Denver’s Minimum Wage Could Increase to $13.80 Effective Jan. 1, 2020

Posted by: Emma Berdanier on October 14th, 2019

In 2019, through HB19-1210, the Colorado legislature gave local governments the power to set citywide minimum wages at a higher rate than the statewide standard. As it stands, the Colorado statewide minimum wage is $11.20 per hour. It will increase to $12.00 per hour on Jan. 1, 2020. No city in Colorado has taken advantage of this rule. But Denver could be the first to do so come January. A Denver minimum wage increase would greatly affect the city. But do you think it’s for the better?

We’ve written on minimum wage increases before and their growing prevalence in the corporate world.

In September, Mayor Hancock and Councilwoman Kniech proposed a bill to be voted on by Denver’s City Council in November following extensive public engagement beforehand. This bill would increase the minimum wage in the city of Denver beginning in January 2020, with proposed annual increases as follows:

• $13.80 per hour increase in January 2020
• $15.87 per hour increase in January 2021
• Annual increase based on the Consumer Price Index from January 2021 and beyond

Denver City Council is hearing from constituents about this bill so that their input goes into the council’s decision. Contact your district’s city council member and let your opinion be heard on this important topic!

Sources:

• “Denver minimum wage would be $13.80 in January under new proposal.” The Denver Post, 19 September 2019. Accessed 14 October 2019.