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Misclassification of Employees

cbaumgartner — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:02:23 +0000

Misclassifying Your Employees As Exempt For Purposes of Overtime Can Have Devastating Consequences

Review Our Self-Audit Form to Determine if Your Company May be at Risk

Many employers mistakingly believe that if their employee is paid a salary and has a “high level” sounding job title, the employee is exempt from overtime requirements. What some employers do not appreciate is that job titles are not important. Instead, in addition to being paid on a salary basis, the employee must also perform job duties that meet the standards for one of six exempt categories established by the United States Department of Labor and the Fair Labor Standards Act (”FLSA”).

If an employer makes the mistake of misclassifying its employees, it can cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more. For example, IBM agreed to pay $65 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the company of misclassifying employees as exempt from overtime. Likewise, the office supply chain Staples recently agreed to pay $42 million to settle several class action lawsuits related to the alleged misclassification of its assistant store managers.

The large financial risk is due in part to the fact that, unless the employer can prove its misclassification was done in good faith, employers are required to pay double damages – an amount for unpaid overtime wages plus an equal amount for liquidated damages – in addition to other damages. Additionally, the employee is entitled to two years of unpaid back overtime wages (or three years if the employer’s violation of the FLSA was willful).

Therefore, in addition to educating themselves about the FLSA’s job classification requirements, it is very important for employers to audit their employee classifications to ensure their exempt employees are truly exempt and not entitled to overtime. To review our Self-Audit Form to determine your company’s compliance with the FLSA’s exemption rules, please click here.

For more information about the FLSA exemptions, please contact David Furgason at dfurgason@duffordbrown.com, Larry Stone at lstone@duffordbrown.com, or Christian Hammond at chammond@duffordbrown.com, or call 303.861.8013.

Colorado’s New Broker Lien Law

cbaumgartner — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:57:24 +0000

The Law’s Effect on Commercial Real Estate Transactions in Colorado

On April 29, 2010, Governor Ritter signed into law the Commercial Real Estate Brokers Commission Security Act, commonly known as the “Broker Lien Law.” Prior to enactment, the proposed bill was hotly debated by brokers, commercial building owners, and other professionals within Colorado’s real estate community. The law provides commercial real estate brokers in Colorado the ability to file a lien against commercial property when the owner fails to pay a lease commission due to the broker for procuring a tenant for the property

The law is intended to give commercial real estate brokers lien rights similar to other real estate professionals, including architects and building contractors, who are already afforded lien rights through Colorado’s existing mechanic’s lien statutes. To read more about this new law and its potential impact o n commercial real estate transactions in Colorado, please click here.

If you have questions or would like to receive additional information about this topic, please contact Randy Feuerstein at rfeuerstein@duffordbrown.com or David Closson at dclosson@duffordbrown.com, or call 303.861.8013.

The Colorado Lawyer profiles Dufford & Brown founder Phil Dufford

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:58:07 +0000

The Colorado Lawyer profiles Dufford & Brown founder Phil Dufford.

Click here for the whole article

Larry Stone and Chris Hammond review recent developments in Wage & Hour Law.

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:52:18 +0000

Larry Stone and Chris Hammond review recent developments in Wage & Hour Law.

Click Here for more information