2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 8 - LABOR AND INDUSTRY (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-88-207) › LABOR I - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-20.5-401) › WAGES (§§ 8-4-101 — 8-10-103) › Article 4 - WAGES (§§ 8-4-101 — 8-4-126) › Section 8-4-113 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Fines pursuant to enforcement - wage theft enforcement fund - created - administrative lien and levy of employer assets - wage claim payments from the fund - definition - rules

(1)
(a)
(I)
If a case against an employer is enforced pursuant to section
8-4-111
, any employer who without good faith legal justification fails to pay the wages of each of the employer's employees shall forfeit to the people of the state of Colorado a fine in an amount determined by the director or hearing officer but no more than the sum of fifty dollars per day for each such failure to pay each employee, commencing from the date that such wages first became due and payable.
(II)
The division may collect the fine imposed pursuant to this subsection (1)(a) through its citation and notice of assessment issued pursuant to section
8-4-111 (2)
or after a hearing conducted pursuant to section
8-4-111.5
.
(b)
The director or hearing officer shall impose a fine of two hundred fifty dollars on an employer who fails to respond to a notice of complaint or to any other notice from the division to which a response is required. The director or hearing officer may waive or reduce the fine only if the director or hearing officer finds good cause for an extension of the time for the employer to file the response.
(2)
(a)
The division may, and, on or after January 1, 2023, at the request of a worker shall, file a certified copy of any citation, notice of assessment, or order imposing wages due, fines, penalties, or other relief pursuant to this article 4 with the clerk of any court having jurisdiction over the parties at any time after the entry of the citation, notice, or order. The division may file one certified copy of the citation, notice, or order for all amounts owed to, or for other relief for, all employees.
(b)
The clerk of the court shall record the citation, notice, or order in the judgment book of the court and make an entry in the judgment docket. Upon recording, the citation, notice of assessment, or order has the effect of and may be executed as a judgment of the court.
(c)
(I)
Upon recording pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section, the judgment is sufficient to support the issuance of writs of garnishment in the manner provided by law in the case of a judgment that is wholly or partially unsatisfied.
(II)
The court shall mail a copy of the judgment to the employer within three days after the division has filed the citation, notice, or order with the clerk of the court.
(3)
(a)
The division shall transmit all fines collected for the state pursuant to this section or section
8-1-114 (2)
,
8-1-116 (2)
,
8-1-117 (2)
, 8-1-140 (2), 8-12-115 (4)(c), or 8-12-116 (2) or (4) to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the wage theft enforcement fund, which fund is created and referred to in this section as the "fund". The money in the fund may be used by the division to make payments to employees for unpaid liabilities for wage law violations pursuant to subsection (5) of this section and for the division's direct and indirect costs associated with implementing this article 4.
(b)
The state treasurer may invest any money in the fund not expended for the purpose of this article 4 as provided by law. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of money in the fund to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year remains in the fund and must not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund.
(c)
The money in the fund is:
(I)
Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the division for the direct and indirect costs associated with implementing this article 4; and
(II)
Continuously appropriated to the division for the purpose of making payments to employees for unpaid liabilities for wage law violations pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.
(d)
The limitations specified in section
24-75-402
do not apply to the fund.
(4)
(a)
On or after January 1, 2023, if an employer fails to pay wages determined to be due to the employer's employees or fines or penalties determined to be due pursuant to this article 4 or article 6 or 12 of this title 8 or other articles authorizing investigation of alleged violations of employee protections, within sixty days after receiving a written employee request or upon its own initiative, the division may issue a notice of administrative lien and levy to the employer or any other person that has possession, custody, or control of the employer's assets. The division may issue the notice of administrative lien and levy when an employer is past due on paying wages determined to be due to its employees and any fines or penalties determined to be due pursuant to this article 4 or article 6 or 12 of this title 8 without an order staying or reversing the applicable deadline for payment. The notice must include the following statements and information:
(I)
The name and address of the person that has possession, custody, or control of the employer's assets;
(II)
The employer's name, last-known address, and taxpayer identification number, if known;
(III)
The total amount owed for past-due wages, fines, and penalties, as identified by the division as provided in this article 4;
(IV)
The names of all employees determined to be owed wages or penalties and the amounts due to each named employee;
(V)
A statement that:
(A)
The notice of administrative lien and levy takes effect and is superior to any other lien on the same assets that is filed later in time;
(B)
Unless the division consents to an earlier disposition, the person may not transfer or dispose of the assets in the possession, custody, or control of the person from the date the person received the notice until further order; and
(C)
A person that receives notice pursuant to this subsection (4) and that transfers or disposes of the assets after receipt of the notice is liable for the amount of the past-due wages, fines, and penalties owed by the employer, to the extent of the value of the transferred or disposed of assets;
(VI)
Instructions on the remittance, transmission, or transfer of the withheld or surrendered amounts or other assets, including the requirement that each check, remittance, transmission, or transfer:
(A)
For past-due wages and penalties, be payable to, transmitted to, or transferred to the employee, employees, payee, or transferee designated by the division in the notice and sent to the address indicated in the notice or otherwise transmitted or transferred as specified in the notice;
(B)
For fines, be payable to, transmitted to, or transferred to the division or other payee or transferee designated by the division in the notice and sent to the address indicated in the notice or otherwise transmitted or transferred as specified in the notice;
(C)
Be surrendered within thirty days after the date of the notice of the lien and levy; and
(D)
Include the division case number on the face of the check, remittance, transmission, or transfer;
(VII)
A statement that, if insufficient assets are available to cover all amounts determined to be owed by the employer, the person must first pay wages and penalties determined to be due to the employee or employees and thereafter pay fines determined to be owed to the state;
(VIII)
A statement that, if no assets are available for surrender, the person must return the remittance notice within thirty days after the date of the notice of the lien and levy; and
(IX)
A statement that the administrative lien and levy is automatically inactivated once the person returns the remittance notice or surrenders the assets held by the person.
