PRESS RELEASE

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment • 633 Seventeenth Street, Suite 1200 • Denver, CO 80202 •

(303) 318-8004 • Fax: (303) 318-8070

For Immediate Release

Date: December 3, 2007

Contact:          Office of Government, Policy and Public Relations

Phone:             Bill Thoennes at (303) 318-8004 or

Cher Haavind at (303) 318-8003

Web:               www.coworkforce.com

NEW MINIMUM WAGE TO GO INTO EFFECT JANUARY 1

Colorado’s minimum wage to be raised from $6.85 to $7.02 per hour

(DENVER)  -- On January 1, 2008, Colorado’s new minimum wage will increase from $6.85 per hour to $7.02 per hour.  In addition, the minimum wage for tipped employees, such as servers in restaurants, will increase from $3.83 per hour to a new hourly wage of $4.00 per hour plus any tips.

The Colorado Constitution was amended by voters in 2006 and mandates that the state’s minimum wage be adjusted each year for inflation as determined by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) used for Colorado.  There is no statewide Consumer Price Index so what must be utilized instead is the Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Boulder-Greeley urban areas which increased 2.5 percent from the first half of 2006 to the first half of 2007.

That formula will be used at the end of each year to calculate a new minimum wage for the next year.  The Department of Labor and Employment has details posted on its website about the minimum wage and how it is determined.  Go to www.coworkforce.com and click on the New Colorado Minimum Wage link.

The minimum wage applies to all employees who are subject to either the state or federal minimum wage.  Employers and employees who have questions about the new state minimum wage can visit www.coworkforce.com/lab or contact the Department of Labor and Employment’s Division of Labor at 303-318-8441 (toll free at 1-888-390-7936).

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