Best Of

As of July 6, my former employer was in violation of his second deadline to pay the penalties owed for our unpaid wages complaint. The CDLE (Colorado's dept of labor) found that he owed us the maximum amount of backpay allowable; and, since it was deemed willful, he was fined penalties equaling 3x the backpay owed (non-willful penalties are 2x backpay), plus additional penalties to the state. But the state is kind and merciful. If he paid it off early, they would halve the penalties owed us and waive the state penalties. 

When we received our backpay checks we thought he had finally given up and would take the reduced penalties deal. Then, a few days before the penalties checks were due, he decided to appeal the "willful" part of the decision and sent checks for half of what the penalties would have been if the finding had been non-willful - 1x backpay instead of 1.5x backpay.

In doing so, he shot himself in the foot so hard. One of the requirements for the reduced penalties is that the defendant doesn't appeal the amount of monies owed to the complaint filers. (They can still appeal any procedural orders handed down, but not money.) So even if the appeals judge finds in his favor, he will owe us the 2x backpay penalty and will have to write us another check for another 1x our backpay. But now that he's violated his second deadline, the penalties go up half-again from 3x to 4.5x backpay owed. Either way, he will owe us more money for the sake of his ego.

If this goes the maximum in our favor, this whole saga will cost him just over $500,000. That will be some tasty karma.