• On January 1, 2026, Colorado’s state minimum wage increased from $14.81 to $15.16 per hour.
• Employers will be required to keep records for each employee’s amount of vacation hours and paid sick leave accrued and used.
• Local governments are now allowed to set a tip credit that is higher than the state’s tip credit.

These legal changes may impact Colorado employers in 2026:

• Colorado’s minimum wage for nontipped workers is $15.16 per hour for most employers, as of January 1, 2026. Counties and cities may have a higher minimum wage than the state.
• Colorado’s minimum salary basis for exempt positions is $1,111.23 per week ($57,784 rounded annual equivalent).
• House Bill (HB) 25-1001 updated the definition of “employer” to include “each individual who owns or controls at least 25 percent of the ownership interests in an employer” unless that minority owner “demonstrates full delegation of its authority to control day-to-day operations of the employer.” This law took effect on August 6, 2025.
• HB 25-1001 also permits the director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (DLSS) to adjudicate wage-claim cases for up to $13,000 of unpaid wages for cases filed from July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, and in an amount specified by the director of the division to adjust for inflation beginning January 1, 2028. (Previously, the maximum was $7,500.) The DLSS will publish on the division’s website the names of all employers found to be in violation (with unpaid wages) and...

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