EARN in Colorado
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Bell Policy Center
Denver, Colorado ·The Bell Policy Center is committed to making Colorado a state of opportunity for all. We make opportunity happen by driving public policy solutions that help Coloradans get ahead and stay ahead.
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Colorado Center on Law and Policy
Denver, Colorado ·The Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP) advances the health, economic security and wellbeing of low-income Coloradans through research, education, advocacy and litigation.
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Colorado Fiscal Institute
Denver, Colorado ·The Colorado Fiscal Institute provides credible, independent and accessible information and analysis of fiscal and economic issues facing Colorado.
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Colorado Network publications
State of Working Colorado (2020)
- January 4, 2021
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Charlie Brennan and Lauren Contorno
The State of Working Colorado is a compendium of data intended to provide a more critical, in-depth perspective of how working families are faring in our state. This is the 2020 edition of the publication.
The State of Low-Wage Employment in Colorado
- August 30, 2019
- Colorado Fiscal Institute
- Chris Stiffler
While Colorado’s economy has grown at a brisk pace since the Great Recession and hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created, a significant amount of jobs in the state barely pay enough to let those who work them make ends meet. Since low-wage jobs make up more than 1/4 of all jobs statewide, […]
Collective bargaining can reduce turnover and improve public services in Colorado
- April 9, 2019
- Rich Jones
Since 2009, there has been a growing problem in Colorado with increasing employee turnover, programs operating with short staffing forcing employees to work extensive overtime, and low morale that jeopardizes vital public services. The growing turnover is complicated by the difficulty filling authorized positions. Research shows that collective bargaining for public sector employees, coupled with […]
State of Working Colorado 2018
- January 14, 2019
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Michelle Webster & Claire Sheridan
At a cursory glance, Colorado has much to celebrate in terms of low unemployment and poverty levels, but scratching the surface of the data reveals troubling trends fraught with wage stagnation and disparities. CCLP produces the State of Working Colorado every year to gauge how the economy is performing for workers across the income spectrum. The publication […]
Modernizing Overtime Rules in Colorado
- May 1, 2018
- Bell Policy Center
- Samantha Saccomanno and Rich Jones
Workers should be paid for the hours they work. However, many salaried workers who work overtime miss out on valuable compensation when those hours are unpaid. Changing current overtime rules in Colorado to ensure these workers are accurately paid for the hours they work over 40 a week would boost their earnings, address the financial […]
Wages for American workers are ticking upward, but the US remains one of the world’s most inequitable nations
- February 9, 2018
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Jason Margolis - PRI
From PRI: Last week it was reported that average hourly wages of American workers grew 2.9 percent over the past 12 months. It’s a good sign, but American workers still have a lot of catching up to do and income inequality and wage stagnation remain major concerns…Yes, national wages inched up last year. But consider […]
Grinch America steps up a tad on workers’ wages
- February 5, 2018
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Denver Post Editorial Board
Recent signs suggest worker pay is finally rising after years of stagnation despite an economy that has been steadily chugging along since 2009. The latest jobs report from the Labor Department shows that low unemployment is pushing up wages a bit. Employers added 200,000 jobs in January and private-sector workers, on average, saw their paychecks increase nearly […]
Worker’s Friend Or Business Drag? One Year Of Colorado’s Increased Minimum Wage
- December 28, 2017
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Colorado Public Radio
On Monday, New Year’s Day, some workers in Colorado will get a pay raise. The minimum wage will increase 90 cents, from $9.30 to $10.20 an hour. This is because Colorado voters passed a law that gradually increases the minimum wage; by the final year of the plan, in 2020, it will grow to $12 an hour. As was the […]
Colorado unemployment is super low, so why aren’t wages going up faster?
- December 19, 2017
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Aldo Svaldi - Denver Post
Colorado’s economy, on the surface, is humming along with unemployment rates at historic lows and some of the strongest job gains in the country. But a closer look shows that median hourly wages are stuck; many of the new jobs being added are low-paying; and thousands of working-age adults remain disengaged from the labor force, according to […]
Shame on Grinch America for workers’ stagnant wages
- December 19, 2017
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Denver Post Editorial Board
As Coloradans shop for loved ones this holiday season, too many of them will be doing so on the cheap, or even resigning themselves to the giving of good wishes instead. The reason for any stinginess in the season won’t be because these hard workers look to the Grinch for inspiration, but because wages are […]