849 MSU Employees Receive Restitution After Denver Labor Investigation

849 MSU Employees Receive Restitution After Denver Labor Investigation

by Robert Davis

A record number of minimum-wage workers at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU) received $130,442 in back pay for lost wages after a Denver Labor investigation found the university unintentionally misclassified the employees.

MSU: A record number of minimum-wage workers at Metropolitan State University of Denver received $130,442 in back pay for lost wages after a Denver Labor investigation found the university unintentionally misclassified the employees.

849 employees received the restitution on October 30, 2020. Many of the employees impacted were students working part-time in admissions, student orientation, and student activities departments.

The restitution came out of MSU’s reserve fund, according to the university’s finance department, and covers lost wages dating back to the beginning of the year.

Denver Labor began its investigation in March after a MSU employee submitted a claim to its office. During the investigation, the agency obtained payroll records showing several MSU employees were paid the state minimum wage of $12 per hour instead of Denver’s bottom wage of $12.85.

“Initially, the university’s officials incorrectly believed they were exempt from the citywide minimum wage law because they were state of Colorado employees,” the investigation report reads. “However, the city ordinance clearly says all work performed within the geographical boundaries of the City and County of Denver is covered by the minimum wage requirements.”

Scheduled increases of the minimum wage will push it up to $14.77 per hour next year, and then to $15.87 in 2022. These “unfunded mandates,” as MSU’s Associate Vice President for Administration/CFO George Middlemist describes them, put a strain on the institution’s resources, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A combination of declining enrollment rates and state funding cuts caused MSU to lose $16 million in funding for the 2020-2021 school year. Middlemist said the institution already holds Colorado’s lowest per pupil funding rate, and the cuts make it harder for MSU to operate.

CFO: Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Associate Vice President for Administration/CFO George Middlemist believes the minimum wage increase will put a strain on the institution’s resources, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Middlemist said the amount of backpay added to each employee’s October 30 paycheck was modest but is “certainly an important amount for them as we all struggle during this crisis.”

“We went into this knowing we wanted to do right by our employees and our students,” Middlemist told the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle in an interview. “The amount we paid in backpay is small compared to future impacts, however. We anticipate a $2-to-$3 million impact in the coming years.”

Denver Labor said it worked with MSU “to find a way to pay workers the money they were owed according to the law, while striving for the least negative impact to the institution in these difficult economic times.”

“This is the single largest number of underpaid employees we’ve ever uncovered in a wage investigation,” City Auditor Timothy O’Brien said in a statement. “These 849 employees are also students and getting them these funds while they may be facing other economic hardships or student loans is a real win.”

In September, MSU’s board of trustees voted unanimously to increase tuition starting in the spring of 2021 to combat declining enrollment rates. Since 2011, MSU’s enrollment rate has remained relatively flat. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, enrollment dropped 6.2%, amounting to about $17 million in lost revenue, according to a report by the university’s student newspaper.

While the tuition is separate from the labor issue, according to Middlemist, the 3% increase for resident and nonresident students translates to an increase of $8 per credit hour for resident students and $25 for nonresidents. Overall tuition will increase $108 for resident students, while nonresident students will see an increase of $337.

MSU plans to redirect $680,000 of its tuition revenue to increase financial aid for students, the university said in a press release. It is also working to leverage CARES Act funding and develop a program to reduce student textbook and material costs.

“Trustees and University leaders struggled to balance the financial impact on students at this challenging time with the long-term financial health and sustainability of the University,” MSU President Janine Davidson said in a statement. “The decision was also not made quickly but is the result of months of research and discussion by the Budget Recommendation Committee, including representation from students.”

Denver Labor is a division of the City Auditor’s Office that “promotes lawful employment and wage compliance while providing exceptional labor, wage, and hourly enforcement,” according to its website.

As of October 2020, the division has recouped $831,000 in unpaid wages, eclipsing its previous high of $701,787 in 2016. Last year, the division recouped $678,559 in unpaid wages, and just $265,423 in 2018.

“The goal is to get money to workers according to the law, not to punish employers for an honest mistake,” O’Brien said. “Our office frequently works to find solutions that will bring employers into compliance without putting them out of business.”

Are CDOT And Lew Killing Drivers For Money?

Are CDOT And Lew Killing Drivers For Money?

Fight Over Unbuffered HOV Lanes Breaks Out At CDOT

by Charles C. Bonniwell

Heading For The Hills?: CDOT’s highly controversial head Shoshana Lew who is blamed by certain CDOT employees for the proliferation of non-buffered HOV lanes across the Front Range which they believe will cause dangerous car accidents in Colorado for many a decade. She is rumored to be desperately seeking a job in Washington, D.C., with the anticipated Biden administration.

Highly controversial Colorado Department Of Transportation (CDOT) Director Shoshana Lew is leading the agency into adopting unbarricaded/ non-buffered HOV lanes throughout the Front Range, including on  I-25, C-470 and I-70. Lanes which — according to individuals who, for obvious reasons, do not wish to be identified for fear of losing their jobs within CDOT — are unsafe for drivers, and whose sole purpose is to provide money for the private companies that are helping to fund the projects. There will be close to 200 miles of highly dangerous roads in the Front Range under Lew’s planning. Originally CDOT created barricaded HOV lanes along U.S. Highway 36 and into and out of downtown Denver on I-25, which proved successful as safe passage for drivers and a good value for those who could afford them.

