Below are some success restitution cases that illustrate how Denver Labor worked with both employers and workers this year to recover unpaid wages in accordance with the city’s wage theft, minimum wage, and prevailing wage ordinances:
Denver Labor recovers $120,867.91 for nail salon workers
Denver Labor opened an active enforcement investigation for a nail salon named One Connection Nails, a business in a high-risk industry for underpaid workers. Upon receiving payroll records, our team found the company was paying strictly commissions and tips, and they weren’t keeping track of the hours worked by their employees. Our investigators educated the business on adequate record keeping and how to comply with Denver’s minimum wage. As a result of the investigation, our office recovered $120,867.91 for 16 employees.
Underpaid workers recover $34,182 in prevailing wage solar panel project
A city contractor was paying its workers below the prevailing wages for ironwork on a solar panel project. The business had new payroll staff members, and a Denver Labor analyst assigned to the project trained them to use LCPtracker, the city's certified payroll system. We worked with them to calculate the total underpayment. The case closed with the contractor quickly returning $34,182.18 to 21 workers.
Swimming school returns $32,549 to workers after wage investigation
Our investigators received a wage complaint alleging a swimming school failed to pay Denver's minimum wage for regular work and online training hours. The local business was very cooperative with our investigation and quickly issued restitution to their workers. The case closed with our team helping 64 workers recover a total of $32,549.84.
Restaurant worker receives $21,083 in wage restitution despite missing records
Denver Labor opened an investigation after receiving a complaint stating an employee at a Mexican restaurant was paid below the local minimum wage. Our office requested payroll records for all workers at the restaurant, but Kahlo's Restaurant did not respond to our notice of investigations or provide payroll records for their staff. The complainant kept good records of the hours worked, tips, and paystubs, and Denver Labor used the worker's information to determine the underpayment amount. The case closed with Denver Labor recovering $21,083.20 for one employee. We could not confirm if other workers were victims of wage theft due to the employer’s refusal to produce records.
Restaurant workers recover $84,765 after tipped credit miscalculation
Denver Labor received a web form complaint because a local restaurant was not paying the correct minimum wage for tipped employees. Our office educated the employer on how to calculate the tip credit for each qualified position since the Citywide Minimum Wage Ordinance came into effect. The employer worked with our office to correct the violation. Our team recovered a restitution of $81,763.46 for 18 employees.
Higher-level contractor returns $61,2835 to workers after applying the “up-the-chain accountability” approach
The "up-the-chain accountability" approach allows Denver Labor to seek restitution from any employer who ultimately benefits from a worker's labor. In this case, our office received multiple web complaints of workers who did not receive pay for overtime while completing work for a construction company on the skyline project located on 26th and Alcott Street. Our wage theft team contacted a higher-level contractor and educated them about the Civil Wage Theft Ordinance and the "up-the-chain accountability" approach. The higher-level contractor understood their responsibilities based on the ordinance and returned $61,283.25 for 33 underpaid employees.
Commission-only workers receive $57,165 after minimum wage violations
Our team received an online complaint form submission because a local flooring company failed to pay Denver's minimum wage to commission-only employees, that is, workers who did not receive a base pay. After issuing our determination, the business was cooperative with our investigation and proactively returned unpaid wages to meet Denver's minimum wage requirements on or before their due date. Our labor compliance analysts recovered $57,165.20 in restitution for three workers.
Prevailing wage workers at the airport recover $51,280 after minimum wage violations
The prevailing wage team at the Denver International Airport found that workers performing electrical work at concourse expansion projects didn't receive full fringe benefit amounts. After we found that the contractor was not complying with this requirement, our team worked cooperatively with the company to obtain accurate documentation, approve fringes retroactively, and calculate restitution for the underpaid workers. More than 30 workers recovered a total of $51,280.22.
A luxury hotel and resort company returns $20,546 to tipped workers
Denver Labor opened an active enforcement investigation for a luxury hotel in Denver. Our office requested payroll records for all their employees working in the City and County of Denver. Upon receiving payroll records, we determined that the hotel was applying the tip credit to their non-food and beverage workers, including valet workers, door attendants, and bell attendants. We educated the hotel on how to comply with the ordinance and the tip credit requirements. As a result of our investigation, 46 workers received $20,546 in wage restitution and the employer started paying at least the local minimum wage in 2024.
City contractor at the airport returns $19,945 to workers
Denver Labor investigators at the Denver International Airport found that five workers operating hydraulic backhoes on a gate rehabilitation project were not receiving the full fringe portion listed in the prevailing wage rates for their classification. The contractor fully cooperated with our analysts and paid what they owed to workers as cash in lieu of fringe benefits. The case ended with the employees receiving $19,945.44 in restitution.
Read more examples of successful restitution cases on our website.