Denver’s restaurants are closing. Restaurant jobs are going away. We can fix this.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
The fixed tip offset of $3.02 in the state constitution means that Colorado restaurants are paying a rapidly increasing percentage of their tipped employees’ wages, which is leading to job cuts, lost hours, and restaurant closures.
Of the 28 U.S. states and cities that allow restaurants to use a tip credit, Denver and Boulder have the highest tipped wages in the country.
The tip credit is one of the most misunderstood policies in the restaurant industry. Here’s what matters: no restaurant employee in Colorado can be paid less than the full minimum wage. The tip credit affects how much the restaurant pays toward total income, including tips—not whether workers receive it.
Denver’s tipped minimum wage is now the 8th highest in the country, and it has increased more than twice as fast as the overall minimum wage since 2019.
UNDERSTANDING THE TIP CREDIT: