DENVER — The first day of 2025 brings with it a bump in pay for minimum wage workers in the City and County of Denver, Boulder, Boulder County and Edgewater.
"Well, people are entitled to the minimum wage. This defined in Denver law, and it's to help them, you know, keep up with cost of living, to keep up with inflation, to be able to pay the bills that we all have to pay," Denver Auditor Timothy O'Brien said.
On Jan. 1, 2025 the minimum wage will go from $18.29 per hour to $18.81 per hour in Denver.
The Department of Finance gets this number by comparing the first six months of 2023 to the first six months of 2024, and that increase becomes the adjustment, according to O'Brien.
"The idea behind using the the two six month periods is that we want to have it out there in time for employers to be able to react to it," O'Brien said. "It's about educating the employer as to what the new minimum wage is, and the employee so that they know what they're entitled to get under the law."
The Colorado Restaurant Association feels differently. President and CEO Sonia Riggs sent Denver7 the following statement:
“Continued minimum-wage increases tied to inflation will impact Colorado restaurants and workers in our industry with unintended consequences, including restaurant closures, reduction in staff hours, increases to menu prices, and distorting business payrolls in ways that actually harm the workers that need the most help.
When the Denver minimum wage increases to $18.81 per hour (or $15.79 for tipped workers) on January 1, 2025, it will cost local restaurants an average of $51,375. (From an August 2024 survey of Colorado Restaurant Association member restaurants)
Denver’s tipped minimum wage has increased almost 90% since 2019, and the non-tipped wage is up almost 65%. How can restaurants remain in business when every single operational cost has increased since 2019, and menu prices can’t follow suit without customers complaining and dining out less? It’s simply unsustainable.”
Wages vary for tipped and non-tipped workers.
