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One to Keep An Eye On: Colorado's Amendment 70


As with many employment and labor law related cases (and bills) being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on.


Similar to the minimum wage fight in Arizona (and Washington & Maine), there is a pending minimum wage ballot measure that will go before voters this November.  If approved, Amendment 70 would raise the minimum wage rate in the state from $8.31/hour to $12/hour by 2020.  Last week, U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez voiced his support for Amendment 70 and indicated that the Obama administration backed the ballot measure as well. 

Given that Colorado is a swing state this election cycle (well, depending who you ask) and tends to be a more liberal state, I think this ballot measure stands a good shot of becoming law.  With that being said, one of the holdup a could be the fact that this is a 'flat' increase to $12/hour across the state.  While Oregon implemented different minimum wage rates for urban and rural areas (as did New York...and something that Hillary Clinton seemed to support previously), that intentionally was not incorporated into Amendment 70.  That could be a sticking point for some voters.  Whether it will be enough to prevent s minimum wage hike is doubtful, but remains to be seen.  



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