Colorado will take the next step toward a $12 minimum wage by 2020.

Starting on Jan. 1, the state's hourly minimum wage goes to $10.20 from the current $9.30.

The following year, the wage will rise to $11.10. In 2020, it goes to $12. After 2020, the wage will be adjusted annually based on the the Denver-Greeley inflation index.

Colorado voters approved the wage structure with passage of the Amendment 70 ballot initiative in November 2016.

The same law mandates yearly increases in wages for tipped workers such as waitresses. The minimum for workers eligible to receive tips will go to $7.18 next year from the current $6.28. It will eventually rise to $8.98 by 2020.

Colorado's 2018 minimum wage will rank as the ninth highest among states and Washington, D.C, according to LaborLawCenter, a California-based group that tracks labor laws across the nation. Washington, D.C., will lead at $13.25 followed by the state of Washington at $11.50.

Some cities mandate higher minimum wages. Seattle's minimum wages will range from $11 to $15.45 depending on the size of company and benefit offerings. New York City's minimum will rise to $13 for large employers.

Some states follow a multi-tier wage structure. In California, employers with 25 or fewer employees will be required to pay $10.50 an hour. In Minnesota, small employers will pay $7.87 per hour, below the $9.65 required of larger employers.

In Colorado, ahead of the 2016 vote, the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce and others lobbied for a multi-tier wage structure to be based on an area's cost of living. The groups behind the ballot measure rejected the idea.

Debate ongoing

Minimum wages continue to be the focus of debate between supporters and opponents.

Higher rates can result in the hiring of fewer employees and a reduction in work hours, economists say.

Restaurant operators, among the most vocal critics, say that the mandated increase in wages for tipped workers also can lead to further pay disparity from front-of-the-house workers such as waiters and waitresses and back-of-the-house workers.

"When you have to give a raise for those who typically make the most that leaves you less for the back-of-the-house workers," Carolyn Livingston, communications director for the Colorado Restaurant Association, said.

Already, the rising minimum wage is causing some restaurants to employ fewer people by assigning staff more tables or add self-pay and self-order kiosks, she said.

McDonald's recently began testing self-ordering kiosks at some of its Colorado sites, including the one at 800 W. Sixth St. Currently, customers at that McDonald's receive the option of whether to use the kiosk or place their orders with a counter worker.

"What folks have been doing is just reorganizing their strategy ... maybe not hiring as many people or having those people serve a larger portion of the restaurant. A lot of people are introducing technology" such as self-order kiosks, she said.

Supporters of higher minimum wages are unmoved.

Steve Trossman, a spokesman for The Fairness Project, a Washington, D.C.-based multi-state advocacy group that supported the 2016 ballot measure in Colorado, said the rising minimum wages are reasonable.

He noted the continued economic growth of Colorado following the 2016 vote.

"There's always the sky-is-falling argument that it's going to destroy jobs and prices are going to go way up. It's certainly not borne out... When people have more money ... they spend it," he said.

The group also dismisses the notion that the move to a $12 minimum should apply to only parts of Colorado, he said.

"It doesn't matter where you live, that's not an unreasonable amount of money to make, especially when you see how far the minimum wages have fallen behind the cost of living," he said. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 hasn't change in 10 years, he noted.

National trends

Nationally, minimum wages are set to rise in 18 states and 20 cities on Jan. 1, according to USA today, citing the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group. Later in the year, another three states and 18 cities and counties will boost their rates, the newspaper reported.

Over the past 18 months, a pair of reports on the impact of Seattle's higher minimum wage offered differing conclusions.

A University of Washington team studying the law's effects found that the law has boosted pay in low-wage jobs since it took effect in 2015 but that it also caused a 9 percent reduction in hours worked,

A University of California at Berkeley study of Seattle's restaurants found higher pay and no job losses.

The National Restaurant Association questioned the University of California researchers' decision to focus on thriving Seattle.

"A study in one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S. does not reflect the impact drastic minimum wage increases could have across the country and should not be relied upon as this discussion continues, especially considering other studies have refuted these results," Leslie Shedd, vice president of the National Restaurant Association, said in a statement after the report was released.

ddarrow@chieftain.com