The purpose of the non-buffered HOV lanes are, according to CDOT, inter alia:

•           Making safety improvements to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities.

•           Decreasing travel time and increasing trip reliability (at least for those who can afford them).

•           Employing congestion management to improve the travel experience.

But disgruntled CDOT employees argue non-buffered lanes accomplish none of the stated goals and, in fact, are being done to satisfy Lew’s increasingly desperate need for money. The state legislature has repeatedly refused to increase CDOT’s funding levels. In the fall of 2019, Colorado citizens turned down, by an 11 point margin, Proposition CC which would have allowed CDOT to use for its purposes the refunds taxpayers would have otherwise gotten under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights.

Extremely bitter about the election results, Lew and CDOT increasingly turned to private investors who would fund the road expansions in so-called Private Public Partnerships or P3s. The investors, all of whom come from outside Colorado, are primarily interested in ensuring a solid return on their investments. They do not view it as their task to worry about the safety of Colorado drivers or their traveling experience. Unfortunately, while CDOT is generally responsible for such concerns, Lew herself does not view private cars as a solution to Colorado’s transportation needs and thus has little interest in the safety and convenience of private car drivers.

Buffered HOV lanes came quickly off the bargaining table. Lew’s HOV lanes would be separated from general purpose lanes simply by a couple of white lines. There was no one at the table to represent the car driving public as noted by some longtime CDOT employees who recognized what was happening.

First and foremost, studies have repeatedly shown that non-buffered HOV lanes do not decrease crashes and fatalities as claimed by Lew and CDOT but, in fact, increase them. A seminal 1979 Federal Highway Administration study found that a lack of physical separation between HOV and general-purpose lanes creates operational and safety problems, causing illegal maneuvers and speed differential between HOV lanes and the adjoining general-purpose lanes.

A study in 2004 published by the Texas Transportation Institute found that non-barrier HOV lanes experienced 41-56% higher injury crash rates compared to barrier-separated lanes. The increased injury crash rates were “likely due to the speed differential between the HOV and the adjacent general purpose lane.”

Safe HOV Lanes: CDOT originally built barricaded HOV lanes on I-25 and Highway 36. The double lanes proved to be safe and highly convenient for those who could afford them.

Similar studies conducted have reached similar conclusions in Virginia, California, Florida, and Minnesota. Because CDOT will, in effect, be putting people’s lives in danger by recklessly adopting non-buffered lanes, some wonder why there hasn’t been at least a debate or public discussion at some level in Colorado government.

Long-term CDOT employees blame Lew whose closed secretive nature is legendary. They view her as an incompetent elitist who believes, like the character played by Jack Nicholson in the movie A Few Good Men, that the public “can’t handle the truth.” Thus, she mandated that the life and death decisions concerning non-buffered HOV lanes should be made outside the public purview by a few CDOT allies of Lew and the out-of-state investors.

Longtime CDOT employees also point out how bad an investment those drivers who use the non-buffered HOV lanes are getting. The non-buffered lanes become incredibly congested during rush hours as frustrated drivers pay little or no attention to the two white lines separating the HOV lane and the adjoining general-purpose lane. There is therefore little or no “decrease in travel time” or “increased travel reliability” or “congestion management to improve the travel experience” for users of non-buffered HOV lanes. As one transportation expert who did not wish to be identified stated: “Why would anyone pay to increase their risk of being hurt in a car crash in a dangerous and often highly congested non-buffered HOV lane.”

Unsafe HOV Lanes: Under Lew unbuffered HOV lanes have proliferated which are single lanes separated from the adjoining general purpose lanes by a couple of stripped lines. Certain CDOT employees say these HOV lanes are dangerous and will cause untold number of car accidents.

Another highly troubling aspect of Lew’s non-buffered HOV lanes is that they are usually only one lane for each direction. If a driver in the non-buffered HOV lane decides to go at or below the speed limit there is no legal way to get around that driver, causing increased incidents of road rage by drivers who paid to be in the HOV lane so they could get to where they wanted to go in a quicker manner.

Lew, CDOT and the out-of-state investors are relying on the doctrine of “sovereign immunity” against the inevitable lawsuits involving drivers getting killed in dangerous non-buffered HOV lanes. Moreover, Lew is reportedly desperate to jump ship and move back to Washington, D.C., where her highly politically connected family lives, and get a job somewhere in the anticipated Biden administration. The carnage she is creating on Colorado highways will, however, last for generations, according to CDOT employees.

Cozy Up, Cuddle Down Time

Cozy Up, Cuddle Down Time

Goodbye, November. Hello, December. How did this month get here so soon? As Dr. Seuss stated, “It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June.” This month feels like both a beginning and an ending. It’s all the rushing, preparation and celebrating as we try to slow down right in the middle of a near year-long pandemic.

December is Denver’s coldest month. That mean the thermometer may drop below 0 °F on a few nights. Still we are nearer to spring than we were in September.

