Right now, Colorado legislators are considering HB24-1008 to help construction workers recover their stolen wages.
Take action with us today to support Colorado construction workers and their families.
Colorado Fiscal Institute has released multiple reports highlighting the harmful economic impact and lost tax dollars resulting from wage theft across the state. Our 2022 report showed that nearly $728 million in wages are stolen annually from hundreds of thousands of Colorado workers, and Latino workers are more at-risk of experiencing this disruptive practice. In an industry like construction, where you often have multiple layers of subcontractors, it is very difficult for workers to get their back wages, even when CDLE or a court orders a subcontractor to pay.
The construction industry has some of the highest levels of subcontracting and disproportionately high rates of wage theft. 17% of all wage theft claims come from the construction industry, despite the fact that construction only makes up 7-8% of workers in Colorado. This workforce is currently being exploited, and Colorado needs to adopt the wage theft tools that have proven to be a success in other states, as well as in Denver.
HB24-1008 is a critical first step to ensuring the workforce that builds the future of Colorado is supported and compensated fairly. We must continue to create an economy and labor market that delivers fair employment practices and just wages for all Coloradans.