Minimum Wage on the Rise in Colorado in 2019

On January 1, 2019, the minimum wage is going up in Colorado. The state’s Department of Labor and Employment just released Minimum Wage Order 35. As in previous years, because the order was released so close to January 1, we are working hard to get the updated Colorado poster out to customers as soon as possible.

Details of the Minimum Wage Order

2019 Minimum Wage Rates

Effective January 1, 2019, Colorado employers must pay a minimum wage of $11.10 per hour to all adult employees and emancipated minors who are employed on an hourly, piecework, commission, time, task, or another basis.

For the year 2019, tipped employees must be paid a minimum wage of $8.08 per hour. Tipped employees are those who customarily and regularly receive more than $30.00 per month in tips. A maximum tip credit of $3.02 per hour may be used to offset the minimum wage of these employees.

Rest Periods, Meal Periods, and More…

As on the previous Minimum Wage Order, employers must abide by other requirements of the law. These include providing all employees with paid rest periods of 10 minutes for every 4 hours of work, and paid meal periods of at least 30 minutes when employees’ shifts exceed 5 consecutive hours of work.

In addition, employers must cover the cost of purchasing, maintaining, and cleaning certain uniforms, or other special apparel, which is a condition of employment.

Like the wage orders before it, Minimum Wage Order 35 also includes information on the recovery of unpaid wages. Employees are entitled to recover, in a civil action, their full unpaid wage amount, along with attorney’s fees and court costs. Minimum wage complaints may also be filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.

We Can Keep You in Compliance

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to order our 1-Year Compliance Plan, so that you will automatically receive the updated Colorado poster as soon as it is available. And because we provide free poster updates for mandatory changes, no matter how many occur during the 12-month period, you can always count on Poster Compliance Center to keep your business in compliance!