All That You Should Be Aware of Denver Minimum Wage
Denver Labor has been utilizing statistics and research since 2022 to broaden its educational and enforcement activities inside industries where workers are most likely to be paid less than the legally mandated minimum wage. These are the fields where employees are most likely to be paid below the minimum wage. Denver Labor might utilize this data to investigate potential wage underpayment cases before receiving a formal complaint. Targeted onsite visits to speak with workers who may not be receiving the minimum wage will be a part of active wage enforcement.
The minimum wage in the city must be adjusted annually for inflation using the CPI as the foundation for the calculation. The Denver Department of Finance is legally obligated to do this calculation, but our office is in charge of enforcing the calculated rate and educating businesses on it all year long. So how low is the Minimum wage Denver?
Changes to the Wage Regulations in 2022
The Denver City Council passed an ordinance modernizing many areas of the city’s compensation policies on Monday, June 20, 2022. The primary sponsor of the legislation was Councilwoman Robin Kniech.
Essential concepts
The statute modified the basis for calculating prospective annual pay increases for contractors’ minimum wage. This move means that the minimum pay rate for contractors will be determined in the same way as the citywide minimum wage and will go into effect on the same day each year (January 1) as the citywide minimum wage.
Finding The Effective Financial Wage
The Department of Finance, which also has the last say on any salary increases in the future, will be responsible for the calculation. Department of Finance indices are based on the CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers).
The Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles a CPI specifically for female consumers. This is determined by averaging the percentage change in the prices of a “basket of consumer goods and services” typically purchased by urban wage earners and clerical workers over a certain time period. This is unaffected by the ordinance’s recent changes. The index is currently calculated based on prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area.
In order to determine whether or not a wage rise is warranted for the next year, the Department of Finance will compare the Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W) from the first half of the previous year with the CPI-W from the first half of the current year.
Denver’s new minimum wage of $15.87 per hour applies to both contractors and employees citywide. This is because an employer in Denver is required by law to pay the highest legal rate. Workers in the food and beverage business who rely on gratuities should be the only ones in Denver to earn less than $15.87 per hour.
Conclusion
Before this increase, the contractor minimum wage increased by a single dollar every July 1. During certain months it may be lower than the citywide minimum wage and so not be in effect, while during other months it may be higher. The Denver City Council has decided to align the timetables for both pay rates so that just one rises annually — the higher citywide minimum wage — now that the citywide minimum wage is consistently higher. Since the citywide minimum wage has been rising steadily over the past several years, this choice was chosen.