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State of Colorado (CO) Employment Laws

 

Introduction

This state employment law section provides a range of state employment laws and posters. For your convenience, the poster section features both downloadable state and federal posters. Employment laws will typically vary from state to state. For further information or for individual issues your company may be experiencing, it is always prudent to contact your state labor department or an employment law attorney knowledgeable in your state employment laws.

Please view the left-hand navigation for the various state laws covered in this section.

colorado  

Special Updates

New Law Protects Usernames, Passwords, and Social Media Accounts of Employees and Applicants 

Effective May 11, 2013, a new law prohibits employers in Colorado from:

  • Suggesting, requesting, causing, or requiring that an employee or applicant disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing the employee's or applicant's personal account or service through such individual's personal electronic communications device; and
  • Requiring, requesting, suggesting, or causing an employee or applicant to change privacy settings associated with a social networking account or compelling an employee or applicant to add anyone, including the employer, to his or her list of contacts associated with a social media account.

Under the law, employers are prohibited from discharging, disciplining, threatening, or otherwise penalizing an employee (or failing or refusing to hire an applicant) for refusing to:

  • Disclose any information granting access to the employee's or applicant's personal account; or
  • Add the employer to the list of his or her contacts or change the privacy settings associated with a social media account.

The law does not prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing non-personal accounts or services that provide access to the employer's internal computer or information systems. It also does not prohibit an employer from, among other things:

  • Investigating an employee's electronic communications based on the receipt of information about the unauthorized downloading of an employer's proprietary information or financial data to a personal web site, internet web site, web-based account, or similar account by an employee; or
  • Enforcing existing personnel policies that do not conflict with the law.

Click here to read the text of the law.  

Colorado Extends FMLA Leave Entitlement to Include Leave to Care for Partners in Civil Unions and Domestic Partners    

The Colorado Family Care Act extends the group of family members for whom eligible employees are entitled to take leave from work under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under the new state law, eligible employees of covered employers may use federal FMLA leave to care for an individual with a serious health condition who:

  • Is the employee’s partner in a civil union (as defined under state law); or
  • Is the employee’s domestic partner and has properly registered the domestic partnership or is recognized by the employer as the employee’s domestic partner. 

An employer may require an employee to provide reasonable documentation or a written statement of the family relationship, in accordance with the FMLA, for purposes of confirming the employee's relationship with the person for whom the employee is requesting leave. An employer may also require an employee seeking FMLA leave to care for his or her partner with a serious health condition to submit the same certification as the employer requires under the federal FMLA.


FMLA leave taken under the Colorado Family Care Act runs concurrently with leave taken under the federal FMLA, and does not increase the total amount of leave to which an employee is entitled. 

 

The law is expected to go into effect on August 7, 2013. Click here to read the text of the law.

March 21, 2013: Colorado Enacts Civil Union Act

The Colorado Civil Union Act grants eligible couples in Colorado—regardless of the gender of either party—the benefits and protections afforded to spouses under state law, including: 

  • Insurance coverage provided by a health coverage plan, including the ability to cover a party to a civil union as a dependent;
  • Workers' compensation benefits;
  • The right of a partner in a civil union to be treated as a family member or as a spouse for purposes of unemployment benefits;
  • Family leave benefits; and
  • Protection from employment and housing discrimination based on spousal status.

The Colorado Civil Union Act becomes effective on May 1, 2013. The provisions regarding dependent insurance coverage apply to plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2014.

 

For more information, you may read the law in its entirety by clicking here.  

Increase in Minimum Wage Effective January 1, 2013

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has announced that, effective January 1, 2013, the state minimum wage will rise to $7.78 per hour for non-tipped employees and to $4.76 per hour for tipped employees. The new poster reflecting these increases is available for downloading by clicking here.

 

Click here for more information.

Establishment of Colorado Health Benefits Exchange

On June 1, 2011, Governor Hickenlooper signed into law legislation that creates the Colorado Health Benefits Exchange, as required by the federal Affordable Care Act. According to the legislation, the exchange is intended to facilitate access to and enrollment in health plans in the individual market in Colorado, and include a small business health options program to assist small employers in Colorado in facilitating the enrollment of their employees in health plans offered in the small employer market.

 

Click here for more information.

Colorado Links & Resources

 
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