DENVER, Colo. (December 10, 2019) – Sherman & Howard Labor & Employment attorney Brooke Colaizzi was sourced by Law Week Colorado in its December 2 article, “Colorado Overtime Rule Would Trigger Employer ‘Scramble,” for insight into Colorado’s proposed replacement for the annual wage orders and its implications for employers and workers in the state. If approved, the new Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards Order No. 36, or “COMPS Order,” will significantly expand the number of employers subject to state wage and hours laws.

According to the article, the proposed rule will make “the vast majority of Colorado workers subject to the state’s wage-and-hour regulations.” Currently, employers in only four industry sectors are subject to the annual wage orders and their requirements for overtime, meal and rest breaks, and other requirements.

Colaizzi noted that in addition to the vast increase in the number of employers covered, employers with employees who are exempt from overtime under the wage orders will now have to meet a salary threshold to preserve the exemption. The threshold exceeds the threshold that will be in place for 2020 under the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to Colaizzi, some employers that prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor’s overtime and exemption changes in 2016, which included a dramatic increase in the salary threshold for overtime exemptions, may not be as greatly impacted by the new Colorado threshold. However, the short time frame for compliance will prove challenging for many employers.

Employers will only have until December 31 to comment on the proposed regulation at a time when they are finalizing year-end numbers and working on their budgets for 2020. The proposed regulation and any changes are set for adoption on January 10.

The full article was published in the December 2 edition of Law Week Colorado.