Colorado Overtime Labor Laws
August 7th, 2006 Posted by MarkI think it’s important for us to take a particular look at what’s going on with Colorado overtime law. The state has its very own unique set of regulations regarding overtime pay and what constitutes overtime, as well as its own unique exclusion to these laws.
As with most states, however, Colorado starts out its overtime law with the same basics as most other states, along with the federal government. Basically, it goes along these lines: employees have to be paid one and half times their normal payment rate for time over 40 hours of work per week. We know this rule already.
Colorado overtime law continues, though, to say that that 1.5 times pay rate is also due for any time put out by a worker over 12 hours in a day, including any 12 hour consecutive period no matter if it starts one day and ends another. And of course, that 12 hours does not include any time spent on break or at lunch.
Minors, on the other hand, have a special rule all to themselves in Colorado overtime law. Employers can make them work in real emergency situations more than eight hours a day, or more than 40 hours a week. But if such an emergency situation arises, the employers must then pay those minors the overtime rate for all time over those eight hours in a day or 40 in a week.
Other special rules in the Colorado overtime law are exclusions, not inclusions like the above minor emergency clause. These exclusions—meaning these folks are not entitled to overtime pay—are worth our attention. Some examples of these jobs include any administrative positions, or an executive, managerial, or supervisory position. Anyone employed in outside sales, domestic employees, taxi cab drivers, babysitters, and elected officials and their staffs are also excluded.
The labor laws for Colorado including overtime and the federal labor laws can be found on the Colorado Complete Labor Law poster.
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Posted by: Diane Janney
What if you are scheduled to work 8 hours a day, not 12?
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Diane!
It doesn’t matter how many hours the employee is scheduled for in Colorado. It only matters how many hours the employee actually works.
In Colorado, as in most states, an employee must be paid overtime when he or she works more than 40 hours in the payroll week.
In addition, unlike most states, the employee must be paid overtime when he or she works more than 12 hours in a day, or in a single shift.
Suppose Cindy works 30 hours per week. On Tuesday, she is scheduled for 8 hours. Cindy works 9 hours. She is not entitled to overtime pay. On Wednesday, Cindy is scheduled for 8 hours, and she works 12 hours and 15 minutes. Cindy is entitled to 15 minutes of overtime pay for Wednesday.
HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Cherie
I work as a personal care provider in an assisted living facility. I work 24 hour shifts. I am paid 12 hours regular time and 8 hours overtime. We sleep when we can but are expected to get up and take care of any needs the residents may have no matter what time it is. I have been told that we are not paid for the remaining 4 hours because they are “sleep time”. Is this legal?
Thank you
Cherie
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Cherie! This may not be legal. The U.S. Department of Labor has complex guidelines on when an employee who is on duty must be paid for time spent sleeping and eating. To get a decision on your particular situation, contact them at http://www.dol.gov. You can also post your questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Maux
We work in a restaurant in Colorado. Do restaurant employees who work 12 hours in a day with breaks get overtime if they are here more than 12 hours?
Thank You
Maux & Stacy
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Maux & Stacy! Yes, in many cases Colorado restaurant workers are entitled to 1.5 times thier usual hourly rate when working more than 12 hours in a day.
The Colorad minimum wage rate and overtime provisions apply to the retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, and health and medical industries.
This law is enforced by the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment at http://www.coworkforce.com/ . HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Tana Dominguez
HI
I work in a office enviroment and we are now resorting to mandatory overtime,are they legally able to tell us what day and shift to show up even if it is a saturday or sunday which are scheduled days off?
Sincerly,
Tana
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Tana! Yes, that is exactly what “mandatory overtime” means. The employer chooses which days and shifts the employee works, and if the employee does not show up, he or she can be disciplined or fired. This is true whether the overtime is on a scheduled work day, or on a day that the employee usually has off. We will point out that many people are out of work in this economy, and would jump at the chance to work overtime. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Tana Dominguez
Amelia,
It’s not that i am not greatful for my job and the overtime, Its just that we work a minium of 5 hrs of overtime a week and then every month end any where from 15-30 hours of overime that week and then quarter end and end of year its even more and that takes a lot of time away from my family,I have a 2 and 3 year old and it takes toll on them.We have been doing all that overtime with out it being mandatory and now they want to add mandatory shifts on top of that. I just want to know how much overtime can they demand?
