Welcome

“We are committed to protecting every employee’s right to a fair day’s pay for
a hard day’s work.”

Colorado employees are protected by federal and state overtime pay laws as well as by detailed rules and regulations regarding subjects such as unpaid wages and tip pooling. In general, these rules require that employees be compensated for all work performed at a minimum wage. In addition, overtime pay laws state that, for most employees, work performed beyond a 40-hour week or 12-hour day must be compensated at “time and one-half” rates. Other rules require employers to allow tipped employees to keep all of their tips and preclude employers from deducting business expenses from employee wages.

Although these rules may seem straightforward, they are complicated by questions as to: 1) whether tip pooling is legal (for example, can tipped employees be required to pool or share tips with managers or kitchen workers); 2) who is entitled to overtime pay (many employees, even “white collar” workers on salary, are entitled to overtime pay without knowing it); 3) what is work time (for example, are employees entitled to be paid for time spent dressing for work and preparing/maintaining work supplies, e.g., is working off the clock legal); and 4) what are legal wage deductions (for example, can waitstaff be docked for customer walkouts or glass breakage). Unfortunately, employers often choose to ignore the law and, as a result, many employees are unaware that they are owed significant sums of money as back pay.

This website provides a general overview of some of the more common employer violations relating to overtime pay, tip pooling, working off the clock and unpaid wages. Given the complexity of Colorado employment law, however, it is not possible for this site to fully explain employee rights. Therefore, if you believe you may have been a victim of any of the practices discussed on the site – or simply would like more information about your rights – please contact us for a free and confidential case evaluation.