Updated March 14, 2025, at 12:45 p.m.
State lawmakers are backing off their effort to lower the tipped minimum wage for tipped workers in places like Denver, Boulder and Edgewater.
Facing intense blowback from restaurant workers and fellow Democrats, the sponsors of HB25-1208 will introduce major changes to the proposal at a House Finance Committee meeting scheduled for this afternoon.
The original bill would have lowered the base wages that restaurants must pay to servers, bartenders and other employees who get tipped.
Now, the sponsors will try a new approach. Instead of cutting the tipped minimum wage, they will propose to essentially freeze or slow its growth, according to a copy of a proposed amendment provided to CPR News by the bill’s supporters.
The original proposal was "a pretty jarring thing for folks to have to deal with, and we've listened to that feedback, and we really want to strike a better balance," said Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Democratic sponsor.
The original proposal would have had the biggest effect in Denver, where it would have cut base pay for some restaurant workers from about $16 an hour to about $12 an hour — reducing the “tipped minimum” that they get in addition to cash tips. The change could have cost some servers thousands of dollars per year.
In the new approach, Denver’s tipped minimum would be locked at current levels for several years, according to material provided by supporters of the bill.
For example, under current rules, Denver’s tipped minimum wage is expected to grow by about $2.30 per hour through 2029. But under the amended bill, it would instead be frozen, staying at its current rate of $15.79 per hour through those years.
“From our perspective, this amendment strikes the right balance — no potential wage cut but just an acknowledgment that the tipped minimum wage has gotten way too high when you compare it to the local minimum wage,” said Scott Wasserman, a political consultant working on the bill.
Businesses and workers in Denver would be affected most because the city has the state’s highest minimum and tipped minimum wages.
In other cities, the amended proposal would still leave room for some increases to the tipped minimum wage. In Boulder, the tipped minimum in this proposal would grow from $12.55 in 2025 to $14.01 in 2029 — about half the increase it would see under current law.
The tipped minimum wage is the amount that the business owner must pay, every single hour, no matter how much money the employee gets in tips. It is lower than the regular minimum wage since eligible employees are getting it in addition to tips. Restaurants still must guarantee that all workers receive at least the regular minimum wage when combining tips and base wages, which is currently $18.81 in Denver.
Some have called for the state to get rid of the tipped minimum wage altogether, saying it makes workers beholden to tips and vulnerable to abuse.
In contrast, some restaurant owners have argued that the tipped minimum wage has grown too fast, because of the way it is calculated. Under current law, the tipped minimum is always about $3 less than the regular minimum. So as the minimum wage has climbed with inflation, the tipped minimum wage has stayed close behind it.
Back in 2005, the state’s tipped minimum wage was $2.13, making up less than half the minimum wage at the time. Today, the tipped minimum wage statewide is 77 percent of the regular minimum wage.
The effect has been more pronounced in cities with higher minimum wages. In Denver, the tipped minimum is 84 percent of the regular minimum.
Under the amended bill, the state would ultimately set a limit on the tipped minimum wage; by 2029, the tipped minimum could be no more than 75 percent of the local minimum wage.
"When we lean into these conversations, we figure out pretty quickly that labor costs are a significant portion of [restaurants' challenges]. And at the same time, we don't want people to be paid less," Rep. Woodrow said.
The bill also is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Alex Valdez and Democratic Sen. Judy Amabile of Boulder.
Denver Councilmember Sarah Parady is one of the bill’s critics, and she told CPR News that the amendments won’t change that. Tipped workers would “never see the benefit of Denver's minimum wage increases. I mean, that's a horrible policy,” she said.
Parady criticized the process for the amendment, saying there was little notice given before it headed to the Finance Committee, limiting the ability of opponents to respond.
“Denver is the most impacted jurisdiction by this, and for me to be trying to absorb an amendment this complex … It just isn't enough time, and it's unusual,” she said.
Wasserman said sponsors shared the amendment “as soon as we knew what it was going to do,” adding: "I think we’re doing the best we can and the process is working.”
If the bill passes the committee, it would go next to the full House, and then to the Senate, where it would also have to pass committee and floor votes.
Editor's note: This article was updated with comment from Rep. Woodrow.
Haylee May contributed to this article.
