amounts, in addition to any other relief ordered:
- For a willful violation, $5,000;
- For a violation not remedied within 60 days after the division’s finding, $10,000;
- For a second or subsequent willful violation within 5 years, $25,000; or
- For a second or subsequent willful violation not remedied within 60 days after the division’s finding, $50,000.
This law is effective on the 91st day after final adjournment of the general assembly (likely August 6, 2025).
