Denver, CO (Nov. 18, 2019) — Today, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced a proposed rule expanding wage and overtime protections. The proposed Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards (“COMPS”) Order would expand coverage to many workers who were previously excluded, including individuals employed in construction and manufacturing. The proposed rule will also set a salary threshold for overtime at $42,500 and adjust it up to $57,500 by 2026, ensuring that many more low-wage workers are entitled to overtime.
A Better Balance (ABB) is a national legal advocacy organization dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, with staff in Colorado, New York, and Tennessee. As a nonprofit organization dedicated to work-life balance, ABB believes all workers—including nonprofit employees—are too often asked to work extra hours without sufficient pay, at a cost to their personal and family well-being. To help address this concern, ABB submitted comments in August urging the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to set an adequate salary threshold for overtime pay and to include more occupations, in order to ensure that workers can adequately care for themselves and loved ones.
“The crucial protections announced today will help to ensure the financial stability of thousands of working Coloradans who are struggling to make ends meet and support their families. It will also lead to significant benefits for women in the workforce, especially single mothers and women of color, who are disproportionately represented in the low-wage workforce,” said A Better Balance Vice President Jared Make, who is based in Colorado.
“We are proud to be a part of the impressive coalition working to expand state overtime and wage rights to all Coloradans. As we celebrate this first step, A Better Balance looks forward to continuing to advocate for a more rapid phase-up to the overtime salary threshold and stronger legal protections for farmworkers, who still lack basic legal rights to overtime and meal breaks,” he added.