Thank you,
Tana
Posted by: Andie
What defines a work week? If a pay period starts on a Wednesday, is the work week for overtime paid out only till Friday of that week? I am confused
about the overtime laws, especially when my pay period consists of 15-16 days, which starts and ends on different days of the week. Is is accurate to say that any hours in excess of 80 for a pay period is paid in overtime, regardless on which day of the week the pay perios starts and ends?
Thank you.
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Andie! Under both federal and Colorado law, hourly employees are entitled to overtime when they work more than 40 hours per week (NOT when they work more than 80 hours in two weeks, or more than 80 hours in a payroll period.) By law, every employer must establish a defined work week. The work week cannot fluctuate from one pay period to the next.
When employees are paid twice per month, the payroll period may fluctuate from 14 to 16 days, but by law the payroll week cannot.
So the first thing you need to do is find out from the employer what the payroll week is. Then, track the hours that you work each day (a pocket-sized calender is good for this) and you will be able to determine how many hours you work each payroll week. If you work more than 40 hours in a single payroll week, you are entitled to overtime.
When an hourly employee is paid for 15 days, it is possible for the employee to have more than 80 hours, and still not be entitled to overtime. The employee could have 40 hours one payroll week, 40 hours the second payroll week, and an additional 8 hours in a third payroll week.
Even if a single payroll week is split into two different pay periods, if the employee works more than 40 hours in the payroll week, he or she is still entitled to overtime. In the example above, suppose on the next check you have an additional 40 hours in the third payroll week, for 48 hours total that week. You would be entitled to 8 hours of overtime.
This answer assumes that you are an hourly employee. If you are an exempt salaried employee, different rules apply. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: lizette
overtime mandatory?
at my job there has been several times that we get mandatory overtime on the same day, without any notice on the day before. and for the past weeks we get 30 minutes of overtime everyday, is it ok for them to just make us work overtime everyday?
Posted by: Amelia
Hi lizette! Yes, the employer can make overtime mandatory, even with no notice. The best practice would be to give employees as much notice as possible, but it is not always practical. The employer may not know in advance that overtime will be required.
There are no limits on mandatory overtime in Colorado or most states. An employer could even phone the employee after he or she has gone home for the day, to come back to work, to put in mandatory overtime. the employers could require that employees work overtime 365 days per year, and it would be legal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: bruce
i volunteered to work my days off, then got sick on those days. I tried to call the office, but no one answers on the weekends and the message is 10sec long. My phone broke the friday before with individuals numbers on it so i couldnt call anyone, unitl i got my phone fixed on Sunday. I also went to the doctors and had them write what i had on the note(on Monday they are not open on the weekends) can they do this? and will i get unemployment?
Posted by: Amelia
Hi bruce! We feel your pain, but try to look at this from the employer’s perspective. A scheduled shift is a scheduled shift, whether you volunteered for it or not. And frankly, “I couldn’t call because my phone was broken” is right up there with “the dog ate my homework.”
You were no call/no show for two scheduled shifts, so you were terminated. Yes, the employer can fire you — most employers would. Normally an employee who is terminated for not calling to properly report an absence, is not eligible for unemployment. However, it never hurts to try, so apply for unemployment. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: Monique
Hello, my husband was asked to stay at work during a snow storm and was advised he and the employee who stayed would be paid double time. Now the company is trying to pay them straight time, not double or time in a half. Is that right?
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Monique! No, it’s not right. It sounds like your husband’s supervisor offered a higher rate as an incentive for employees to work during the snowstorm. He may have exceeded his authority, or he may simply be reneging now. Either way, it is good that two employees witnessed this, because they can act as witnesses for each other. Your husband should file a wage claim with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. If that is not successful, he should take the employer to small claims court.
