Colorado restaurateurs threaten to sue if Denver increases minimum wage

The Colorado Restaurant Association is threatening legal action if Denver moves ahead with a higher minimum wage.

Sonia Riggs, the association’s president and CEO, issued the threat in a letter to Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver’s City Council members on Wednesday. She also objected that city officials have not sufficiently solicited input about the potential wage policy from the industry.

Hancock and Councilwoman Robin Kniech announced a proposal in September to set a minimum wage higher than the state’s that would apply to anyone who works in Denver. It would set the minimum at $13.80 per hour on Jan. 1 of 2020, then climb to $15.87 in 2021.

The proposal followed a state law passed earlier this year that allows cities to set local minimum wages above the state minimum, which will be $12 next year. Denver could be the first city to take advantage — a possibility that concerns restaurants.

The association contends that Denver would be in violation of state law if it passed an ordinance in 2019, since the law doesn’t go into effect until the start of 2020.

“We will not let any such violation go unchallenged,” Riggs wrote.

Hancock’s office disagreed with the group’s reading of the law and said the city will not be slowed by a potential lawsuit. The council is set to hear the wage ordinance again on Nov. 25.

“This is a meaningful opportunity to improve the lives of people working in Denver and we do not intend to delay implementation of this important assistance for our residents,” Hancock spokesperson Theresa Marchetta responded via email.

Riggs also alleged that Denver has to this point fallen short of the “robust stakeholder engagement process” required by the new state law.

“How Denver could possibly complete this stakeholder engagement process before January 1, 2020, escapes us,” she wrote.