Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill that aims to crack down on wage theft in Colorado by increasing penalties and requiring the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics to publish offenders' names online.

House Bill 1001, sponsored by Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, and Sens. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, and Chris Kolker, D-Centennial, increases the cap for wage theft claims from $7,500 to $13,000 starting July 1, 2026 and adjusting for inflation beginning in 2028.

It also requires the Department of Labor and Employment to expedite its payment process for wage theft victims and imposes fines for employers who have purposely misclassified their employers to avoid providing benefits and overtime wages.

"Colorado workers lose hundreds of mi

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