Occasionally, you will meet people who tell you that they would still do their jobs even if they did not get paid, but in most cases, one of several assumptions is hiding behind that statement. Most of those people would still be able to afford necessities even without the income that they get from their jobs. Their decision might be between retirement and continuing to work at their jobs; if they retire, they will have Social Security payments and income from retirement savings, but they will miss the social interaction that they get at work.
Other people who would choose to keep their jobs, even without the paycheck, have other sources of income; perhaps they inherited money from their parents, or their spouse earns enough money that the family would still be able to cover its expenses with only one spouse’s employment income. The rest of us, no matter how much we enjoy our jobs, work because we need the money. Nothing turns work from being the highlight of your week into a source of stress and frustration like your employer not paying you enough. Fortunately, legal remedies and protections are available to ensure that workers in Colorado get fair pay and that they have recourse to the courts if their employers do not pay them as much money as they have earned.
The Boulder wage and overtime lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP in Boulder can help you resolve disputes with your employer about payment, including but not limited to disputes about overtime pay.
How Much Do Employers Have to Pay Workers in Colorado?
In some contexts, fair pay is a relative term. Various jobs have unofficial market rates; you can tell what they are for your role by looking at employment ads for positions similar to yours. You can also ask colleagues at your workplace and those who work for other employers in jobs like yours how much they make; doing this is a legally protected activity, which means that it is against the law for your employer to retaliate against you for discussing with coworkers how much money you earn. Even though the usual pay varies from one job to another, employers in Colorado must pay most workers at least the statewide minimum wage, which is $15.16 per hour. Cities and counties within Colorado may set higher minimum wages. For example, the minimum wage in Boulder County is $16.82 per hour, and Denver and Edgewater have even higher minimum wages.
Some jobs are exempt from minimum wage requirements. For example, employees who earn at least $30 in tips per week can receive the tipped minimum wage from their employers, namely $3.02 per hour, which assumes that the employee will get most of his or her pay from tips. During shifts where the employee’s base pay plus tips adds up to less than the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference so that the employee gets at least $15.16 per hour for that shift. In Boulder, the tipped minimum wage is $13.80 per hour.
If you have an employment contract, your employer must pay you the amount indicated in the contract, even if it is well above $16.82 per hour. Your employer cannot reduce your pay to save itself money just because the reduced wage would still meet state minimum wage requirements. Employment contracts are legally binding; in some matters, such as employee compensation, the terms of the contract supersede state law.
Employees must pay their employees the overtime rate, which is 1.5 times the employee’s base wage, for every hour beyond the 40th that the employee works in a week. If you work 41 hours in one week, and your usual wage is $17, your employer must pay you $26.50 for the 41st hour.
Not everyone is entitled to overtime pay. Overtime pay was designed for manual labor jobs and those where your work can easily be measured in hours. Managerial jobs and positions where the work is mostly intellectual are not eligible for overtime; most of those jobs pay monthly salaries instead of hourly wages, anyway. Furthermore, seasonal jobs, such as holiday gift wrapping kiosks and Fourth of July firework stands, are exempt from overtime pay. The assumption with these jobs is that employees will only work for a few weeks, but that, during each of those weeks, they will work more than 40 hours.
What About Independent Contractors?
Independent contractors, who get a 1099 tax form instead of a W-2, do not have the same protections regarding how much they get paid. Regardless of whether you are an employee or an independent contractor, your employer must pay you for all the time you worked. Employers sometimes try to withhold the employee’s or independent contractor’s last paycheck if the worker quits in the middle of a pay period, but it is against the law for employers to do this.
Unfortunately, independent contractors are not eligible for overtime pay, just as employers are not required to pay health insurance benefits for them. Sometimes employers intentionally categorize workers as independent contractors when, based on their work, they should count as employees, since they work 40 hours per week, or close to that, for the employer, and have done so for years. A Boulder employment lawyer can help you if your employer has misclassified you as an independent contractor when you should be an employee.
Resolving Disputes With Your Employer Over Payment and Misclassification
If your employer is not paying you fairly, your best course of action is to contact an employment lawyer. Your lawyer can help you get the money that your employer has unlawfully withheld from you. Remember that mis-categorizing a full-time worker as an independent contractor is a form of wage theft.
Contact HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP, About Wage and Overtime
The Boulder employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP, can counsel you about wage and overtime disputes. Call our employment attorneys at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP in Boulder, Colorado, to set up a consultation.
