Learn about the Citywide Minimum Wage ordinance and how it impacts the way your business operate with the resources below: 

Denver Wages Rates Timeline

Transcript Denver Wages Timeline(PDF, 69KB)

Mandatory Minimum Wage Poster

(PDF, 285KB) 

Download Mandatory Minimum Wage Poster
(PDF, 285KB)

Other Resources

• Download the Minimum Wage Informational Brochure for Employers(PDF, 490KB)
• Read the Citywide Minimum Wage Ordinance(PDF, 243KB)
• Review the Minimum Wage Investigation Summary(PDF, 176KB)
• Download the Underpayment Calculator for 2022(XLSX, 50KB)

Citywide Minimum Wage: Employer Requirements

Denver law requires employers conducting business in Denver to retain records demonstrating compliance with Denver’s minimum wage law.

1. Sufficient payroll records for a period beginning Jan. 1, 2020 for at least three years.	2. Employers will not be asked for payroll records of work performed before Jan. 1, 2020.	3.No special format or recordkeeping system is required.	4.Records must be retained for current and past employees.

Payroll Records

When Denver Labor conducts an investigation, employers must provide payroll records in a timely manner. These records must include:

1. The number of hours worked by each worker.	2. The hourly wage paid to each worker.	3. Any deductions made from worker wages, including any taxes withheld.	4. The net amount of wages received by each worker.

City Council passed an ordinance on Monday, June 20, 2022 to update several elements of Denver’s wage laws. The primary sponsor of the bill was Councilwoman Robin Kniech.

Key points:

- The ordinance changed the time period used to calculate possible annual pay increases for the contractor minimum wage.  Due to this change, the contractor minimum wage rate will be calculated in the same manner and take effect the at the same time as any change to the citywide minimum wage on Jan. 1 of each year.

• The Department of Finance will perform the calculation and will issue the decisions on potential wage rate increases.
• The Department of Finance uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
• The CPI-W is done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures the average change in prices over time of a “basket of consumer goods and services” commonly purchased by urban wage earners and clerical workers. This did not change with the new ordinance updates. The index is currently calculated based on prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area.
• The Department of Finance will compare the CPI-W from the first half of the prior year to the first have of the current year to determine how much wages might need to increase for the next year.
• Because Denver law requires an employer to comply with the highest applicable wage, both the contractor and citywide minimum wage are currently enforced at $15.87. Aside from a few exceptions, including tipped food and beverage workers, no one working in the city and county of Denver should be earning less $15.87.

- The ordinance aligned both the contractor and citywide minimum wages.

• Until now, the contractor minimum wage would increase on July 1 of each year. For half the year it might be higher than the citywide minimum wage and half the year it was lower and therefore did not apply. Now that the citywide minimum wage is consistently higher, the Denver City Council decided to align the timelines for both wage rates so there would only be one increase per year – the higher citywide minimum wage.
• The contractor minimum wage rate will not change on July 1, 2023. However, using the CPI-W calculation it still would have been lower than the citywide minimum wage anyway. As a result, City Council determined that doing the alignment would not keep workers from receiving the highest possible pay rate

- City Council approved a repeal of the obsolete living wage ordinance. The living wage was created in the 2000 but it is lower than both the contractor and citywide minimum wages.

- The updates added legally required details for collection of unpaid wages and fees/fines.

• The original ordinance gave our office the authority to send unpaid wages to collections and to assess fines for noncompliance with wage laws. However, some legal details were missing and our office has been unable to collect on behalf of workers.
• The updates align the collections provisions with the standard city collections processes.
• These changes include:
  • Notice shall be sent via first class mail to the most recent mailing address of the employer; notice deemed complete seven days later.
  • Penalties shall be due and payable 30 days after notice.
  • Clarifying a late fee of $25 and a 10% annual interest on penalties not paid within 30 days.
• This will help our office recover significant amounts of restitution dollars from employers who were noncompliant with the wage law.

