A previous post on this blog reported that new federal standards governing who can and cannot be classified as a salaried employee exempt from overtime and other wage rules are promising to change the landscape of workplaces both in Colorado and throughout the country.
Basically, the new rules raise the minimum salary threshold from $23,000 to $35,500, meaning that employers must now guarantee at least a salary of $35,500 to an employee before the employer can take advantage of overtime exemptions for certain executive, administrative and professional employees who typically do not get paid by the hour.
This change should serve as an important reminder to Colorado employees and employers alike. Employers do not have permission to avoid paying overtime and minimum hourly wages simply by declaring an employee exempt and then expecting them to work well over 40 hours in a week for pay that amounts to far less than minimum wage.
Instead, before claiming an exemption from paying overtime, an employer must make sure it has followed all federal and state rules to the letter. Following these rules would include paying the minimum salary amounts. Likewise, before classifying a worker as a manager, the employer must be sure the worker actually has supervisory duties.
Otherwise, it would be fair to say that they have misclassified their employee as exempt, thereby depriving an employee of overtime and wages to which they are entitled.
Our law office recognizes that employees in the Denver area can lose of a lot of their livelihood due to being misclassified. When this happens, we are equipped to help employees get the justice that they deserve. Specifically, we can help them pursue unpaid overtime as well as other damages to which they are legally entitled.