Updates to Colorado Wage & Hour Rules Effective January 1, 2024, Plus Related Updates to Interpretive Notices and Formal Opinions
Ashley Graves, Associate
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (“CDLE”) has updated and finalized its rules concerning pay standards and compensation, equal pay transparency, and prevailing wage and residency requirements, effective January 1, 2024. The CDLE has also updated its Interpretive Notices and Formal Opinions (“INFOs”) to further explain and provide “real world” guidance on its new and updated rules.
Updated Wage and Hour Rules for 2024
The CDLE has adopted and finalized the following rules, previously discussed and summarized in the Rocky Mountain Employer:
· Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order (“COMPS Order”) #39, 7 CCR 1103-1;[1]
· The 2024 Publication and Yearly Calculation of Adjusted Labor Compensation (PAY CALC) Order, 7 CCR 1103-14;[2]
· The Equal Pay Transparency Rules (“EPT Rules”), 7 CCR 1103-13;[3] and
· The Prevailing Wage and Residency Rules (“PWR”), 7 CCR 1103-6.[4]
Of note, the finalized version of the EPT Rules now includes a section discussing non-disclosure rights, as they relate to the EPT Rules’ requirement to disclose the name and job title of a person selected for a particular job opportunity. Employers may not disclose a selected candidate’s name and/or prior job title if doing so would 1) violate any applicable law, rule, or order; or 2) when the selected candidate informs the employer in writing, of their own initiative, and voluntarily that they believe that disclosing either or both of these items would jeopardize their health or safety. However, the candidate is not required to specifically detail the health or safety risk when making the non-disclosure request.
Additional and Updated INFOs
The CDLE has also released updated INFO guidance on the above rules, which may provide insight as to commonly asked questions or scenarios that may arise under the new rules. Of particular interest, INFO #9A[5] discusses the EPT Rules (which have been a source of confusion for many employers) and clarifies them with some useful, real-world examples. The INFO notes, for example, that an employer does not have to comply with the EPT Rules if it merely posts another employer’s jobs or connects job-seekers to employment. Additionally, employers are not liable if its own posting is compliant, but a third party re-posts the employer’s job opportunity posting without satisfying the EPT Rules’ requirements.
In addition to the updated INFO #9A discussed above, the CDLE has released new or updated INFOs on the COMPS Order, legal treatment of tips and tipped employees, hiring and screening rules, restrictions on age information in job applications under the Job Application Fairness Act, criminal history screenings for job applicants under the Colorado Chance to Compete Act, prevailing wage and apprenticeship programs for public contracts, and laws governing what is and is not compensable time worked in Colorado.[6]
Employer Considerations
Employers should spend time reviewing the above-mentioned rules and INFOs to ensure they are up to date on Colorado’s new and updated wage and hour rule changes moving into the new year, and should likewise begin updating their required wage and hour informational postings and notices to employees in the workplace. Campbell Litigation is available to assist employers with navigating and complying with these and other wage and hour laws and rules.
[1]https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/Adopted%20COMPS%20Order%20%2339%207%20CCR%201103-1%20%5Baccessible%5D.pdf; see also https://www.rockymountainemployersblog.com/blog/2023/9/7/federal-salary-thresholds-for-minimum-wage-and-overtime-exemptions-may-meet-or-exceed-colorado-thresholds-soon (highlighting pay threshold updates for overtime-exempt employees in 2024).
[2]https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/Adopted%20PAY%20CALC%20Order%207%20CCR%201103-14%2011.9.23%20%5Baccessible%5D.pdf
[3]https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/Adopted%20Equal%20Pay%20Transparency%20Rules%207%20CCR%201103-13%2011.9.23%20%5Baccessible%5D.pdf; see also https://www.rockymountainemployersblog.com/blog/2023/10/19/cdle-publishes-proposed-equal-pay-transparency-rules-under-the-equal-pay-for-equal-work-act (discussing the EPT Rules).
[4]https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/Adopted%20Prevailing%20Wage%20and%20Residency%20Rules%207%20CCR%201103-6%2011.9.23%20%5Baccessible%5D.pdf; see also https://www.rockymountainemployersblog.com/blog/2023/1/5/colorado-department-of-labor-and-employment-issues-new-rules-and-updated-guidance-for-2023.
[5]https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/INFO%20%239A%20Transparency%20in%20Pay%20and%20Job%20Opportunities_%20The%20Colorado%20EPEWA%20Part%202%2012.8.23.pdf