The CRA's sole purpose is to protect your business and help you thrive.  We seek to champion your interests in the political arena and be your guide to laws and regulations that can make running a restaurant complex. To this end, we have produced this Compliance Center and we hope it becomes as invaluable to running your restaurant as CRA.

FREE Posters & Signage

Please email FirstCall@corestaurant.org to request these items (you should have received when you joined):

• Colorado Labor Law laminated poster
• Federal (NLRB) Labor Law laminated poster
• Employee hand-washing signs
• Removal of Alcohol/Patio signs
• No Alcohol to Minors warning signs
• ATM signs prohibiting the use of EBT cards - download here.
• CRA Member window sticker
• Find other common Retail Foodservice Signs from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, click here.

Legal Advice

The CRA provides free, limited, legal advice through our network of member attorneys, labor law & compliance posters, educational programs, and other resources and information to keep businesses compliant. If you do not find the answer to your question on the website, please call (303) 830-2972 or email FirstCall@corestaurant.org to request expert help.

Employment Tools

• Current wage requirements in Colorado, click here.
• I-9 Forms and information, click here.
• SSN Verification, click here.
• Colorado Department of Labor Posting Requirements, click here.
• W-4 Form, click here.
• W-9 Form, click here.
• Colorado Youth Employment Fact Sheet, click here.
• Use of Consumer Credit Information by Employers, click here.
• Colorado General Employment Laws and Resources, click here.
• Employee Handbook Template, contact us to get more information, click here.

Other Tax Forms

• Utility Sales Tax Credit Form DR-1465, click here.
• Claim for Refund of Tax Paid to Vendors, click here.

Government Agency Quick Links

• U.S. Department of Labor, click here.
• U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Services, click here.
• Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, click here.
• Colorado Department of Labor & Employment, click here.
• Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation Division click here.
• Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, click here.

Denver-Specific Documents

• Business Start-up Checklist, click here.
• DEOD Business Investment Guide, click here.
• Building Department Restaurant Kitchen Guide, click here.
• Denver Combined Tax Rates, click here.
• Food Safety System Toolkit, click here.
• Restaurant Guide 3 (2010), click here.

Colorado/FDA Food Code Transition

On January 1, 2019, Colorado adopted the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's (US FDA) 2013 model Food Code and 2013 Supplement to Colorado's food industries. This means some operational changes for all retail food establishments. 

Those changes include, but are not limited to:

• Certified Food Protection Managers
• Proper Date Marking of ready to eat foods that have to be maintained cold to be safe
• Procedures in place for the proper cleanup of a vomiting or diarrheal event 
• Hand-washing signs at all hand-washing sinks used by employees

Get a list of the top 10 questions regarding the changes to the Colorado Food Code, click here.

Compliance Resources

• Starting a Business in Colorado, click here and click here.
• ID Checking Guide Book, click here.
• Liquor and Tobacco Enforcement, click here.
  
• Colorado Food Code, click here.
• Colorado Food Code Consumer Advisory, click here.
• Federal Menu-Labeling Rules, click here.
• Dept. of Revenue Tax Information, click here.
• Colo. Dept. of Labor and Employment, including Minimum Wage, Tipped Employees, click here.
• Colorado Wage Act, click here.
• Retail Licensing Handbook, including age requirements for selling alcohol, etc., click here.
• ATM Signage prohibiting the use of EBT cards, click here.

Disaster Guidelines

Boulder County Disaster Guide for Retail Food Establishment, click here.

National Restaurant Association Tools

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) is the largest foodservice trade association in the world (by membership) —supporting nearly 500,000 restaurant businesses. NRA staff and lobbyists represent and advocate for foodservice industry interests with state, local and national policymakers—taking on financial and regulatory obstacles before they hit members’ bottom line and providing tools and systems that help members of all sizes get significantly better operating results.

The NRA, in conjunction with state restaurant associations, strives to move our industry forward by finding answers to the tough questions, distilling complex information into practical knowledge and helping our members navigate the issues that can leave them in the weeds. If you need smart, relevant intelligence that helps our members run their businesses better, the NRA is your go-to resource.

• NRA Legal Problem Solver, click here.
• NRA ADA Toolkit, click here.
• State of the Industry – An annual outlook for an overview of the US restaurant industry, click here.
• Restaurant Operations Report – This report provides crucial data on the cost of sales, gross profit, direct operating expenses and other performance measures to help restaurants see how their business compares to those of a similar profile, click here.
• NRA Health Care Knowledge Center, click here.
• ACA Employer Notification Compliance Tool, click here.
• NRA Industry Research, click here.

Ask the Association

We often receive questions from our members on topics ranging from account information to legal issues. Below is a list of topics we're asked about most often! We've organized these questions and answered them in our Help Center.

To visit the Help Center, click here. 

• Most Common Violations in a Liquor Inspection - click here
• Most Common Health Inspection Violations - click here
• EMV is Coming...So What? - click here
• What you need to know about Music Licensing - click here
• Can I appeal my health inspection? - Visit the FAQ
• Jury duty - Visit the FAQ
  
• Minimum wage - under 18 - Visit the FAQ
• Serving/selling alcohol - Visit the FAQ
• Teen working hours during the school year - Visit the FAQ
• Teens taking out the trash -  Visit the FAQ
• Tip pooling - who can I legally include? - Visit the FAQ