Denver, CO
Anti-Wage-Theft Laws Are Kryptonite to Dishonest Bosses
In January 2023, Denver passed a sweeping anti-wage-theft law to help workers reclaim stolen wages. In the fight to pass Resolution 22-1614, commonly known as the Civil Wage Theft Ordinance, local unions and labor advocacy groups squared off against the Denver Chamber of Commerce and business interests, who cynically claimed the bill’s “unintended consequences” would hurt workers as well as “minority- and women-owned businesses.” However, a recent report from the Labor Division of the Denver Auditor’s Office examining the impact of the Civil Wage Theft Ordinance disproves these claims and highlights the benefit of anti-wage-theft legislation to the working class.
According to Denver’s 2023 Annual Wage Theft Report, last year was the “most impactful in the Denver Labor Office’s history.” Between November 1, 2022, and October 21, 2023, the office helped over thirty-five hundred workers recoup $2 million in unpaid wages, an 85 percent increase from the year prior. What’s more, as this reporting period started before the Civil Wage Theft Ordinance was passed, it does not reflect the full potential of a full year’s worth of wage restitution. The report attributes this success to four ways in which the Civil Wage Theft Ordinance empowered the Denver Labor Office:
Armed with the authority and staffing necessary to help Denver-area workers recover their stolen wages, the Denver Labor Office sees its recent results as only the beginning. “The numbers speak for themselves,” Matthew Fritz-Mauer, executive director of the Denver Labor Office, told Jacobin. “In 2023, we helped about 1,500 more workers and collected almost $1 million more in restitution than in 2022. We understand that this is just a fraction of all the wage theft out there, so we’ll continue to hire, refine our practices, and make it clear that in Denver, workers’ rights matter.”
Not only does this report show the benefit the Civil Wage Ordinance has brought to workers in the Mile High City, but it also offers strong evidence labor groups can use to bolster similar efforts in other states and cities, with the ultimate goal of achieving federal anti-wage-theft legislation.
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that employers steal up to $50 billion in wages from American workers every year, exceeding violent theft and auto robberies combined. When the Department of Labor (DOL) studied wage theft in New York and California, it discovered that stolen wages reduced affected families’ incomes by 37 to 49 percent. This theft pushed fifteen thousand families below the poverty line and another hundred thousand families deeper beneath it.
Unfortunately, the DOL only recouped $3.24 billion in workers’ wages between 2017 and 2022, a pitiful 1.62 percent of the estimated $200 billion stolen over those four years. While many factors contribute to this low restitution rate, the predominant one is that the DOL is restricted from pursuing wage theft under the inadequate avenues offered under the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA limits workers to recovering only the federal minimum wage ($7.25 an hour) as opposed to their contracted wage, does not require employers to provide accurate paystubs, and has low penalties for violating employers that do not discourage repeat offenses. According to the DOL, federal wage theft penalties are so weak that over one-third of offending companies return to wage theft practices. Alternatively, companies hit with civil suites are much more likely to stop stealing wages, as are nearby employers, regardless of their industry. Denver’s Civil Wage Theft Ordinance allows workers to pursue civil suits against thieving employers, a provision other municipalities would be wise to replicate.
National lawmakers have recognized the wage theft problem and tried to remedy it, though their efforts have stalled. In 2019, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act, which identifies and addresses issues with federal enforcement. Murray’s act emphasizes the need for stricter penalties, calling the current remedies “hollow threats” that fail to deter businesses from stealing wages. Unfortunately, the bill has been dormant for half a decade.
While instituting a powerful anti-wage-theft bill at the federal level is the ultimate goal, the current state of national politics poses serious obstacles to its passage. In the meantime, leftist groups and labor unions can focus their efforts on state and local efforts like Denver’s. Approximately 88 percent of all jobs are located in metropolitan statistical areas, i.e., cities.
Not only would city-level laws help workers reclaim lost wages for large numbers of workers at a time, but they could also create a positive ripple effect. Unpaid wages are untaxed, meaning money that should go to local programs and Social Security remains tucked away in employers’ bank accounts. According to a study on wage theft in Washington between 2009 and 2013, wage theft cost the state upward of $64 million in untaxed revenue.
