Colorado workers will see an increase in minimum wage, new paycheck deduction in 2023 - Denver 7 Colorado News | By The Perfect Enemy

DENVER — The first day of 2023 in Colorado will usher in new laws and an increase in the minimum wage.

Colorado’s minimum wage will be boosted to $13.65 per hour, an increase of $1.09. The minimum wage for tipped employees will increase to $10.63 per hour.

In Denver, workers are getting an 8.94% pay increase as the city’s minimum wage increases to $17.29 per hour beginning Sunday.

Paid leave

Workers in Colorado will also start seeing paycheck deductions in January to fund the state’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program, which was approved by voters in 2020.

Starting Jan. 1, employees will see a 0.45% deduction from their paychecks. For someone earning $50,000 annually, that equates to $4.33 per week or $225.16 per year.

Through FAMLI, that same employee would have access to up to $750.88 each week for up to 12 weeks if they need to take time off.

But Colorado residents will have to wait until 2024 before they can claim paid time off following a serious illness in their family, the arrival of new children or recovery from sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking.

Bag fee

A statewide 10-cent bag fee, aimed at reducing single-use plastics but which also includes recycled paper, goes into effect on New Year’s Day.

Multiple municipalities in Colorado, including Denver, already charge a fee for plastic bags.

The Colorado fee is a precursor to the eventual elimination of non-reusable bags in 2024.

Cage free eggs

And more changes are coming to your local grocery store. Starting Sunday, Colorado egg producers will have to house hens in enclosures no smaller than 1 square foot per hen.

By 2025, House Bill 20-1343 will require all eggs sold in Colorado to be from cage-free hens.

Other provisions of the bill that will take effect in 2025 include a mandate that Colorado farms must allow their chickens to be free roaming with the exception of exterior walls on the housing structure and some interior fencing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Published on The Perfect Enemy at https://bit.ly/3GxV2py.