There is no law that an employer must pay an employee overtime or doubletime for working longer hours, or for working unusual shifts. However, when the employer offers the employee a specific rate, the employer must honor those verbal promises. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Matt
HI Amelia my name is Matt and I’ll be working in colorado this winter under the J1 exchange visa. I wanted to know what I should do if my employer decided to make me work 9 hours a day and did not pay me the extra hour as overtime. Thanks in advance, love the blog ^^
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Matt! Welcome! We hope your time here will be enjoyable. What should you do if your employer decides to make you work 9 hours a day and does not pay you an hour of overtime? The answer in most cases is: nothing. The employer has not violated any US law.
In the US, both federal and state employment laws apply to all employees, including those on J1 visas. Despite what you read on this blog, 90% of US employers follow all the applicable labor laws. While you are in the US, if at any time you think your employer might be breaking the law or taking advantage of you, feel free to post a question here. But be aware that generally only the largest, most well-respected companies employ workers on J1 visas. So most likely you will find your work experience here completely enjoyable and free of problems.
But since you asked, here’s more info about overtime: Under both federal and state minimum wage laws, an employee must be paid for every hour he or she works. So an employee who works 9 hours today must be paid for the 9 hours. Meal breaks longer than 20 minutes can be unpaid, if the employee is relieved of all duties. Suppose Jane works from 8 am to 5 pm, but has an hour off for lunch. Jane has worked 8 hours, not 9 hours. However, the employer has the right to require an employee to work a shift of more than 8 hours. For example, Jane’s employer could legally require that she work from 8 am until 8 pm, or 11 hours plus a one-hour meal break. This does not violate any labor law in the US. (Even a shift of 18 or 20 hours would not violate any US labor law — although such shifts are very uncommon and you will probably never work one.)
Under federal law, an employee is entitled to overtime when the employee works more than 40 hours in the payroll week — not when the employee works more than 8 hours per day. Overtime must be paid at 1.5 times the employee’s average hourly rate. Example: an employee who worked 10 hours, four days per week, would work 40 hours per week and would not be entitled to any overtime under federal law. (The relevant statute is the FLSA, the Fair Labor Standards Act.) In the example above, if Jane worked 11 hours 3 days per week, she would be working 33 hours per week and not entitled to any overtime. If she worked 4 days one week, she would be working 44 hours in the payroll week. She would be entitled to 4 hours of overtime. If Jane normally earns $10 per hour, she must be paid $15 per hour for 4 hours of overtime that week.
Colorado has its own overtime law, which applies only to employees in four industries: Retail/ Service, Commercial Support, Food/ Beverage and Health/Medical. (If you will be working in a different industry, the Colorado law does not apply to you.) Under the Colorado law, employees are entitled to overtime at 1.5 times the employee’s average hourly rate when the employee works more than 12 hours in a single day. (Most US states do not have a similar law.) That means in Colorado, if Jane works a 14-hour shift, she is entitled to 2 hours of overtime — even if she works only 14 hours that week.
But there is no federal or Colorado law that specifically requires overtime when an employee works more than 8 hours per day. Again, we are here to answer any questions that you might have during your stay, and hope you have a great time. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Matt
Thank you Amelia that response was both reassuring and informative
this blog is really helpful
Posted by: Amelia
Hi again Matt! You are very, very welcome. Feel free to contact us with any additional questions you might have, and enjoy your visit!~ Amelia
Posted by: Thomas Dunlap
Hi,
I am helping my wife with an overtime pay dispute with her previous employer. She is an RN and the hospice agency she worked for claims that
all office charting time and travel time is considered part of her visit pay. This was not mentioned in her signed employment notification. It says they are offering $55 per patient visit and $30 per hour for IDT, staff meetings, and inservices. We filed a claim with the Colorado Department of Labor and the reviewing compliance officer sided with the hospice agency saying that she was paid in compliance with the Colorado wage law. The officer obviously considered the agency’s position that charting and travel time is considered part of her visit pay.
We thought an employee must be paid for every hour they worked. The agency even mentions in their rebuttal letter that the charting and travel time are all tracked separtely for purposes of calculating overtime.
Should we appeal this decision with the state, your thoughts please.
