Colorado Overtime Laws

Time-and-a-half after 12 hours per day, 12 consecutive hours, or 40 hours per week is the practical starting point for most covered, nonexempt employees.

Overtime is calculated by workweek, not by pay period. An employer cannot average a long week and a short week together to avoid overtime that was earned in the long week.

How this differs from federal law: The FLSA ordinarily starts overtime after 40 hours in a workweek. Colorado adds separate 12-hour workday and 12-consecutive-hour triggers, then requires the calculation that produces the greater wages.

Colorado's COMPS Order covers many employees but includes listed exemptions and industry-specific provisions. The greater-pay comparison matters when more than one trigger is reached.

The general rule does not fit every worker or workplace. These points are especially important in Colorado:

• -The 12-consecutive-hour trigger can cross the employee's established workday boundary.
• -A duty-free meal period may be excluded when measuring 12 consecutive hours if it meets Colorado's requirements.
• -Colorado has occupation-specific exemptions and separate rules for some health care, transportation and other work.

Under the FLSA, hours worked include time the employer requires or permits an employee to spend working. That can include required preparation, certain training or travel, and work performed before clocking in or after clocking out.

Paid vacation, holidays and sick leave usually are not hours actually worked for the federal 40-hour calculation. A contract, policy or state-specific rule can be more generous.

The workweek is a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours. It does not have to run Monday through Sunday, but it cannot be changed from week to week to avoid overtime.

Being paid a salary does not automatically remove an employee's right to overtime.

Common executive, administrative and professional exemptions depend on the employee's real job duties and the applicable pay-basis requirements. A title such as "manager" does not settle the question.

State exemption tests can differ from federal tests. Employers should apply every law that covers the work rather than relying only on payroll method or title.

An employer may require advance approval before overtime is worked. Even so, covered work must be paid when the employer required it, allowed it, or knew or should have known it was happening.

The employer may address a violation of its scheduling policy separately, but it cannot accept compensable work and then erase the hours from payroll.