Colorado employers may, once again, have to look waaaayyy back in time when facing claims for minimum wage violations after a recent Court of Appeals decision blessed a six-year statute of limitations for these claims.
In Perez v. By the Rockies, the plaintiff brought claims under the Colorado Minimum Wage Act (CMWA), alleging his employer, a fast-food restaurant, failed to provide him with meal and rest breaks under Colorado law. He brought the claims more than five years after he had worked at the restaurant. The trial court granted the restaurant's motion to dismiss, holding that the two- and three-year statutes of limitations in the Colorado Wage Claim Act (CWCA) applied and Perez's claims therefore were untimely. On appeal, a three-judge division of the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed, holding 2-1 that a six-year statute of limitations applies to claims under the CMWA.
Parties have argued for years over the proper statute of limitations for claims under the CMWA. The CMWA itself contains no statute of limitations, nor do the Minimum Wage Orders and COMPS Orders implementing the CMWA. Employers have long argued that the two- and three-year statute of limitations that apply to claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Colorado Wage Claim Act apply to CMWA claims. Employees argued, and several courts agreed, that in the absence of a specific statute of limitations, Colorado's general six-year statute of limitations for recovering an unliquidated,...
SEC files lawsuit against Donald Basile over $16M crypto scheme, alleging false claims about insured Bitcoin Latinum token and misuse of funds. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has file...