If you have questions about wage rates or which laws apply to you, do not hesitate to reach out to our office. Our analysts are happy to help. If you have questions about the changes to the ordinance, please reach out to Denver City Council. If you have questions about the next minimum wage rate increase and calculations, please contact the Department of Finance. 

When does the minimum wage increase? January 1 of each year.

How much will the wage increase? The citywide minimum wage will increase to $17.29 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2023. If food and beverage industry employers claim the full tip credit of $3.02 per hour, the tipped wage would be $14.27. 

Transcript of Denver Wages Timeline(PDF, 69KB)

Is Denver’s wage rate the highest? No, Denver will be among several dozen cities nationwide with minimum wages above $17 per hour. In 2023, some peer cities will already be above $18 per hour.

How is the wage increase calculated? According to ordinance, the Denver Department of Finance calculates the annual increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The methodology is laid out in ordinance and is similar to how the State of Colorado calculates its statewide minimum wage. According to ordinance, the adjustment calculation compares the Consumer Price Index for the first half of the previous year to the first half of the current year. The Consumer Price Index is designed to help workers keep up with the cost of living in their area.

The new minimum wage applies to all workers performing work after January 1, 2020 within the geographical boundaries of the City and County of Denver. 

Denver’s local minimum wage is:

• $15.87 from January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022;
• $17.29 from January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023; and
• Increase by the prior year’s increase in the regional consumer price index every year thereafter.

An employer can reduce the its minimum wage obligation for actual tips received by its employees up to $3.02 an hour (“tip credit”) only in the food and beverage industry. During an investigation, an employer may be asked to produce evidence their employees received tips equal to or greater than the tip credit taken by the employer.

Employers of unemancipated minors performing work pursuant to a city certified youth employment program may pay those minors 15% less than the minimum wage.  

Denver’s local minimum wage does not apply to:

• Work performed outside of Denver;
• Where an employee works less than 4 hours within Denver in a week; and
• Where the employee is only traveling through Denver while working.

The applicable minimum wage is the greater of the applicable prevailing wage, living wage, Denver contractor minimum wage as set in D.R.M.C. §20-84, the local minimum wage as set in D.R.M.C. §33.7-16 or other state or federal for the class of work being performed.

To be compliant, employers must pay their employees the appropriate wage and maintain payroll records for three years.  There is no additional reporting requirement.

Complaints may be submitted by any person or entity. Complaints may be submitted anonymously. In addition, the Auditor’s Office may initiate an investigation based on an employer’s pattern of violations or credible government data.

Individuals who wish to make a complaint related to Denver’s minimum wage may e-mail the Denver Auditor’s Office at wagecomplaints@denvergov.org or call 720-913-5039.

The Denver Auditor’s Office will investigate all credible complaints submitted. Complaints may be resolved by referral to another agency or mode of remedy. Where the Auditor’s Office finds and investigates a credible compliant, the Auditor’s Office will inform the employer of its investigation and request documentation from the employer demonstrating compliance with minimum wage requirements. When the investigation is complete, an assigned investigator will seek restitution for any underpaid employee and possibly levy fines or inform the complainant and employer no evidence of underpayment was found. Employers must provide the Auditor’s Office evidence of any restitution payment made.    

Employers may not take adverse action against an employee for their involvement in an investigation. Such retaliatory conduct is unlawful and subject to a $5,000 fine.

For an employer’s first violation, the Auditor may impose a fine of as much as $50 a day for each employee paid less than minimum wage unless the Auditor finds the error was made in good faith and corrected within 30 days.

For an employer’s second and third violations in a three-year period, the Auditor must impose a fine of $1,000 – $2,500 and $10-$75 a day for each employee paid less than minimum wage.  For all violations after the third violation in a three-year period, the Auditor must impose a fine of $2,500 – $5,000 and $50-$100 a day for each employee paid less than minimum wage. 

Where an employer fails to submit certified payroll records or submits false records in response to an investigatory request by the Auditor, the Auditor must fine the employer $1,000.