Colorado increases penalties for wage theft under bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis

Colorado will have sharper penalties for wage theft under a law signed by Gov Jared Polis on Thursday including a new requirement that the state publish the names of employers who don t pay workers House Bill also increases the amount of money employees can recoup from effective wage theft contends to from and cuts the wait time for casualties to receive their pay to days from six months The new law specifies that using a worker s immigration status to discriminate or retaliate against them for engaging in protected activity is illegal Wage theft can include paying workers below minimum wage not paying them money they earned misclassifying employees as independent contractors or management to avoid paying them overtime and taking tips earned by the employees Related Articles A new website encourages transgender Coloradans to document discrimination A conservative activist says he started it as satire Colorado s new transgender rights law already has a legal challenge Coloradans with asylum status face more uncertainty as federal changes hold up green card process State Rep Shannon Bird budget committee vice chair joins race against U S Rep Gabe Evans Colorado cities sue Gov Jared Polis state to block housing reforms When employers refuse to pay their employees for the work they ve already completed it is the same thing as stealing money out of their wallet Rep Meg Froelich an Englewood Democrat and sponsor of the bill commented in a declaration Wage theft hurts Colorado workers and families who are struggling to make ends meet Our new law will help provide better encouragement for workers to ensure they can be fairly paid for the work they do The new law follows a vetoed bill last year that was aimed specifically at wage theft in the construction industry Polis noted in his veto letter that the bill would unfairly punish those who didn t directly engage in wage theft The sponsors of the law stated they worked with Polis company from the outset to address his concerns Both bills had the same primary sponsors This new law will help ensure that every Coloradan is paid fairly Polis declared in a declaration I am proud to sign this bill into law in contemporary times to strengthen our protections for workers and want to thank the sponsors for their work on this new law Wage theft is one of the largest and majority of prevalent forms of theft in the country A account by the Colorado Fiscal Institute identified that an estimated million in wages are stolen from Colorado workers annually Wage theft hurts women and communities of color in particular House Majority Leader and bill sponsor Monica Duran disclosed This new law is a huge win for hardworking Coloradans and continues our bold efforts to boost wages and create an financial sector that works for everyone Duran a Wheat Ridge Democrat announced Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot