Starting January 1st, 2023, several changes will be implemented in Colorado including an increased minimum wage, the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, and no single-use plastic bags.
Minimum Wage Increase
Colorado’s minimum wage is set to increase by more than a dollar in 2023. The minimum wage will go from $12.56 per hour to $13.65 an hour, an almost 9% increase.
The increase is thanks to a voter-approved mandate in the Colorado Constitution that requires annually adjusting the minimum wage for inflation. Local governments are still able to set higher minimum wage than the state standard. The new minimum wage will take effect on January 1st.
FAMLI Program
Most Colorado workers are going to see some changes in their paychecks next year as the state rolls out the voter-approved paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance, or FAMLI, program to expand access to paid family leave.
On January 1st, employers and employees will both start contributing to the new FAMLI program. Using payroll deductions, employers and employees will contribute to the fund that will eventually provide Coloradans wage replacement benefits during life circumstances that pull them away from their jobs. While payroll deductions begin in 2023, FAMLI benefit payments will not be available until 2024. Premiums are set to .9% of the employee’s wage. Premiums may be adjusted in the future but are capped by law at 1.2%.
Cage-Free Eggs
Changes are coming to your local grocery store in the new year. Starting January 1st, the state of Colorado will prohibit the sale of eggs that are not cage-free. All eggs sold at grocery stores will be required to come from cage-free hens. That means Colorado egg producers need to make the required changes. Penalties could cost a store or producer up to $1,000 per violation, but state officials are allowing the next two years to serve as a transitional period to allow the required changes to be made.
The decision is seen as a big win by animal rights advocates. For families struggling to find cheaper eggs on store shelves due to inflation and avian flu impacts, the idea of fewer choices is worrying.
No More Plastic Bags
Another change you will see at the store is in how you will carry your purchases home. Beginning on January 1st, Walmart stores in Colorado will no longer offer single use plastic or paper bags to its customers. The announcement comes more than a year ahead of when a ban on plastic bags will go into effect statewide.
Other stores in Colorado will begin charging a 10-cent fee per bag, to provide customers with a recycled paper or single-use plastic bag as part of a statewide mandate. The mandate was signed into law in July 2021.
The measure goes into full effect on January 1, 2024, when single use plastic bags will be banned from stores and retail establishments, with the exception of restaurants and small stores that operate solely in Colorado and have three or fewer locations.
