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The Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, part of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, is looking at whether to update the Colorado Minimum Wage Order, which hasn’t had a major overhaul in two decades.

In a public hearing on the topic Wednesday in Denver, labor advocates pushed for two key changes. They want all industries covered under state rules, and they want a minimum salary cutoff for when overtime must be paid added.

“Workers need to be paid fairly for the work they do,” argued Marilyn Winokur, a Denver resident, with the Colorado Industrial Areas Foundation. “It is not good for Colorado workers to be overworked and underpaid.

[Photo Credit: RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post]

Colorado Weighs a Major Overhaul on Wages, The Denver Post

"This is an opportunity to create good jobs for our families," said Kurt Cadena-Mitchell, with Austin Interfaith, a coalition of churches, schools and local governments that is an advocate for jobs paying a living wage, among other issues....

The new jobs are believed to be part of the company's plans to hire more technical workers and engineers to support its expanding business. The average annual wage for the new jobs is $65,000, and the lowest-paid 10 percent will make about $40,000."

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