Here are our silver bells ringing and sugar plums dancing choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to prepare you for the merriment and bah humbug-ness ahead:

3          With jaunty jingles and titillating tales, the world premiere of Winterland at Wonderbound Studios is your antidote to the winter blues. Sunflower Bank is sponsor of the cabaret, Dec. 2-18. Information: 303-292-4700.

3          Take the family to Zoo Lights 30th Anniversary with more than a million lights aglow at the Denver Zoo, Dec. 4-31. Information: 720-990-5105.

3          View Begin Again, new artwork to inspire healing, hope and wonder on display at Walker Fine Art through Jan. 9. Information: 303-355-8955.

3          Book a time, dress in your holiday best for family photos at Lowry’s Eisenhower Chapel Dec. 12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Information: 303-344-0481.

3          Make the holidays special with pastries, artisan breads, quiche and sandwiches from French bakery Detour on South Holly St. Tue.-Sat., 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Helpful staff to help you stock up. Information: 303-756-2020.

3          Spruce up for the holidays with décor fabrics from Boris’s Upholstery. Select from over 300 rolls of fabrics in-stock. One-stop home upholstery, custom cushions and decorative pillows. Information: 303-751-2921.

3          See Stories On Stage as it performs Making Merry live streamed from the Nomad Theatre in Boulder Dec. 13, 7-8 p.m. Information: 303-494-0523.

3          Catch Other People’s Pets, the Novel by R. L. Maizes during Dec. 17 virtual JAAMM Fest, 7 p.m. Information: JCCDenver.org/JAAMM.

3          Faced with this year’s historic challenges, take the family to December Delights at Four Mile Historic Park, Dec. 4-27. Outdoor winter spectacular features installations, ice skating, kids’ activities and a scavenger hunt. Event has snacks and a full bar. Open Friday through Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. the stunning space is designed to transform endings into new beginnings. Information: 720-865-0800.

Do You Hear What I Hear? AAAaaALViiiNN! Whether it’s the Chipmunk song or Jingle Bells, holiday songs are inescapable this time of year. They’re on your car radio, in department stores and your dentist’s waiting room. Even Up on the Housetop, click, click, the DINGing and DONGing and RING-A-LINGing dance in your ear drums.

Even if holiday songs don’t top our list, we still remember the words to Deck The Halls, FA LA FA LA! After all, it’s the time of year to “be jolly and don gay apparel!

Although December is filled with love and positivity, let’s face it: this month can leave you feeling pretty cold. So go ahead and cozy up to all those holiday songs and their December-themed lyrics — enjoy them while you can, it’ll be 2021 before you know it! Wishing you and your family health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year.

 — Glen Richardson

The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.

2020 — A Tough Year But Still Many Reasons To Be Thankful

2020 — A Tough Year But Still Many Reasons To Be Thankful

by Teresa Kutt, VP of Marketing and Communications, YMCA of Metro Denver

2020 has been a tough year for everyone. And it’s not over yet. Our country was fraught with a pandemic, and we also experienced our share of political and societal unrest. Despite these challenges, there are still many reasons to be thankful.

Close up of gratitude word with pen on notebook

This list is not meant to minimize the harsh reality of 2020. Many people have lost loved ones. Jobs. People are struggling financially and emotionally. But today, we’d like to shine a light on the positives in the Denver community and all around us.

1. People helping people

Often, helping others can be a good way to get our minds off our own worries. Since the pandemic hit in March, there have been countless stories about how people in the Denver community have been helping others since then.

Too numerous to list, support ranges from monetary help to giving of one’s own time. Thankfully, key organizations in the community, including the Food Bank of the Rockies, Mile High United Way and the YMCA of Metro Denver, just to name a few, have been helping to those in need to stay connected, healthy and to keep their bellies full.

2. Furry friends find new homes

The demand for new furry friends across the state, as well as nationally, has skyrocketed. With an increasing number of people spending more time at home, many individuals and families decided the time was right to expand their families; many cats and dogs have now been placed in their fur-ever homes throughout Colorado.

3. Creativity blossomed

Creativity experienced a resurgence during self-isolation.

Artwork: New murals popped up throughout the Denver community. Inspiring works of art were created to bolster positivity, as well as to acknowledge and support healthcare workers and others on the frontlines of the pandemic.

Sewing: Many people dusted off their sewing machines and brushed up on their stitching skills to make masks for essential employees, as well as family members and friends.

Cooking: Cooking and baking also gained popularity in households across the country. Not only does trying out a new recipe provide entertainment, it also provides comfort and sustenance.

Virtual Connection: It wasn’t only schools that went virtual; many musicians, artists and museums opened their performances, shows and collections virtually, allowing individuals, families and students to explore new places and things from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

4. Family Time

For families regularly caught up in the rat race, 2020 has presented them with more time at home to connect, to spend time together and to enjoy each other. Many families in the Denver community report an increased sense of connection and communication among each other since the pandemic began.

Is there something you’re particularly grateful for? Please share it with us!

To learn more about health and fitness programs at the YMCA of Metro Denver, visit https://www.denverymca.org/.