(b)
(I)
In order to attach and collect an employer's assets that are in the possession, custody, or control of another person for purposes of collecting past-due wages, fines, and penalties, the division is authorized to serve, by first-class or overnight mail, by personal delivery, or, if mutually agreed upon, through electronic means published by the person, a notice of administrative lien and levy on any person that has possession, custody, or control of the employer's assets. A notice of administrative lien and levy is effective if it is delivered or mailed to the principal office or any branch office of the person that has possession, custody, or control of the employer's assets.
(II)
The administrative lien and levy applies against all assets of the employer that are in the possession, custody, or control of the person served with the notice at the time of, and within sixty days after, receipt of the notice.
(III)
The division shall provide a copy of the administrative lien and levy to the employer and shall include information on the employer's right to file an applicable exception, exemption, or appeal, as specified by the director by rule, including an exception, exemption, or appeal for custodial accounts pursuant to section
11-50-110
, the earnings limitations set forth in section
13-54-104 (3)
, or the appeal policy for jointly owned or shared accounts.
(IV)
Upon satisfaction of the past-due wage, fine, or penalty obligations giving rise to the administrative lien and levy, the employer may request and be provided confirmation that the lien is extinguished.
(c)
This subsection (4) applies to all past-due wage, fine, and penalty obligations ordered as part of any proceeding, regardless of when the order was entered, and all employers that owe wages, fines, or penalties are subject to notice of administrative lien and levy as described in this subsection (4).
(d)
The director may adopt rules as necessary to implement this subsection (4).
(e)
As used in this subsection (4), "asset" means any:
(I)
Real, intangible, or personal property of an employer;
(II)
An employer's right to real, intangible, or personal property;
(III)
Payments due to and accounts receivable of an employer; and
(IV)
Credits or debts involving the employer.
(5)
(a)
On and after April 1, 2024, if an employer fails to pay an employee an amount of wages, compensation, or other monetary relief owed the employee, as determined by the division pursuant to this article 4 or article 6 or 12 of this title 8 or as decided by a hearing officer pursuant to section
8-4-111.5
, within six months after the division's determination, the hearing officer's decision, or the expiration of any order from the division, the hearing officer, or a court staying or postponing the employer's payment obligation, whichever is later, the division may disburse the amount of wages, compensation, or other monetary relief determined to be owed the employee, subject to available resources in the fund and the division's prioritization, from the fund to the employee.
(b)
If the division disburses payment to an employee from the fund pursuant to this subsection (5):
(I)
The employee may not recover that payment amount from the employer;
(II)
The division replaces the employee as the creditor of the employer for the amount of the payment, the division may continue to pursue payment from the employer pursuant to section
8-4-111
and this section, and any money recovered from the employer toward the amount disbursed to the employee must be credited to the fund; and
(III)
The division shall, to the extent necessary, supplement or amend any documents filed pursuant to an administrative claim or court action regarding the employer's debt to reflect any change in the amount and the creditor of the debt resulting from payment pursuant to this subsection (5).
(c)
On or before December 29, 2023, the division shall promulgate rules specifying the procedures and criteria for employees to submit information and request payment pursuant to this subsection (5), specifying the procedures and criteria for the division to review, evaluate, and resolve employee payment requests, and as necessary to implement this subsection (5).
Amended by 2024 Ch. 378,§ 4, eff. 1/1/2025, app. to conduct occurring on or after 1/1/2025.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 79,§ 1, eff. 4/17/2023.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 370, § 10, eff. 8/10/2022.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 276, § 7, eff. 1/1/2015.
L. 2003: Entire article amended with relocations, p. 1859, § 1, effective August 6. L. 2014: Entire section amended, (SB 14-005), ch. 276, p. 1119, § 7, effective 1/1/2015.
This section is similar to former § 8-4-109 as it existed prior to 2003, and the former § 8-4-113 was relocated to §
8-4-112
.
2022 Ch. 370, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.
For the short title ("Wage Protection Act of 2014") in SB 14-005, see section 1 of chapter 276, Session Laws of Colorado 2014.