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Dan Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services, LLC
Date: 09-09-2024
Case Number: 24SA12
Judge: Gabriel
Court: Supreme Court of Colorado on referral from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (Denver County)
Plaintiff's Attorney:
Click Here For The Best Denver Employment Lawyer Directory
Defendant's Attorney: Jeffider S. Harpole and Sarah K. Watt
Description:
¶3 Dan Hamilton was employed by Amazon.com Services LLC ("Amazon") at an Amazon warehouse in Aurora. As part of Hamilton's employment, Amazon offered him, as pertinent here, both holiday pay and holiday incentive pay. Holiday pay entitled Hamilton to his regular pay rate (i.e., his hourly rate) on company holidays, such as New Year's Day and Labor Day, regardless of whether he actually worked on that day. If Hamilton worked on a designated company holiday, then Amazon offered him, in addition to holiday pay, holiday incentive pay, which compensated him at one and one-half times his regular hourly rate.
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¶4 Colorado law requires Amazon to pay their employees overtime at a rate of one and one-half times the employee's "regular rate of pay" when, as pertinent here, the employee works more than forty hours per workweek. Dep't of Lab. &Emp., 7 Colo. Code Regs. 1103-1:4.1.1(A) (2022). "Regular rate of pay" is defined as "the hourly rate actually paid to employees for a standard, non-overtime workweek." Dep't of Lab. &Emp., 7 Colo. Code Regs. 1103-1:1.8 (2022) ("Rule 1.8").
¶5 In January 2022, Hamilton filed an individual and class action complaint against Amazon in Arapahoe County District Court. In this complaint, Hamilton alleged that, as to him, Amazon had violated the Colorado Wage Act ("CWA"), §§ 8-4-101 to -125, C.R.S. (2023), when, on three separate occasions, it did not properly pay him for overtime that he had worked during weeks in which he had also worked on a company holiday. In support of this argument, Hamilton referred to Amazon's holiday pay policies, which provided:
Eligible employees are paid their regular pay rate on company holidays regardless of whether or not they work on the holiday.... Holiday hours are not considered "hours worked" and are not used in the calculation of overtime. Only hours that are actually worked on a company holiday are considered "hours worked" in the calculation of overtime pay.
¶6 Because, when paying time and a half, an employer must consider "all payments received for work completed," Hamilton argued that holiday incentive pay, which compensates employees for hours "actually worked on a company
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holiday," must be included in the calculation of overtime pay. Thus, in Hamilton's view, his overtime pay should have been calculated after determining his regular rate of pay based on the total compensation paid to him (including holiday incentive pay) and then dividing that sum by the total hours worked. He asserted that because Amazon did not include his holiday incentive pay when it calculated his rate of pay for the three weeks at issue, Amazon had failed to pay him all of the overtime that he had earned during those weeks.
¶7 Hamilton further alleged that because Amazon's pay policies regarding holiday incentive pay and overtime compensation were uniform and allegedly impacted "at least hundreds if not thousands of employees," the district court should certify a class of all classes of United States non-exempt hourly employees who had worked more than forty hours at certain Amazon warehouses in Colorado during weeks in which they had worked on a company holiday.
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Denver, Colorado labor and employment wage and hour lawyer represented the Plaintiff.
¶3 Dan Hamilton was employed by Amazon.com Services LLC ("Amazon") at an Amazon warehouse in Aurora. As part of Hamilton's employment, Amazon offered him, as pertinent here, both holiday pay and holiday incentive pay. Holiday pay entitled Hamilton to his regular pay rate (i.e., his hourly rate) on company holidays, such as New Year's Day and Labor Day, regardless of whether he actually worked on that day. If Hamilton worked on a designated company holiday, then Amazon offered him, in addition to holiday pay, holiday incentive pay, which compensated him at one and one-half times his regular hourly rate.
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¶4 Colorado law requires Amazon to pay their employees overtime at a rate of one and one-half times the employee's "regular rate of pay" when, as pertinent here, the employee works more than forty hours per workweek. Dep't of Lab. &Emp., 7 Colo. Code Regs. 1103-1:4.1.1(A) (2022). "Regular rate of pay" is defined as "the hourly rate actually paid to employees for a standard, non-overtime workweek." Dep't of Lab. &Emp., 7 Colo. Code Regs. 1103-1:1.8 (2022) ("Rule 1.8").
¶5 In January 2022, Hamilton filed an individual and class action complaint against Amazon in Arapahoe County District Court. In this complaint, Hamilton alleged that, as to him, Amazon had violated the Colorado Wage Act ("CWA"), §§ 8-4-101 to -125, C.R.S. (2023), when, on three separate occasions, it did not properly pay him for overtime that he had worked during weeks in which he had also worked on a company holiday. In support of this argument, Hamilton referred to Amazon's holiday pay policies, which provided:
Eligible employees are paid their regular pay rate on company holidays regardless of whether or not they work on the holiday.... Holiday hours are not considered "hours worked" and are not used in the calculation of overtime. Only hours that are actually worked on a company holiday are considered "hours worked" in the calculation of overtime pay.
¶6 Because, when paying time and a half, an employer must consider "all payments received for work completed," Hamilton argued that holiday incentive pay, which compensates employees for hours "actually worked on a company
5
holiday," must be included in the calculation of overtime pay. Thus, in Hamilton's view, his overtime pay should have been calculated after determining his regular rate of pay based on the total compensation paid to him (including holiday incentive pay) and then dividing that sum by the total hours worked. He asserted that because Amazon did not include his holiday incentive pay when it calculated his rate of pay for the three weeks at issue, Amazon had failed to pay him all of the overtime that he had earned during those weeks.
¶7 Hamilton further alleged that because Amazon's pay policies regarding holiday incentive pay and overtime compensation were uniform and allegedly impacted "at least hundreds if not thousands of employees," the district court should certify a class of all classes of United States non-exempt hourly employees who had worked more than forty hours at certain Amazon warehouses in Colorado during weeks in which they had worked on a company holiday.
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Outcome:
For these reasons, we answer the certified question by concluding that holiday incentive pay is included in the calculation of the '[r]egular rate of pay' under Rules 1.8 and 1.8.1.
Hamilton v. Amazon.com Servs., 2024 CO 60, 24SA12 (Colo. Sep 09, 2024)
Hamilton v. Amazon.com Servs., 2024 CO 60, 24SA12 (Colo. Sep 09, 2024)
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments:
About This Case
What was the outcome of Dan Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services, LLC?
The outcome was: For these reasons, we answer the certified question by concluding that holiday incentive pay is included in the calculation of the '[r]egular rate of pay' under Rules 1.8 and 1.8.1. Hamilton v. Amazon.com Servs., 2024 CO 60, 24SA12 (Colo. Sep 09, 2024)
Which court heard Dan Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services, LLC?
This case was heard in Supreme Court of Colorado on referral from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (Denver County), CO. The presiding judge was Gabriel.
Who were the attorneys in Dan Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services, LLC?
Plaintiff's attorney: Click Here For The Best Denver Employment Lawyer Directory. Defendant's attorney: Jeffider S. Harpole and Sarah K. Watt.
When was Dan Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services, LLC decided?
This case was decided on September 9, 2024.