Code of Colorado Regulations
1100 - Department of Labor and Employment
1101 - Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (Includes 1103 Series)
7 CCR 1103-1 - COLORADO OVERTIME AND MINIMUM PAY STANDARDS ORDER (COMPS ORDER) #38
8 - Administration and Interpretation

Universal Citation: 7 CO Code Regs 1103-1 ยง 8

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, March 10, 2024

8.1 Recovery of Wages.

(A) Availability of court action or Division administrative complaint. An employee receiving less than the full wages or other compensation owed is entitled to recover in a civil action the unpaid balance of the full amount owed, together with reasonable attorney fees and court costs, notwithstanding any agreement to work for a lesser wage, pursuant to C.R.S. §§ 8-4-121, 8-6-118. Alternatively, an employee may elect to pursue a complaint through the Division's administrative procedure as described in the Colorado Wage Act, C.R.S. § 8-4-101, et seq.

(B) No minimum claim size. There is no minimum size of a wage claim, and thus no claim too minimal ("de minimis") for recovery (subject to Rule 1.9.1 as to certain activities of less than one minute), because Article 4 requires paying "[a]ll wages or compensation" (C.R.S. § 8-4-103(1)(a)), and authorizes civil actions "to recover any amount of wages or compensation" (C.R.S. § 8-4-110(1)) and Division complaints "for any violation" (C.R.S. § 8-4-111(1)(a)).

8.2 Complaints. Any person may register with the Division a written complaint that alleges a violation of the COMPS Order within 2 years of the alleged violation(s), except that actions brought for a willful violation shall be commenced within 3 years.

8.3 Investigations. The Director or a designated agent shall investigate and take all proceedings necessary to enforce the payment of the minimum wage and other provisions of the COMPS Order, pursuant to these Rules and C.R.S. Title 8, Articles 1, 4, 6, and 13.3. Violations may be subject to the administrative procedure as described in the Colorado Wage Act, C.R.S. § 8-4-101, et seq.

8.4 Violations. It is theft under the Criminal Code (C.R.S. § 18-4-401) if an employer or agent:

(A) willfully refuses to pay wages or compensation, or falsely denies the amount of a wage claim, or the validity thereof, or that the same is due, with intent to secure for himself, herself, or another person any discount upon such indebtedness or any underpayment of such indebtedness or with intent to annoy, harass, oppress, hinder, coerce, delay, or defraud the person to whom such indebtedness is due (C.R.S. § 8-4-114); or

(B) intentionally pays or causes to be paid to any such employee a wage less than the minimum (C.R.S. § 8-6-116).

8.5 Reprisals. Employers shall not threaten, coerce, or discriminate against any person for the purpose of reprisal, interference, or obstruction as to any actual or anticipated investigation, hearing, complaint, or other process or proceeding relating to a wage claim, right, or rule. Violators may be subject to penalties under C.R.S. §§ 8-1-116, 8-1-140, 8-4-120, and/or 8-6-115.

8.6 Division and Dual Jurisdiction. The Division shall have jurisdiction over all questions arising with respect to the administration and interpretation of the COMPS Order. Whenever employers are subjected to Colorado law as well as federal and/or local law, the law providing greater protection or setting the higher standard shall apply. For information on federal law, contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.

8.7 Construction.

(A) Liberal construction of the COMPS Order, narrow construction of exceptions/ exemptions. Under the C.R.S. § 8-6-102 "Construction" provision ("Whenever this article or any part thereof is interpreted by any court, it shall be liberally construed by such court"), applicable to rules on "wages which are inadequate to supply the necessary cost of living" (§ 8-6-104), on "conditions of labor detrimental to [worker] health or morals" (§ 8-6-104), on "conditions of labor and hours of employment not detrimental to health or morals for workers" (§ 8-6-106), on "what are unreasonably long hours" (§ 8-6-106), on what requirements are "necessary to carry out the provisions of this article" (§ 8-6-108.5), on minimum and overtime wages (§§ 8-6-109, -111, -116, -117), and on who qualifies as an "agricultural employer" (§ 8-6-120 (incorporating §§ 8-13.5-201(1); 8-3-104(1)(b))): The provisions of the COMPS Order shall be liberally construed, with exceptions and exemptions accordingly narrowly construed.

(B) Subpart included in cross-references. Where any Division rule references another rule, the reference shall be deemed to include all subparts of the referenced rule.

(C) Minimum Wage Order references. References to the Colorado "Minimum Wage Order" shall be deemed to reference the COMPS Order, as the successor to the Colorado Minimum Wage Order.

8.8 Separability. The COMPS Order is intended to remain in effect to the maximum extent possible. If any part (including any section, sentence, clause, phrase, word, or number) is held invalid, (A) the remainder of the COMPS Order remains valid, and (B) if the provision is held not wholly invalid, but merely in need of narrowing, the provision should be retained in narrowed form.

8.9 Basis for Calculation. Calculations in the PAY CALC and COMPS Orders are based on Section 15 of Article XVIII of the Colorado Constitution ("Section 15") ("Colorado's minimum wage is ... adjusted annually for cost of living increases, as measured by the ... Consumer Price Index used for Colorado"); C.R.S. Article 8, Title 6; and the COMPS Order. All inflation-adjusted values applicable to the COMPS and PAY CALC Orders are based on the CPI used for Colorado, the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood CPI published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. To effectuate the above provisions that employees must be paid not less than the prior year's minimum wage adjusted for inflation, Division rules and practice must round up, to the nearest cent, any fractional cents yielded by the inflation adjustment. Other than in the annual minimum wage calculation, Division rules and practice round fractional cents of at least 0.5 up, and of under 0.5 down.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Colorado may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.