Tcl - Colorado Division of Labor Clarifies Management Overtime Exemption Test - February 2006 - Labor and Employment Law
| Jurisdiction | Colorado,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 35 No. 2 Pg. 47 |
| Pages | 47 |
| Publication year | 2006 |
2006, February, Pg. 47. TCL - Colorado Division of Labor Clarifies Management Overtime Exemption Test - February 2006 - Labor and Employment Law
February 2006
Vol. 35, No. 2 [Page 47]
Labor and Employment Law
This column is sponsored by the CBA Labor and Employment Law Section to present current issues and topics of interest to attorneys, judges, and legal and judicial administrators on all aspects of labor and employment law in Colorado.
Column Editor:
John M. Husband of Holland & Hart LLP in Denver - (303) 295-8228,jhusband@hollandhart.com
About The Authors:
This month's article was written by Darren E. Nadel, Denver, a shareholder of Littler Mendelson, P.C., where he specializes in representing management in employment-related disputes - (303) 629-6200, dnadel@littler. com; and Joshua B. Kirkpatrick, Denver, an associate of Littler Mendelson, P.C.,where he specializes in representing management in employment-related disputes -(303) 629-6200, jkirkpatrick@littler.com.
In November 2005, the Colorado Division of Labor issued an Advisory Bulletin clarifying the standards under which employees can be classified as exempt from state overtime laws. Specifically, the Advisory Bulletin addresses the "Executive or Supervisor" exemption that is analogous to its federal counterpart.
Employers throughout the country generally must pay overtime compensation of one-and-a-half times an employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of forty hours per workweek. Certain employees are exempt from this overtime requirement, most notably, executive or managerial, professional, administrative, and outside sales employees.(fn1) In Colorado, employers covered by Colorado Minimum Wage Order 22 ("Wage Order 22")(fn2) have an identical weekly overtime obligation, as well as a "daily overtime" requirement, to pay overtime compensation for any hours worked in excess of twelve per workday or when employees work twelve consecutive hours without regard to the start and end time of the workday.(fn3)
To be considered "exempt" from these overtime compensation requirements in Colorado, managers in covered industries must qualify as exempt under both state and federal tests. The federal executive exemption, commonly referred to as the "primary duty" test, applies to any employee who:
(1) is paid a salary of at least $455 per week;
(2) has the primary duty to manage the enterprise in which he or she is employed or a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise;
(3) customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more employees; and
(4) has the authority to hire or fire employees or whose suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion, or any other change of status of employees are given particular weight.(fn4)
The Colorado "executive or supervisor" exemption is set forth in Wage Order 22. Under Colorado law, managers are exempt if, among other requirements, they "spend a minimum of 50 percent of the...
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