Employer Alert: Comply with new laws that go into effect January 1, 2021
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and Healthy Families and Workplaces Act go into effect January 1, 2021.
Employment Law
New Law for the Promotion of Equal Pay
In an effort to bolster the state’s pay-equity regulations, the Colorado legislature passed Senate Bill 19-085, entitled the “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.” The Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2021, will impose a host of new regulations upon employers and make it easier for aggrieved employees to access the courts.
Can an Employer Rescind a Job Offer after an Employee Tests Positive for Marijuana?
Marijuana and Employment Following the passage of Colorado’s Amendment 64 in 2012, employers and employees have faced a multitude of challenges and issues relating to the consumption and possession of marijuana by employees. One question that frequently arises is whether an employer may rescind an offer of employment based upon a prospective employee’s positive test … Continue Reading
Wrongful Termination and At-Will Employment in Colorado
The Correct meaning of “At-Will Employment” and “Wrongful Discharge” In Colorado, the “at will” employment doctrine means that – as a general rule – an employer may terminate a worker’s employment for any reason or no reason at all without facing any liability to the employee. While this may seem harsh, the at will employment … Continue Reading
Noncompete Agreements and the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine
The Use of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine to “Backdoor” a Noncompete Agreement in Colorado. Noncompete agreements in Colorado are generally disfavored. In fact, pursuant to statute, noncompete agreements are only supposed to be enforceable in a few limited circumstances. Specifically, noncompete agreements are supposed to be void ab initio (a fancy way of saying void … Continue Reading
Documentation of Employee Discipline
Boring but True: Four Rules on the Documentation of Employee Discipline Few things are less flashy than the process of creating a detailed personnel file including reports on disciplinary action taken against an employee. This is especially true when the documents and reports sometimes disappear forever into a filing cabinet or drawer, never to be … Continue Reading
Can an Employee be Fired for Using Marijuana?
On November 6, 2012, Colorado voters approved Amendment 64, which made it legal under state law for those over age 21 to possess, use, manufacture, and commercially sell marijuana. Amendment 64 was codified in Article XVIII, Section 16 of the state constitution. However, marijuana remains illegal as a “schedule 1” controlled substance under the federal … Continue Reading
Personal Liability For A Company’s Unpaid Wages
You read that right — an individual can be personally liable for a company’s failure to pay wages it was legally obligated to pay to its employees. Depending on the circumstances, the person liable could be the company’s owner, a manager, or another individual with operational control who is directly responsible for the employing company’s … Continue Reading
What Does it mean to Work in a Hostile Work Environment?
I don’t think that a single TV show about lawyers exists that has not had at least one episode dedicated to sexual harassment. It’s such a juicy sounding topic that shows from Boston Legal to the Good Wife just can’t resist. The result is that most people are familiar with this terms “sexual harassment” and … Continue Reading
Overtime Pay for Salaried Employees
“They’re on salary, so what is the problem?“ The problem is that many employers do not realize this: Just because an employee is put on a fixed salary does not necessarily mean that the employee is exempt under the law from payment for overtime. To be exempt from overtime pay, an employee’s situation may need … Continue Reading