It seems like a pretty basic idea that employees in this state should get paid what the state’s laws say they are owed. For instance, Colorado has a minimum wage law, an workers should get paid at least that wage for the time that they are doing work for their employers.
Likewise, employees who put time into their jobs beyond 40 hours of week should ordinarily get extra overtime pay.
Unfortunately, many employers in the Denver area may try a number of tricks to get around these laws. Sometimes, this is simply due to carelessness or ignorance, but at other times, it clearly demonstrates that a company is more concerned about profit than it is about its workers and even following the law.
Some of the most common schemes to avoid paying overtime include misclassifying workers as exempt salaried employees or, alternatively, as independent contractors who get paid by the job rather than by the hour. In fact, employers are not allowed simply to label their workers as is convenient for them but must classify workers according to fair and objective legal standards.
In other cases, an employer may by a number of subtle or not-so-subtle rules and practices require an employee to work off the clock and, thus, without pay. Some examples of this may be a rule that requires an employee to correct mistakes on his or her own time or an expectation that an employee will spend some extra time cleaning up after clocking out but before leaving.
If an employee in the greater Denver area feels he or she has been the victim of one of these practices or has otherwise been deprived wages, our law office is available to help them explore their options and pursue relief.