BY BENTE BIRKELAND
MAY 29, 2019
Cities and counties in Colorado will be able to set their local minimum wage higher than the statewide rate thanks to a new law Gov. Jared Polis signed Wednesday.
The statewide minimum wage will rise to $12 an hour in 2020. Supporters of the new law say Colorado’s minimum wage should serve as a floor, not a ceiling.
“When it comes to local wages, who better to know what people are actually struggling with and what the need is for the community than actually those that are on the front lines,” said Eva Henry, a county commissioner in Adams County.
Henry adds her county hasn’t yet discussed whether or not to increase the minimum wage.
The new law does limit the number of local governments that could increase their minimum wages, to no more than 10 percent of Colorado’s local jurisdictions. It also stipulates the wage floor can’t increase by more than 15 percent each year and allows local communities to work together to come up with regional minimum wages. Opponents worry about the patchwork of wages and its effect on businesses and overall administrative costs.