Colorado Adopts New Pay Standards – Employers Must Post COMPS Order #36 Poster

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Colorado COMPS PosterAs of March 16, 2020, Colorado workplaces will be regulated by the new Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards Order (COMPS Order) #36. The COMPS Order, like the state’s prior annually issued wage orders, is a principal source of Colorado’s wage rights and responsibilities. Unlike prior years, the COMPS Order is more than a reissue of the state’s annual wage order with the adjusted minimum wage rate. Last year, the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics determined that modernization of the wage order was timely. It was the Division’s intention to rewrite the wage order to better reflect modern labor markets and eliminate confusing terminology used in prior wage orders. Notably, the COMPS Order expands coverage of the rules to all industries, implements salary thresholds for certain exemptions, creates new exemptions, and has been edited to improve clarity and consistency with statutory and case law. The full text of COMPS Order #36 can be viewed here.

 

What Changes are Reflected on the COMPS Poster?

The COMPS Order #36 Poster (COMPS Poster) summarizes minimum wage and overtime rights, work and break times, as well as employee exemptions, protections and notification requirements contained in the COMPS Order. In particular, the COMPS Poster reflects provisions of the COMPS Order that:

  • Expand the COMPS Order to cover all private sector work, unless specifically exempted. Previously, wage orders only applied to 4 specific industries – Retail/Service, Commercial Support Service, Food/Beverage, and Health/Medical.
  • Expand the definition of “time worked” to include work routines such as changing clothes, cleanup/set up, clocking in/out, security screening, etc. exceeding one minute.
  • Clarify timing of meal and rest periods.
  • Establish annual minimum salary requirements for exempt executive, administrative and professional employees.
  • Describe key employee exemptions, old and new.
  • Reflect elimination of uniform security deposits.

 

Posting & Distribution Requirements

Among the changes contained in the COMPS Order are changes to employee notification responsibilities. (COMPS Rule 7)

  • Posting: All private employers in all industries must display the COMPS Poster in an area frequented by employees where it may be easily read during the workday.
  • Exception: If physical posting is impractical (i.e., work from home, work sites entirely outdoors), employers must provide a copy of either the COMPS Poster or the COMPS Order to each employee within the first month of employment.
  • Distribution: Employers must provide the COMPS Poster “upon request” and include a copy of the COMPS Order or COMPS Poster with any written handbooks, manuals or policies. If an employee must sign an acknowledgment of having received a handbook, the employee must also sign receipt of the COMPS Order/Poster.
  • Translation: If employees have limited English language ability and speak Spanish, employers must use the Spanish-language version of the COMPS Order and/or Poster. If another language is needed, the employer must ask the Division for a version of the COMPS Order and/or Poster in that language.
  • Enforcement: An employer who fails to comply with posting requirements is ineligible for any employee-specific credits, deductions or certain exemptions in the COMPS Order.

 

How Can You Comply with Colorado Posting Requirements?