craigdailypress.com

During the past year, federal labor officials investigated 700 cases of unfair pay in Denver.

In 86 percent of the cases, officials found employers broke fair pay laws, and they levied $7 million in fines. But not a single case went to court, because employers complied with the officials' decisions.

"We believe if we reach out to the employer community, people will do the right things," said Richard Habura of the federal Employment Standards Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Habura and Joe Herrera of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment updated Craig employers about employment laws during a luncheon that the Colorado Workforce Center hosted Wednesday.

Investigations usually occur when an employee complains about an employer, Habura said.

"We want you to call us," he said. "When you call us, we don't know who you are."

But his office grills the complainant before beginning an interview in an effort to avoid groundless complaints.

Federal and state labor laws often don't match. When they don't, employers should follow the law that sets the higher standard, Herrera said.

In Colorado, minimum wage is set at $5.15 an hour. Minimum wage for employees who receive tips is $2.13 an hour, but the tips must make up the difference between the payments.

When parents who employ their children break laws limiting the hours children can work, the federal government usually doesn't fine the parents or insist the child stop work unless the child is working in hazardous conditions.

For instance, Habura's office investigated a case in Utah last year in which a 10-year-old was running a front-end loader as his dad's gravel pit.

"Not only were we concerned about the safety of the 10-year old, we were worried about the safety of the dump truck driver and the general public," Habura said.

Child labor violations can cost a business as much as $11,000. During seven years in Denver, last year was the first year Habura's office didn't investigate the death of a minor.

Rob Gebhart can be reached at 824-7031 or rgebhart@craigdailypress.com.