“I work 20-34 hours a week and take home about $300 every two weeks. I am worried about paying for my own health insurance. I have to live at home with my parents and my sister and her kids. When I worked at a fast food restaurant the boss insisted I come in when I was sick, throwing up.”
Employment Law Resource Guide
Whether you’re a part–time employee or the CEO of a major company, employment law is relevant to you and your workplace. The United States Department of Labor was founded in 1913 and, in its 100–year–plus history, has constantly worked to protect the rights and safety of workers across the country. Today, employment law is as important as ever. In this guide you’ll find more than 50 resources, including how–to guides, websites, articles and more, all of which can help you to better understand employment law and its many nuances.
Know Your Rights
To learn about your rights related to final pay, minimum wage, tipped wages, breaks, overtime, termination and more, click here: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
Resources if Your Rights are Violated
File a complaint with the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Presentar una demanda con La Division de Horas y Sueldos (WHD) del Departmento de Trabajo de EEU
The Department of Labor as over 200 Wage and Hour Division (WHD) offices. Find your local WHD office and report our claim.
Worker’s Voices
“Christine Gilbert describes her struggles as a low wage worker who relies on Food Stamps and WIC to feed her family. She is not ashamed, she’s angry.
Thrive! works to collect local worker’s stories. The following stories were told by low wage workers in La Plata County:
“A living wage is important in Colorado. The requirements to be accepted for Medicaid is under $17,000 a year income. But to buy and insurance policy for an individual is around $180 a month. If you make $18,000 a year, this extra payment is not possible. We need a living wage so that the middle class can afford the peace of mind of having health insurance. “
“I work for a corporation that is able to pay a living wage yet chooses to pad their bottom line by paying as little as possible. As a college graduate, I should be able to find a decent paying job in this town. With the jobs that are out there I’m thinking my college degree was a waste of money. I could be working for a [living wage employer] and making $3.50 more per hour than I’m making now.”
“I work as a manager at a coffee shop. They hire a lot of college kids who beg for more hours. They are paid $8.23 per hour plus tips. A lot of them are going to school full time and have expenses like rent, tuition, food, gas, books. They take out loans and have debt after they graduate. They work hard, the job is stressful and there is a lot of turnover. They work 6 – 9 hours and are not given breaks. If they take breaks they get written up. I give them breaks when I am working and I get in trouble. They burn through college students. Tips are taken to make up for drawer shortages.”