Sec. 58-16. - Enforcement.
(a) Complaint, investigation, and enforcement. Complaints, investigations, and enforcement of violations under this division shall be conducted as provided in division 1. Penalties under this division shall be in addition to those provided in division 1.
(b) Non-cumulative remedy. Where a violation of this division also constitutes a violation of division 3, the auditor may only assess penalties under either this division or division 3, but not both.
(c) Payment of withheld wages.
(1) Payment owed. The auditor shall order an employer in violation of this division to pay the aggrieved party any wages unlawfully withheld, including amounts that accrued after the filing of a complaint.
(2) Duty to locate and pay worker. Withheld wages shall be due to the worker and payable thirty (30) days after notice of an order to pay wages or a final determination. An employer shall make a good faith attempt to locate and pay the worker prior to the thirty (30) day deadline identified herein. Such attempts to locate and pay the worker shall be documented, and if the worker is not located and paid, the employer shall notify the auditor and provide such documentation, together with any required payment to the wage trust fund identified in division 1, no later than fifteen (15) days after the thirty (30) day deadline identified herein.
(d) Penalties.
(1) Failure to pay wages.
a. For a single violation of this division within a three (3) year period, the auditor may assess a penalty of up to fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day, for each worker not paid full wages for work. The auditor shall waive the penalty for a first time offense if the failure of the employer to pay the correct wage was a good faith mistake, the employer has not previously failed to pay a worker the Denver Minimum Wage, and the error was corrected within thirty (30) days of the date the employer received notice.
b. For a second or third violation of this division within a three (3) year period, the auditor may assess a penalty of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and not greater than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00), plus an amount not less than ten dollars ($10.00) and not greater than seventy-five dollars ($75.00) for each day, for each worker not paid full wages for work.
c. For a fourth or subsequent violation of this division within a three (3) year, the auditor may assess a penalty of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) and not greater than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), plus an amount not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) and not greater than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each day, for each worker not paid full wages for work.
d. In assessing a penalty under this subsection, the auditor may consider any relevant aggravating or mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, whether the failure of the employer to pay the correct wage was a good faith mistake, whether the error was corrected within thirty (30) days of the date the employer received notice, and whether the employer has previously failed to satisfy the requirements of this division.
(2) Failure to make a good faith effort to locate and pay worker. The auditor shall issue a penalty of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for each failure to comply with subsection (c)(2) pursuant an order or final determination, if applicable.
(Ord. No. 1614-22, § 2, 1-9-23; Ord. No. 744-25, § 2, 6-16-25)
