‘It doesn't happen in a vacuum.’
Colorado small businesses are preparing for the large minimum wage hike required by the passage of Amendment 70.
Minimum wage will rise to $9.30 on Jan. 1, $10.20 in 2018, $11.10 in 2019, and $12 in 2020.
“We don’t do minimum wage in my office, but the mandate still affects us,” says Roger Hays of Premier Employer Services in Centennial, Colorado. “It drives up wages in the community, whether you pay minimum wage or not. It doesn’t happen in a vacuum.”
Hays says both consumers and employers will be paying for the higher wages, due to the increased costs of goods and services. And the mandate could create some bad blood in businesses.
“If you’re a new employee making $9 an hour, and the law raises it to $12 an hour, the people that are already making $12 an hour, who have been there for five years, their pay has to be increased proportionately. Otherwise you have disgruntled folks. That causes hard feelings.”
Is there any good that can come from this? Some say the minimum wage increase means workers will have more money to spend on goods and services, as well as generate more tax revenue for local governments.
But Hays sees another perspective.
“The only good thing is it doesn’t happen all at once.”
