As used in this article 4, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(1) Citation means a written determination by the division that a wage
payment requirement has been violated.
(2) Credit means an arrangement or understanding with the bank or other
drawee for the payment of an order, check, draft, note, memorandum, or other
acknowledgment of indebtedness.
(3) Director means the director of the division of labor standards and
statistics or his or her designee.
(4) Division means the division of labor standards and statistics in the
department of labor and employment.
(5) Employee means any person, including a migratory laborer, performing
labor or services for the benefit of an employer. For the purpose of this article 4,
relevant factors in determining whether a person is an employee include the degree
of control the employer may or does exercise over the person and the degree to
which the person performs work that is the primary work of the employer; except
that an individual primarily free from control and direction in the performance of the
service, both under his or her contract for the performance of service and in fact,
and who is customarily engaged in an independent trade, occupation, profession, or
business related to the service performed is not an employee.
(6) Employer has the same meaning as set forth in the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. sec. 203 (d), and includes a foreign labor
contractor, a migratory field labor contractor or crew leader, and each individual
who owns or controls at least twenty-five percent of the ownership interests in an
employer; except that this article 4 does not apply to a minority owner of an
employer that demonstrates full delegation of its authority to control day-to-day
operations of the employer; the state or its agencies or entities; counties; cities and
counties; municipal corporations; quasi-municipal corporations; school districts; and
irrigation, reservoir, or drainage conservation companies or districts organized and
existing under the laws of Colorado.
(7) Field labor contractor means anyone who contracts with an employer to
recruit, solicit, hire, or furnish migratory labor for agricultural purposes to do any
one or more of the following activities in this state: Hoeing, thinning, topping,
sacking, hauling, harvesting, cleaning, cutting, sorting, and other direct manual
labor affecting beets, onions, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, and other products,
fruits, or crops in which labor is seasonal in this state. Such term shall not include a
farmer or grower, packinghouse operator, ginner, or warehouseman or any full-time
regular and year-round employee of the farmer or grower, packinghouse operator,
ginner, or warehouseman who engages in such activities, nor shall it include any
migratory laborer who engages in such activities with regard to such migratory
laborer's own children, spouse, parents, siblings, or grandparents.
(8) Fine means any monetary amount assessed against an employer and
payable to the division.
(8.5) Foreign labor contractor means any person who recruits or solicits for
compensation a foreign worker who resides outside of the United States in
furtherance of that worker's employment in Colorado; except that foreign labor
contractor does not include any entity of the federal, state, or local government.
(9) Migratory laborer means any person from within or without the limits of
the state of Colorado who offers his or her services to a field labor contractor,
whether from within or from without the limits of the state of Colorado, so that said
field labor contractor may enter into a contract with any employer to furnish the
services of said migratory laborers in seasonal employment.
(10) Notice of assessment means a written notice by the division, based on
a citation, that the employer must pay the amount of wages, penalties, or fines
assessed.
(11) Notice of complaint means the letter sent by the division as described
in section 8-4-111 (2)(a).
(12) Penalty means any monetary amount assessed against an employer
and payable to an employee.
(13) Wage complaint means a complaint filed with the division from an
employee for unpaid wages alleging that an employer has violated section 15 of
article XVIII of the Colorado constitution, this article, article 6 of this title, or any
rule adopted by the director pursuant to this article or article 6 of this title.
(14) (a) Wages or compensation means:
(I) All amounts for labor or service performed by employees, whether the
amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission
basis, or other method of calculating the same or whether the labor or service is
performed under contract, subcontract, partnership, subpartnership, station plan,
or other agreement for the performance of labor or service if the labor or service to
be paid for is performed personally by the person demanding payment. No amount
is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and
determinable, at which time such amount shall be payable to the employee
pursuant to this article.
(II) Bonuses or commissions earned for labor or services performed in
accordance with the terms of any agreement between an employer and employee;
(III) Vacation pay earned in accordance with the terms of any agreement. If
an employer provides paid vacation for an employee, the employer shall pay upon
separation from employment all vacation pay earned and determinable in
accordance with the terms of any agreement between the employer and the
employee.
(IV) Paid sick leave as provided in part 4 of article 13.3 of this title 8.
(b) Wages or compensation does not include severance pay.
(15) Written demand means any written demand for wages or
compensation from or on behalf of an employee, including a notice of complaint,
mailed or delivered to the employer's correct address.