Thanks,
Tom
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Thomas! You can certainly appeal this with the state, but we have to agree with the Colorado DOL — your wife was paid legally. You could also hire an attorney specializing in employment law, to persue this case. The problem is that by paying your wife $55 per visit, it appears that she is being treated as an independent contractor, not an employee. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Bob
I’d like to know as a “seasonal”, “part time”, and “on call” employee if my employer can establish shifts of any length or days of the week? The incentive to work longer than 8 hours and be paid overtime after 8 hours was taken away from us because management knew that in Colorado overtime was not required to be paid after 8 hours. I’d also like to know if I’m required to work over 8 hours as a “seasonal”, “part time”, “on call employee”?
Thanks for the assistance
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Bob! In Colorado, as in other states, there are no limits on the shifts that a seasonal, part-time or on call employee can be required to work. This is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee. The employer can require employees to work a shift that is one hour long (or even shorter) or shifts that are 20 hours or more.
When we say “this is a matter of agreement betweent the employee and employer” we mean that the employer dictates the shifts, and the employee decides to accept the job or be unemployed.
Any Colorado employer can require employees to work shifts longer than 8 hours and discipline or terminate an employee who refuses. However, employers are required to pay overtime when the employee works more than 40 hours per week. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Maria
This is very helpfull
Posted by: maria
My boss makes us take home a cell phone and the availability of all of our candidates in the office. We are a medical staffing agency and we have 30 minutes to return a clients phone call. we have to take it for the whole week monday-sunday and we only get 4 hours of overtime. On holidays she lets someone take it the first 4 days and then another person has to take it the weekend of the holiday. Only the person on the begining of the holiday week gets the overtime. The boss says since that person is already getting paid for holiday pay they dont get overtime but you have it for more than 24 hours? is this legal. When i am on call i cant ever plan anything or go anywhere since the phone is always ringing. We are allowed to shut it off at 11p till 5am so that means they are allowing me to sleep 6 hours a night while im on call.
Posted by: Amelia
Thanks, Maria! Feel free to ask any questions you might have. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Amelia
Hi maria! It is important to understand the difference between on-call time and work time. Since you mention overtime, we assume that you are an hourly employee. We also assume that your employer is covered by both federal and Colorado minimum wage laws.
An employee who takes or makes phone calls to client or an answering service is working, whether that employee is hourly or on a salary. Under both federal and Colorado law, employees must be paid for all the time they work. If they work more than 40 hours in the payroll week, the employee must be paid overtime.
Time spent on call is not time worked under the law, as long as the employee is free to go about her own persuits. For example, if you are free to take the cell phone and go to the library, grocery store or a movie, then the employer is under no obligation to pay you for the time spent on-call. (If you were required to wait at the office for someone to call, that would be paid work time.)
In your case, the employer is not required to pay you anything for simply being on call and carrying the cell phone around. So she is being more than generous by paying you for 4 hours of overtime, even if you receive no calls that week. (However, it sounds like that situation is unusual, and you do receive many calls.)
Suppose Tina is on call this week. No one calls. Legally, the employer would not be obligated to pay Tina anything extra at all for being on-call. Next week Sue is on call. Sue takes calls for a total of 2 hours during the week. Legally, the employer would be obligated to pay Sue for 2 hours of work. If Sue had already worked 40 hours in the week, that would be 2 hours of overtime. Suppose Marvin is on call the third week. There are a lot of calls, and Marvin is on the phone for 5 hours during the week. Marvin is entitled to payment for 5 hours of overtime.
Your employer is trying to average this out by paying Tina, Sue and Marvin all the same amout — 4 hours of overtime per week, regardless of the number of hours that they work. This is legal — and even generous — for Tina and Sue. It is not legal for Marvin. He worked 5 hours of overtime and he is entitled to payment for all the time worked.
