September Newsletter 2022

2023 Wage Changes & FAMLI

Things are changing in both Denver and Colorado on January 1st.

For starters, the minimum wage in Denver will go up to $17.29/hour. This will apply only to businesses based in the city of Denver, as well as all city employees. Currently, the minimum wage in Denver is $15.87, so this represents nearly a 9% increase, which is tied to the consumer price index for the Denver metro area. That number came in at 8.94%.

The state minimum wage will also go up from its current rate of $12.56/hour to $13.65/hour, an increase of 8.68%. 

Also, Colorado employers will have to begin paying into a fund for FAMLI, or Colorado’s new Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program.  This was voted in by Proposition 118 in November of 2020 and it provides up to twelve weeks of paid leave for employees, with an additional four weeks under certain circumstances.

While employers will start paying into the fund in January, employees will not be eligible for the paid leave until January 1, 2024.  Employees will also have deductions for their share of this program taken from their paychecks beginning on January 1, 2023.

The rate is 0.45% for both employee and employer, so if you see an odd-looking deduction on your checks in January, this will explain it.

Of course, both news items will affect all businesses, some more than others. As always, we will do our best to maintain our pricing, but raising wages and charging businesses for paid leave puts pressure on already thin profit margins for many in this post-COVID economy.

We have always tried to take great care of our associates here at Denver Concierge. We were the first cleaning company to offer vacations and have always paid our people well.

We will continue to do these things to the best of our ability but wanted to make you aware of the big changes coming to our city and state.

As always, we appreciate your loyalty and support of our small business.

Aggressive Driving

Road rage. We have all seen it, and hopefully none of us have experienced anything violent.

Unfortunately, we live in a state that is notorious for aggressive driving.

Forbes recently published a piece on aggressive driving by state, and sadly Colorado ranked third.

Surprisingly, the seemingly nice folks from Utah rated first in this category, followed by Missouri. Don’t ask us to explain that one.

From the article, “Centennial State drivers were the third most likely in the nation to say they were followed by another driver who proceeded to exit their vehicle to yell at or fight with them (14%).”

“Drivers in this state tie with Alabama, Connecticut and Washington as the fourth most likely to report being insulted or threatened by other drivers (46%). And more than half of survey respondents (52%) reported witnessing other drivers making rude or offensive gestures.”

The scariest part? 25% of us report they know of someone who sustained injuries after a road rage incident.

The full article and report can be found here. 

Be kind to one another folks, this isn’t a list we should be proud of.

E-470 Widening

Good news on our tollway. Following the most recent widening of E-470 back in 2021 which expanded the tollway from Quincy Avenue to I-70, there is a new one underway.

This project will add a third lane in each direction between I-70 and 104th Avenue.

It also includes a four-mile expansion of the High Plains Trail from 26th to 64th Avenues to continue the bike trail network in the east metro area.

Construction began four days ago on the 26th, and fortunately, most of the work will be done at low-traffic times.

There will be new interchanges at both 38th and 48th Avenue as well, along with a widening of the bridge near the Gaylord Rockies resort.

The full project webpage can be found here, and if you have any questions you can reach the folks in charge at [email protected].

The project will be complete in 2025.

Spying Bosses

Boy did COVID change the way we work. Back in the old days, your boss would just swing by your office to see if you were there.

Today, not as easy to do.

We believe most folks are good and do the work they are supposed to do. That said, there are some bosses and companies that want to make sure.

One of the new terms in employment is “quiet quitting”, where an employee doesn’t officially quit, but the notion of doing anything beyond the minimum is rejected.

As you might expect, this has some employers worried, and many have taken steps to make sure you are still working while physically away from the office.

How do they do this? Well, primarily through your computer. According to a new study by VMWare, 70% of employers are utilizing monitoring software to make sure remote employees are working.

Yes, you read that right. 70%. From simple tracking software to monitoring your webcam (that’s creepy) there is more of this going on than we realized.

The full article from Mic.com can be found here. Scary stuff, as it seems some of the trust between employer and employee has been broken.

VMWare did a great job covering this as well and that piece can be found here.

Maybe Orwell was right….Big Brother is watching.

Are Earbuds Dangerous?

We sure do love our earbuds. We have some cool ones from Apple, another pair from Bose, and the ones that Samsung makes are pretty cool too.

Beware, however, as it seems many medical experts are concerned about the effect they may be having on humans.

For years there have been concerns about holding a phone next to our heads with lots of invisible waves floating about.

Wireless technology seems to have mitigated some of that, and the good news is that earbuds give off 10 to 400 times less radiation than smartphones.

The problem is that this technology hasn’t been around long enough to really measure the impact on our brains and bodies.

From The Healthy: “There is some scientific evidence that there may be a link between exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) in the range used by wireless earbuds and cancer. A 2020 rodent study by the National Toxicology Program found evidence of an association with malignant heart tumors, and some evidence of an association with malignant tumors in the brain and adrenal glands, among rats that had been exposed to RFR.”

Yikes.

On top of this, a few years back, EMF (electromagnetic field) scientists highlighted their concerns with an international appeal to take a look at the electromagnetic fields given off by these devices.

We aren’t smart enough to give advice on what is or isn’t going to happen regarding wireless technology and health. Life is full of risks and each of us needs to make our own decisions.

That said, it is probably worth some research and study going forward.

Monthly Award Winners

Our monthly award winners for August were Guadalupe Caloca, Nimia Espinoza, Josefina Quinonez, Maria Concepcion Reyes, and Maria Zapata.

In the Team Leader ranks, it was Isela Mendoza and Rosa Chavez.

We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.

We are also very appreciative to be a part of your lives and your homes. You provide the platform for our teams to perform, and for that we are grateful.

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of August.

Queen Bee Corner

by Angela

Over the past few years, longtime Denver residents have mourned the demise of iconic Denver businesses; bolted doors and boarded windows offer a nostalgic reminder of the past.

However, several Colfax landmarks have emerged from their slumber to new incarnations. Tom’s Diner, sitting dormant for several years, has emerged as Tom’s Starlight, a Palm Springs era 1970’s cocktail venue. Major renovation plus a large outdoor seating area, brings a new vibe to the old building.

Further west on Colfax, Casa Bonita, another grande dame of the 60’s/70’s is under new ownership.  The owners have some creative ideas that will retain the building’s history while ushering it gracefully into the present day.

It’s heartening to see the effort at saving the past.  There is so much of it in Denver but plans for one condo with retail space can demolish a block of old brick buildings from one day to the next.

We can’t stop progress, but perhaps we can manipulate it to our advantage.

Bee