Edgewater Minimum Wage Law

There’s a new rate to monitor in Colorado, with Edgewater minimum wage going into effect in 2024.

In 2020, Colorado gave local jurisdictions the power to enact their own minimum wage ordinances. While Denver quickly followed with its own minimum wage law, there were no other counties or cities that passed their own rates.

Until recently, when Edgewater passed its minimum wage ordinance.

It applies to all employers in the city and covers employees who work four or more hours a week within the boundaries of Edgewater.

Minimum Wage Management. Simplified.

Edgewater Minimum Wage

City officials set an aggressive schedule for Edgewater minimum wage. But they opted to not use round numbers, which is typically the case with minimum wage laws.

Under the ordnance, Edgewater minimum wage will increase on Jan. 1 each year:

• 2024 – $15.02
• 2025 – $16.52
• 2026 – $18.17
• 2027 – $19.99
• 2028 – $21.99

After that point, the Edgewater’s rate will increase based on the applicable Consumer Price Index, or Denver’s minimum wage, whichever is greater. (Edgewater is near Colorado’s largest city.)

Meanwhile, employers in the food and beverage sector will be able to apply a $3.02 tip credit for employees who regularly receive tips.

The Edgewater minimum wage ordinance will also require employers to maintain payroll records and display the associated labor law poster. The poster must include:

IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO PAY WAGES BELOW THE EDGEWATER MINIMUM WAGE. COMPLAINTS THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS LAW HAVE OCCURRED MAY BE FILED WITH THE CITY OF EDGEWATER BY CALLING (720) 763-3002; EMAILING CITYCLERK@EDGEWATERCO.COM; OR COMING TO THE EDGEWATER CIVIC CENTER AT 1800 HARLAN STREET TO REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT.

Lastly, it is worth noting that Colorado law limits the number of smaller jurisdictions that can enact a minimum wage ordinance to 10 percent. Still, the Edgewater law could be a harbinger of things to come.

Minimum Wage Compliance Resources

Managing Minimum Wage Rates

Though Edgewater is a smallish city with a population of about 5,000 near Denver, the passage of a new minimum wage rate there illustrates the challenges of minimum wage compliance for organizations that operate across the country.

With ballot measures, adjustments to existing laws (as was the case recently with Maryland minimum wage), industry-specific rates and more, maintaining compliance becomes even more complex.

At the same time, the “Fight for $15” has shifted to the “Fight for $20” as a new minimum wage push. In the years since fast food workers in New York City walked off the job in an effort to secure higher wages, dozens of jurisdictions have passed new laws. And many of these are at the city level, where several rates have long since passed the $15 threshold (check out California minimum wage, for example).

With little movement on a federal rate increase, advocates and lawmakers are pushing for higher wages in New York, Massachusetts and elsewhere. (New York Minimum Wage Update.) And little Edgewater will also surpass the $20 figure in the coming years.

Plus, new rates often come with updated labor law posters. For examples, look to the July 1, 2023, minimum wage updates that required new posters.

Taken together, managing minimum wage rates will only grow more difficult in the future.

County and City Minimum Wage Rate Guide

Conclusion

Employers with locations in Edgewater should prepare for the coming rate increases.

Meanwhile, with the passage of the city’s new minimum wage ordinance, there could be additional rates in smaller jurisdictions in Colorado.

In a progressive state like Colorado, the Edgewater minimum wage ordinance could spur new rates in the coming years.

This Employment Law News blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel.