There is a popular country & western song by Keith Urban entitled, “Blue Ain’t Your Color.” However, as the political landscape in Colorado has changed over the past two decades it’s become increasingly clear that blue is the color of…
Blog Archives
A Portrait in Blue: Recent Developments in Colorado Employment Laws (Part 1)
Posted in Labor & Employment
It’s Springtime for Wage and Hour Rights: Worker-Friendly Changes to Wage & Overtime Regulations Are Blooming in Colorado
In the midst of growing alarm over the coronavirus pandemic and an almost all-consuming focus on public health, workplace and legal developments related to the pandemic, many Colorado employers may have missed the significant changes in Colorado wage and hour…
HR Investigations Pay Dividends: A Healthier Workplace and Protection in Court
Many HR professionals spend a significant amount of time investigating employee complaints and, depending on the outcome of these investigations, implementing corrective measures to halt and prevent bad behavior in the workplace. Some within an organization (usually not the HR…
Posted in Human Resources, Investigations
Is It Illegal To Consider A Foreign Accent When Evaluating Candidates For a Customer-Service Job?
Yes, unless the candidate’s language skills would clearly interfere with their ability to do the job. Amidst all of the current controversy concerning immigration in the United States, the experience of immigrants in the workplace is also receiving heightened attention.…
Posted in Discrimination
Don’t Say That! … Or Do? New Court Guidance on Employer Statements in Union Organizing Campaigns
Misconceptions Here, There and Everywhere. I often advise employers large and small on what to do (and what not to do) during union organizing campaigns. I am continually surprised at how many employers have misconceptions about the do’s and don’ts…
Posted in Labor & Employment, Union
Colorado becomes the 13th State to “Ban the Box” – Prohibiting Employers from Inquiring about Criminal Convictions on Initial Employment Applications
Colorado employers should review and, if necessary, revise job applications to remove questions about criminal history. Colorado has joined a growing number of states and municipalities to pass “ban the box” laws, which prohibit employers from asking job applicants about…
Posted in Labor & Employment
In Pay, May All Be Created Equal…An Overview Of The Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act
The News On May 22, 2019, Colorado passed a new pay equity law which brings the state to the cutting edge of regulation in this area. The Basics The Act, which will take effect on January 1, 2021, prohibits discrimination…
Posted in Pay Equity
Can an Airport Skycap’s Complaint About the Poor Tipping Habits of French Soccer Players Really Become a Federal Case?
Yes! One of the least appreciated federal workplace laws is Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, the 1935 law which gives most private sector employees in the U.S. the right to form and join unions. Section 7 of…
Posted in NLRB, Wage and Hour
It’s Time To Be Creative: Historically Low Unemployment Rates Fuel New Approaches To Parental Leave
In October 2018, NPR reported that the U.S. unemployment rate had dropped to 3.7 percent, the lowest rate in 50 years. In some states, like Colorado, where I live, the rate is even lower (3.1 percent, per Denver Post). Record…
Posted in Labor & Employment
