On September 28, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1162 into law, effectively amending Section 12999 of the Government Code and Section 432.3 of the Labor Code, which expands pay data reporting obligations, requires certain-sized employers to provide the pay scale for an open position in job postings and imposes new record-keeping requirements. It will become effective on January 1, 2023.
Continue reading “California Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Pay Transparency Bill”
Southwest Airlines Co. has filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado challenging the application of the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) to its Colorado employees.
The complaint, which names Scott Moss in his capacity as the director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Division of Labor and Statistics, along with Philip J. Weiser in his capacity as the attorney general of Colorado, alleges that the application of the HFWA to Southwest employees is preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act and the federal Railway Labor Act, and that it violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Beginning August 10, 2022, Colorado will drastically narrow the circumstances in which Colorado employers can seek to enforce noncompete and other restrictive employment agreements. Despite Colorado law already having a general restriction against the use of noncompete agreements, the Colorado General Assembly recently passed, and Gov. Jared Polis has now signed, HB 22-1317. With this bill, Colorado joins the growing number of states enacting increased employee protections against restrictive covenant agreements, including banning such agreements with workers earning below a certain threshold.
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A series of recent developments in Colorado law have made it clear that employers are prohibited from causing employees to forfeit earned vacation time. A compilation of recent developments and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s current position are contained in Interpretive Notice & Formal Opinion (INFO) #14, which explains that:
On July 6, 2021, the Colorado legislature passed S.B. 21-271 in an effort to reform the sentencing provisions related to a number of petty offenses and misdemeanors. As a result, several Colorado laws related to labor and employment are affected, including Colorado’s statute addressing restrictive covenant and noncompete agreements, C.R.S. § 8-2-113. Under C.R.S. § 8-2-113, it is unlawful to intimidate workers in order to limit their ability to engage in lawful work; and covenants that restrict trade, such as noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, are void unless the covenants fit within limited exceptions provided under the statute. Effective March 1, 2022, the penalty for violating the noncompete statute will be increased to a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to 120 days in jail, or a fine of up to $750, or both.
Continue reading “Colorado Increases Its Criminal Penalty for Violations of Its Noncompete Law”
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has adopted the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order #38 and new Wage Protection Rules as well as the 2022 Publication and Yearly Calculation of Adjusted Labor Compensation (PAY CALC) Order, which became effective January 1, 2022. Below is a summary of notable changes in the new rules.