Denver is extending cold weather shelter from Thursday, Feb. 13 and will remain open as long as weather conditions are met.
Wage theft is the failure to pay workers the full wages to which they are legally entitled.
Employers may use any number of tactics to get out of paying employees, including the following.
While many workers and professions are impacted by wage theft, the following groups of workers are impacted most frequently.
Immigrants, refugees and people of color are disproportionately impacted by wage theft.
Until Denver implemented its municipal wage theft ordinance, victims of wage theft who suffered losses of less than $2,000 had no meaningful path to criminal prosecution and, consequently, restitution. Thanks to this ordinance, victims now have a means of pursuing criminal charges. In these cases, the City Attorney’s Office would will prosecute, thus saving the victim the money needed to hire a lawyer or even a private investigator. The ordinance prohibits an employer from denying or withholding a wage owed to any worker who is not a true independent contractor. The ordinance includes provisions to ensure that workers who are misclassified as independent contractors receive protection, as well as an anti-retaliation provision, and annual reporting to City Council.
If you have had wages stolen, the City Attorney’s Office can help.
Submit a Wage Theft Complaint Online