Our suggestion is that when you are on call, you track the amount of time spent on the phone. (This is easy with a cell phone, since it shows the number of minutes for each call.) If you are actually on the phone more than 4 hours, then you should request that the employer pay you for all that time. If the employer declines, you should file a wage complaint with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. They will help you collect the wages that are owed to you. (However, if this is successful you can expect that the automatic 4-hour ovetime payment for being on call will stop.) HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: tara
when my husband got hired, he was never told that having to go out of state to work for a week or so at a time was part of his job. He was also not told that they couldnt have off more than a week at a time for vacation. Another issue is that each employee of the four have to be on call one week (after hours) per month, which was fine, but now they are not paying overtime for callouts…they are making the employees comp the time in lieu of pay. On top of this, they are not allowed to bank this time, or accrue it. what’s worse, they decide when he has to take it. I would like to know if this is legal and also would like to know if it is legal to have him work a full shift, then be on call and have back to back calls after hours that require him having to drive after being at work since 0600 hours in the morning and here it is almost 0230 the next morning. I do not think this is a safe practice and am questioning the legality of an almost 24 hour workday with no sleep, the comp time issue and the fact that none of this stuff was mentioned before he was hired. thanks.
Posted by: Amelia
Hi tara! Unfortunately, most of what you describe is legal in Colorado and other states. Many companies do not permit employees to take off more than one week of vacation, and require occasional out-of-state travel.
Employees must be paid for all the time they work. If an employee works more than 40 hours in a payroll week, the employee must be paid overtime. If the employer requires the employee to take time off in the same payroll week so that the employee has 40 hours or less, that is not comp time — it is managing payroll. (If the employer did allow your husband to accrue comp time, that would be illegal for a private employer.)
We agree that it is unsafe for your husband to drive when he is exhausted. Unfortunately, there is no federal or Colorado law that limits the length of the work day. Our suggestion is that if your husband is exhausted, he pull over and take a nap in the car rather than drive home.
It is legal for an employer to change working conditions at any time. If the employer makes a change to salary, hours or working conditions that is significant, and an employee quits rather than accept that change, often the employee qualifies for unemployment benefits. For example, if an employee is hired to work the day shift and suddenly the employer puts her on the night shift, that is a significant change. If the employer reduces the employee’s wages by 50%, that is a significant change. We are not sure that any of the changes you mention are significant.
However, once the employee works under the new conditions — even for one work day — the employee has accepted the new conditions. If the employee quits after that point, he or she usually will not qualify for unemployment benefits.
We agree that this employer should have been more honest about the working conditions before hiring your husband. But, nothing the employer is doing is illegal. Our suggestion is that your husband look for a better job — but don’t quit this one until he finds something else. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sherry
I have a friend that is an EMT-I she is working a 12 hr shift at the Ambulance facilty, then has a 12 hr on call where if there is a 911 call she has to be to the ambulance facility in 10 minutes for response, this is a 3-4 day in a row schedule, also the supervisor made it mandatory for the EMT’s and other Paramedics to attend a MANDATORY TRAINING class as soon as they get off this 12 hr call shift, so if by chance there is several 911 calls she can potentially be up all night then have to attend this mandatory class then go back and work a 12 hr shift, then again be on call for 12 hrs, then go back for another 8 hr mandatory training class and then go from there back to her scheduled 12 hr ambulance shift with another 12 hrs of on call after that. Is this legal? She drives the ambulance for goodness sake. That is not safe for anyone and the supervisor is making it mandatory or they can’t work at all. This means she has the potential to be up 72 hrs straight and be either working the entire time or be in class. Can the supervisor do this?
Posted by: Amelia
Hi Sherry! There is no state or federal law that would prevent an employer from requiring an employee to work this schedule. We agree that it is excessive, unfair and unsafe. Unfortuantely, it is probably legal. We would compare this to the schedule of hospital interns, who are often required to make life-or-death decisions while working a shift of 100 hours or longer with little or no sleep.
As we see it, the mandatory training class is not the problem. Obviously, EMTs should be trained. The on-call time after working a 12-hour shift is a problem. Presumably, this is a small town where there are seldom 911 calls at night, which is why the shifts are arranged this way. Or perhaps the EMTs have the opportunity to sleep during their shifts if there are no calls. Either way, our suggestion is that your friend look for a better job. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia