Denver Colorado Wage Theft Protection Ordinance

Denver Colorado Wage Theft Ordinance

Wage theft is unlawful everywhere in the United States, and yet, employers still engage in the practice and use many methods to underpay and steal the wages of their employees. Fortunately, lawmakers around the country have been enacting legislation to punish wage theft more severely and better protect workers. For example, as we have discussed in several earlier articles, the state of Colorado has passed significant upgrades to the state’s anti-wage theft laws. Indeed, wage theft in Colorado is a crime.

Denver Colorado Wage Theft

Now, Denver Colorado has enacted a new Ordinance that gives workers even more protection from wage theft. See here (click on #10 across from Attachments). The new Ordinance was passed in January 2023 and signed by the Mayor on January 10, 2023. The Ordinance was effective immediately upon signing.

The Denver Colorado Wage Theft Ordinance not only intensifies protections for Denver workers from wage theft but is notable for expanding potential liability for penalties to other companies who “benefit” from a worker’s tasks and duties. For example, if a worker’s direct employer is a staffing agency that contracts the worker out to another company, the other company is potentially liable for the penalties assessed for the staffing agency’s wage theft and other violations of the new Ordinance. The legal concept is called “joint and several liability.”

The specific examples listed in the Denver Colorado Wage Theft Ordinance include “general contractors, clients of staffing agencies, and labor brokers …” This is a significant protection since many workers are hired by one company but actually do their work tasks for another company. Common examples are those in the hospitality industry, merchandise and display services, construction subcontractors, and others.

If you have not been paid all your wages and you think your employer — or the company that benefits from your work — has engaged in wage theft, call us here at Herrmann Law at (817) 479-9229. We are experienced Employee Rights Lawyers and Wage and Hour Litigators offering legal services to workers across the country. Here is some additional information on the new Denver, CO, wage theft Ordinance.

What Are Your Options if You Have Not Been Paid all Your Wages in Denver Colorado?

Under the new Ordinance, a worker may file a civil lawsuit in Colorado State Courts. An employee may also file a complaint under State law — the Colorado Wage Act. If a Denver worker files a civil lawsuit to enforce the Wage Theft Protection Ordinance, the potential categories of damages include:

• Back pay (including amounts that should have been paid after filing with the Auditor or in State Court)
• Interest on unpaid wages (at 12% per year)
• Statutory damages equal to three times the amount owed
• $100 per day penalty for each day that the wages were not paid
• Recovery of the worker’s attorney’s fees and costs

The court may also order that the employer reinstatement the employee’s employment.

Call the Employee Rights Attorneys at Herrmann Law Today

For more information, call the Employee Rights attorneys at Herrmann Law. If you think that your employer has violated your rights as an employee, call us. We are proven, experienced, employee-focused attorneys representing workers across the United States, including workers in Colorado, in all types of workplace disputes.

Use our Online Contact page or call us at (817) 479-9229. We are more than just a law firm for employees – we are an employee’s fiercest advocate, equipping employees with the legal representation needed to achieve the best result possible.