There is nothing worse than feeling as if your employer is not paying you for the time you’ve been spending on the job. Whether it’s a few missing hours of pay each week or paychecks that never seem to add up correctly, you may be confused and frustrated. The good news is that Colorado has steps in place to help you seek the compensation that you’re owed from your employer. Employers who don’t pay could be fined or penalized for their actions. Best of all, you may be able to stay out of court if you are owed $7,500 or less in wages.
The Colorado Wage Protection Act is making significant changes in how the state’s wage and hour laws work. The Wage Protection Act was implemented in January 2015 and established a procedure to help adjudicate situations where there were unpaid wages of $7,500 or less per employee. The new act also increased the fines that employers could have imposed on them for making these errors in payments. The act also provides for attorneys’ fees if the employees were paid less than minimum wage.
Did you know that past laws limited claims against employers to those who had been terminated from employment?
In the past, only those who had been terminated from their positions could make a written demand for payment. They would need to do this within 60 days of being let go from the position.
With the amendments to wage and hour laws, current employees can now make demands and have no 60-day deadline to meet. Keep in mind that the statute of limitations is two years (or three years for willful violations of the law).
Another helpful benefit of the new amendments is that you can also seek compensation for your attorney. If you’re not paid appropriately, then your employer may be forced to cover the cost of your attorney’s fees, so that you don’t have to use your winnings to support that financial burden.
If you believe that you have not been paid, you can submit a written demand for payment with your employer. Employers are then required to remit payment within 14 days to avoid penalties. They have the option to appeal. If your demand is denied, you also may appeal.
Your attorney will help you file a written demand and can help with appeals or a court case, should you decide to go to court over your missing wages.