low-wage workers

Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed into law a bill that will protect job-seekers from unwarranted scrutiny of their credit information when they apply for work.

The law, which originated as Senate Bill 18, prohibits employers from using credit information in making hiring or promotion decisions unless the information is "substantially related" to a job.

On the first day of this year's legislative session, Senators John Morse and John Kefalas introduced the Working Families Opportunity Act as Senate Bill 1. That first-bill status reflects the importance that lawmakers place in helping low- and moderate-income families still struggling as we emerge from the Great Recession.

Employment Opportunity Act

Senate Bill 13-018

Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research

Testimony to the House Business, Labor,
Economic & Workforce Development Committee

March 7, 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

The number of working families living in poverty in Colorado increased by 16,000 from 2004 to 2012 – a jump of almost 50 percent, the Bell Policy Center reports in Measuring Opportunities for Working Families, released today. In addition, the portion of all Colorado working families living in poverty increased from one in 17 to one in 12 over the same period.

Employment Opportunity Act

Senate Bill 13-018

Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research
Testimony to the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee
February 4, 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Colorado's working poor families are headed in the wrong direction – down the economic ladder.

A new report by the Bell Policy Center finds that, even before the economic downturn, our state's poor and low-income working families were struggling and falling behind.

In 2004, the Bell Policy Center produced Opportunity Lost, When Hard Work Isn't Enough for Colorado's Families, a review of economic indicators and a status report on the state's poor and low-income working families.

By Julia Preston
The New York Times

ST. LOUIS – After a career as a corporate executive with her name in brass on the office door, Amparo Kollman-Moore, an immigrant from Colombia, likes to drive a Jaguar and shop at Saks. "It was a good life," she said, "a really good ride."