Delivering material gains to the working class is also crucial to building a base of support for pro-labor politics, which is necessary to achieve federal anti-wage-theft legislation. At a time when the American Left is called to urgently offer alternatives to the neoliberal politics of centrist Democrats while stopping workers from drifting towards reactionary Republicans, a national push to bring anti-wage-theft legislation to every city in America is a valiant, actionable, and constructive goal.
Denver, CO
Denver air quality program hopes to expand its services to reach more people
Bad air quality has unfortunately become a familiar issue in Colorado. At a few points last year, Denver’s skyline was completely blanketed with smoke, whether from wildfires in the state or nearby areas, as well as other sources.
Back in 2019, Denver launched a program called Love My Air. In its simplest form, it rates air quality as good, moderate, or hazardous. It’s a tool that lets people in the Denver area look up air quality in real time and decide how they’ll spend time outdoors.
Across the city, little boxes provide important information.
“We measure a couple of different pollutants you see up here,” said Ephraim Milton, a coordinator with the Love My Air program. “Ozone is a big one here in Colorado. PM2.5 is very common.”
Real-time information on air quality and how it affects different individuals is gathered through a network of 80 sensors, a combination of the program’s sensors and the state’s.
“It’s just very hyperlocal,” said Milton. “I mean, you go to the weather app and that, yeah, sure, that’ll tell you the general, you know, air quality for the area. But you go here to ours, and it’s definitely going to be more local.”
The program has expanded over the years and is now in Jefferson and Adams Counties, with sensors across the state and even into Wisconsin.
“They think they have six sensors in Milwaukee,” said Milton. “They’re really great partners.”
Inner City Health, a non-profit providing healthcare to underserved individuals, is a partner here in Denver.
“The technology that they’re providing affords us the ability to inform our patients and the community at large [that] today may be a good day to go outside and exercise, and today may actually be of danger,” said Charles Gilford III, the non-profit’s CEO. “Because we have folks who have asthma or COPD or different conditions that pose a risk to their safety and to their well-being.”
They have an interactive kiosk in their waiting room, but hope the program continues to evolve.
“To send a text message to our patient base and give them updates and say, ‘Hey, just as a heads up, we saw you the other day and today would be a good day to take that walk,” said Gilford. “What are the other iterations of this technology that folks can have? How can we make sure that in a society where everything is competing for our attention, we can just be that one little nudge to give people good information while they’re going about their lives, and not just in the clinic?”
This tool can also be useful in the event of a fire or nearby construction, for example. Love My Air hosts community workshops focused on education, in addition to their online resources, and the information is also used for policy and rulemaking across the state. They plan on adding multiple healthcare partners in 2026 and hope to continue expanding their reach.
Denver, CO
Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver Earns 2025 Top Workplace by the Denver Post for 14th Year
Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver
Denver, CO – January 27, 2026 – Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver is proud to announce that they have been named a 2025 Top Workplace by The Denver Post for the 14th year in a row! Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver is a home care provider in Denver, CO, founded in 2008. This recognition highlights the organization’s long-standing commitment to its positive and supportive workplace culture for its caregivers and clients.
Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver has ranked:
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#8 in the Medium Business category for 2025
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#9 ranking in the Medium Business category for 2024
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#59 ranking in 2023 for the Small Business category
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and more
Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver has earned these rankings with their excellence in maintaining a strong workplace culture year after year. The organization’s Top Workplaces profile can be viewed at:
https://topworkplaces.com/company/visiting-angels-of-lakew/denverpost/
“Earning this recognition for the 14th consecutive year is an incredible honor,” said Stephen Signor, Executive Director of Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver. “Our caregivers are the heart of our organization, and we are deeply grateful for their commitment to both our clients and one another. This award reflects the supportive culture we strive to maintain every day.”
About Visiting Angels
Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver is a locally owned and operated in-home care provider serving the Denver, Colorado area since 2008. The organization specializes in compassionate, individualized, high-quality home care in Denver delivered by experienced and dedicated caregivers.
Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver provides personalized in-home care services to seniors throughout the Denver metro area, helping clients maintain independence and quality of life in the comfort of their homes.
Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver Office:
Business Name: Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver
Address: 4251 Kipling St #535, Wheat Ridge, CO, 80033
Phone Number: (720) 734-5432
Website: https://www.visitingangels.com/denver/home-care-denver-co
Media Contact
Company Name: Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver
Contact Person: Stephen Signor
Email: Send Email
Phone: (720) 734-5432
Address:4251 Kipling St #535
City: Wheat Ridge
State: Colorado
Country: United States
Website: https://www.visitingangels.com/denver/home
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To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Visiting Angels Senior Home Care Denver Earns 2025 Top Workplace by the Denver Post for 14th Year
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Denver, CO
‘I would want ICE out’: Denver mayor promises to protect residents if ICE comes to Colorado
DENVER — On Monday, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston outlined his goals for the city in 2026, which included safety, affordability, and climate resilience.
However, before Johnston dove into what he wants to see in Denver this year, he addressed rising community fears sparked by two deadly federal enforcement encounters in Minneapolis, vowing to protect residents if ICE were to target Colorado.
“This last weekend — which I know has been a hard one for many residents of Denver — I think, not just watching the heartbreak for Minneapolis, but the uncertainty and the fear that we know settles in members of our community across the city who are worried about what happens if they too are targeted, or if they too stand up to support neighbors who are at risk,” Johnston said at the start of the press conference.
On Saturday morning, federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. It’s the second deadly encounter between federal agents and civilians in Minnesota this month, after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was killed on Jan. 7.
While walking through La Alma-Lincoln Park — an area Johnston said highlights the work the city has done to address gun violence and support individuals living on the street — the mayor did not shy away from questions about what he would do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cracked down on Colorado next.
Jordan Ward
Johnston said the city has a three-pronged plan, which begins with prevention.
“We’ve worked really hard to make this the city that has the largest reduction in homicides of any city in the country. The largest reduction of homelessness of any city in the country. A city that has very successfully brought more migrants than any other city per capita, and helped them connect to services where they’re not struggling on the streets. We think that helps make the case there is no need for any federal engagement here,” Johnston said.
In addition, the Denver Mayor said the city is prepared to sue the federal government when it believes policies are unconstitutional and that community partners are critical in ensuring residents know their rights.
“This police department has done an incredible job of both protecting people’s right to be heard — to have their First Amendment rights heard, we love that people protest and speak out whenever they want to — this team has kept them safe to do that without conflicts or violence. And so, we think that’s also been a helpful part of the context that the city has created,” said Johnston.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas also addressed the crowd on Monday, saying their focus is on safety, but also on creating a welcoming city.
“We want to make sure that those immigrants, those newcomers to our communities, feel safe, feel comfortable reporting crimes to us. We think that is a part of safety as well,” Thomas said. “At the same time, we want to make sure that people feel comfortable exercising their First Amendment rights. We feel like we do a very good job of managing those demonstrations, those large demonstrations that happen quite frequently in our city, particularly around the Capitol. And so I think that being able to manage those safely, without chaos, I think is going to go a long way towards making sure that we don’t have an infiltration of federal law enforcement.”
Local
Denver mayor sets goals for affordability, safety and homelessness
Denver7 asked Mayor Mike Johnston if he would be as vocal as the Minneapolis Mayor if ICE came to Denver next.
“Absolutely. I mean, my top priority is to protect every resident of this city, and I am heartbroken and furious about what’s happening in Minneapolis, and it’s not even my city,” Johnston said. “I would want ICE out of my city as quickly as he would — because what he said, and we know — is that it does not make the city safer, and there are dead Americans to prove that over the last week. So, I feel equally as strongly as he does, and I would support him or any other mayor as much as I would expect them to support us if the situation were different.”
Johnston said he does not fear backlash for comments about federal immigration enforcement.
“My job is to protect all our residents, and to be clear that they know we will have their back and support them,” Johnston said. “To expect that the federal government will follow the law and follow the Constitution, I don’t think that’s a risky thing to say.”
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