My office recovers $500,000 for workers to start the year

AT THE BEGINNING OF 2023

Haga click aquí para leer la versión en español

My results show the commitment I have with our communities. Already in January, my team has recorded half a million dollars collected on behalf of workers who did not receive a legal wage. The Denver City Council also passed the Civil Wage Theft Ordinance and designated the Auditor’s Office as the only enforcement authority. My office recovers $500,000 for workers to start the year.

Thanks to the work of my Denver Labor analysts, workers who were paid less than Denver’s minimum or prevailing wage recovered $541,220.02 in January. This is money working people can use to support their families, pay their rent, buy food, and fulfill other essential needs. Our wage work matters to real people every day, which is why I’m prioritizing it and elevating it like no one before me.”

In my office, we know it is common to see a spike in underpayments at the start of the year because of both the increased minimum wage rate and increased community awareness leading to more identified cases. In Denver Labor we prioritize education efforts to help businesses get their payrolls correct on the first try. However, when there are underpayments, it benefits both working people and businesses to catch them and fix the issue as soon as possible.

Recent successful restitution cases from Denver Labor include an investigation to recover $30,000 for 31 workers at Denver International Airport. A contractor was incorrectly classifying them as apprentices without ensuring the required one-to-one ratio for apprentices to journeymen. We also closed a minimum wage case after receiving an anonymous complaint for a food services company. The business was advertising jobs starting at $15 per hour in 2022. Our team was able to recover $1,038.06 for six employees.

Meanwhile, the Denver City Council passed the new Civil Wage Theft Ordinance in January. Wage theft is a crime, and my team is working quickly to engage stakeholder groups and develop rules and processes for addressing these types of cases. Draft wage theft rules are available on our website for public comment. I encourage you to send us your comments and attend the public hearing on March 3 at 3 p.m.