Small Business Resources

This spreadsheet (downloadable below) is a tool to determine the amount of back pay owed to current or previous employees. To use the 2026 Underpayment Calculator, download the Excel file and enter the relevant payroll information - hours worked, hourly wage paid, and tips earned. The Excel file is available in both English and Spanish. If an underpayment is owed or you have difficulty using the Underpayment Calculator, please contact Denver Labor.

Download the 2026 Underpayment Calculator(XLSX, 141KB) Calculadora para empleadores(XLSX, 147KB)

(XLSX, 141KB)

This interactive map is a tool to determine whether a business or work location is within the City and County of Denver. This tool is meant to assist in filing or responding to a complaint. Denver Labor will make a final determination regarding jurisdiction on all investigated complaints.

To start using the tool, click the blue button "OK" on the bottom right corner of the map.

This voluntary form is provided for employers to keep track of tips received by employees and calculate tip credits. 

Download the Tip Credit Tracker

January 1 of each year.

The local minimum wage in 2026 increased to $19.29 per hour. Denver's minimum wage for qualified tipped workers in the food and beverage industry is $16.27 per hour, as long as they receive $3.02 in documented tips.

In 2027, the Denver's minimum wage will be $19.84 per hour. Learn more about how the Department of Finance calculates the increase here.

The citywide minimum wage was  $14.77 per hour in 2021, $15.87 per hour in 2022, $17.29 per hour in 2024,  $18.29 per hour in 2024, and $18.81 per hour in 2025. The rate increased to $19.29 per hour in 2026 and will adjust to $19.84 per hour on January 1, 2027.

According to ordinance, the Denver Department of Finance calculates the annual increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The methodology is laid out in ordinance and is similar to how the State of Colorado calculates its statewide minimum wage. According to ordinance, the adjustment calculation compares the Consumer Price Index for the first half of the previous year to the first half of the current year. The Consumer Price Index is designed to help workers keep up with the cost of living in their area.

• Raising the minimum wage increases worker productivity. Studies by leading economists, including Nobel laureate George Akerlof of Georgetown University, found that employee morale and work ethic increase when employees believe they are paid a fair wage. Economists have also linked higher wages to better physical and mental health and reduced “decision fatigue,” leading to higher productivity.
  
  
• Raising the minimum wage reduces turnover. Higher wages lead to lower employee turnover, resulting in reduced recruiting and training costs. An analysis by the Center for American Progress estimates that the cost of replacing low-wage workers is equal to about 16 percent of the employee’s annual salary.  
   
• A 2012 study by Arin Dube, William Lester, and Michael Reich concluded that increases in the minimum wage can reduce turnover substantially, leading to savings in turnover costs. 
• Raising the minimum wage reduces absenteeism. When workers earn higher wages, they are absent from work less, leading to increased productivity. A 2010 paper from economists Laura Bucilia and Curtis Simon concluded that higher minimum wages are associated with lower rates of absenteeism for reasons other than illness. 
   
• Raising the minimum wage increases consumer spending and boosts the economy. A study by Doug Hall and David Cooper estimated that a $2.55 increase in the minimum wage would increase the earnings of low-wage workers by $40 billion and result in a significant increase in GDP and employment.
• A raise in the minimum wage predominantly benefits low-wage workers, precisely those most likely to put additional income directly back into the economy, kickstarting a virtuous cycle of greater demand for goods and services, job growth, and increased productivity.
• When the minimum wage goes up, workers’ health dramatically improves. Minimum wage increases are associated with less tobacco, drug, and alcohol use, lower rates of child neglect, improved birthweights for children born to low-income parents, and lower rates of suicide.  

Find below the information you need about Civil Wage Theft and Minimum Wage Ordinances:

• Denver's Civil Wage Theft Rules(PDF, 720KB)
• Denver's Rules for Appeals and Hearings(PDF, 593KB)
• Denver Labor Subpoena Power(PDF, 739KB)
• La autoridad de emitir órdenes de comparecencia de Denver Labor(PDF, 673KB)
• Know Your Rights card(PDF, 346KB) (English) | Conoce tus derechos(PDF, 513KB)  (Spanish)
• Day labor anti-wage theft playbook | Manual contra el robo de salarios para trabajadores(PDF, 370KB) (English, español)
• Employee misclassification(PDF, 450KB) (English) | Clasificación errónea de los empleados(PDF, 468KB) (español)
• Citywide Wage Resources for Employers(PDF, 640KB) (English) | Recursos salariales de la ciudad para empleadores(PDF, 402KB) (español)
• Mandatory Work Site Poster (2026)(PDF, 579KB) (English; español)
• Mandatory Work Site Poster (2025)(PDF, 633KB) (English; español)
  • አማርኛ(PDF, 385KB)
  • 简体中文(PDF, 738KB)
  • 한국인(PDF, 705KB)
  • Tiếng Việt(PDF, 634KB)
• Wage Brochure for Workers (2025)(PDF, 420KB) (English)

• Español(PDF, 420KB)
• አማርኛ(PDF, 421KB)
• 简体中文(PDF, 548KB)
• 한국인(PDF, 502KB)
• Tiếng Việt(PDF, 410KB)

• Citywide Minimum Wage Ordinance(PDF, 243KB) 
• Minimum Wage Overview(PDF, 204KB) (English) |  Resumen del salario mínimo(PDF, 208KB) (español)
• Citywide Minimum Wage Investigation Summary(PDF, 176KB)
• Recordkeeping(PDF, 468KB)  
• Tip Credit Tracker for Food and Beverage Industry(PDF, 964KB)
• Underpayment Calculator for Employers(XLSX, 141KB) (English) | Calculadora de pago insuficiente para empleadores(XLSX, 147KB) (español)

If you have questions about Denver's Minimum Wage Ordinance or want to submit a wage complaint, please contact us by phone or by email. Denver Labor is here to help.

CALL: 720-913-WAGE (9243)
EMAIL: wagecomplaints@denvergov.org