What We Do
Denver Labor, a division of the Auditor’s Office, promotes lawful employment and wage compliance while providing exceptional labor, wage, and hourly enforcement. Denver Labor audits 100% of certified payrolls and investigates 100% of wage complaints.
Denver Labor’s goal is to protect Denver’s employers and employees and ensure everyone is paid according to the law. We work to foster community relationships with businesses and labor organizations, and educate our diverse community on labor issues.
How Denver Labor Works
Denver Labor is a division of Denver Auditor's Office and enforces Prevailing Wage, Davis-Bacon Act, Minimum Wage, and Civil Wage Theft.
Denver Wage Laws
Citywide Minimum Wage

- All work performed in Denver.
- All workers, tip credit applies to food and beverage workers.
- Minimum increases annually on January 1.
- Complaints may be anonymous.
Civil Wage Theft
- Applies to all persons who work in Denver.
- Employers must ensure all workers performing work within Denver are paid all earned and lawful wages.
- Complaints can be anonymous and must be submitted within three years of the alleged civil wage theft.
Prevailing Wage
- Applies to all work performed on City of Denver property or using city dollars.
- Covers contractors and subcontractors for construction, improvement, repair, maintenance, demolition, or janitorial work.
- See Prevailing Wage for updated wage rates.
100% of payrolls must be submitted and will be reviewed by our analysts.
Transcript of Denver Labor Organizational Chart in 2023.(PDF, 72KB)
(PDF, 72KB)
Denver Wage Rates Timeline

Transcript Denver Wages Timeline(PDF, 69KB)
Receiving Complaints
How To Submit
Complaints can be made by:
All complaints must be made in writing. We will assist anyone making a complaint in completing the necessary forms.
Who Can Submit
Complaints can be made by:
- Employees
- A third-party
- Family/Friends
- Attorney
- Community Resource
- Labor organization
- Anonymous
However, we encourage any party making a complaint to share contact information. We make every effort to keep complainant’s information confidentiality. Communication between the complainant and the investigator can dramatically assist an investigation.
What We Need
- Employer's name
- Location where the work was performed
- A statement explaining the alleged violation
The investigator assigned to the complaint may contact a complainant for additional information or documentation. Denver Labor will not ask and accept information related to a party’s citizenship or immigration status. The more information the complainant can provide, the greater the likelihood of a successful investigation.
Restitution Stories
Our staff always works hard to get wages recovered for workers protected by the Prevailing Wage and Minimum Wage ordinances. In 2022, Denver Labor recovered more than $1 million for underpaid workers, exceeding previous annual records. In January 2023, the team already recovered $541,220 for employees in Denver. You can read some of the success stories in the link below.
This graph shows Denver’s unpaid wages recovered by the labor division of the Denver Auditor’s Office by year. In 2013, $101,905 were recovered. In 2014, $142,977 were recovered. In 2015, $84,232 were recovered. In 2016, $701,787 were recovered. In 2017, $417,271 were recovered. In 2018, $265,243 were recovered. In 2019, $678,559 were recovered. In 2020, $1,017,363 were recovered. In 2021, Denver Labor recovered $690,298 for workers. In 2022, Denver Labor recovered $1,101,737.73. As of March 30, 2023, Denver Labor recovered $743,000 for underpaid workers in the City and County of Denver.
Read Our Restitution Stories
Denver Labor News

AUDITOR TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, CPA
Denver Auditor
Denver Auditor´s Office
201 W. Colfax Ave. #705 Denver, CO 80202
Email: auditor@denvergov.org
Call: 720-913-5000
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