Who do I have to justify it to? What makes said entity qualified and competent to evaluate my justification? What criteria will be used to determine if my justification is valid?
Exactly, Colorado should have kept the law nice and clean. As long as the job offer is above the minimum pay advertised, then the employer has nothing to worry about. The market would have sorted out the rest (forcing employer to list "appropriate" salary ranges). If it did not force employers to list appropriate salary ranges, then that is a sign to not sell that type of labor.