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Previous Updates
PFML Law Amendment
Anti-Discrimination Amendments
Final Pay Penalty and Wage Theft Enforcement
Wage Updates
- Effective July 1, 2025, any local government with a minimum wage above the state baseline must apply a $3.02 tip offset under the new statute.
- Starting January 1, 2026, local governments may increase the tip offset amount above $3.02, but only if doing so does not allow tipped employees to earn less than the state minimum wage minus $3.02.
- On or before September 1, 2025, any locality with a higher local minimum wage must enact an ordinance setting the new tip offset, which needs to take effect by October 1, 2025.
- After October 1, 2026, local governments have more flexibility to adjust tip offsets—provided they don’t cut it below $3.02, change it too rapidly (more than $0.50/year), or reduce wages below allowable thresholds.
Bill Text: CO HB1208 | 2025 | Regular Session | Enrolled | LegiScan
- Individuals owning or controlling at least 25% of a company can now be held personally responsible under wage-hour laws.
- Employers are prohibited from making deductions that bring an employee’s pay below the minimum wage
- The maximum wage claim handled administratively by the CDLE doubled—from $7,500 to $13,000 (new increased limits every 2 years beginning 2028).
- CDLE may waive the automatic penalty for late wage payment if the employer pays claimed wages within 14 days—unless it's a repeat offense within five years.
- Fines range from $5,000 for an initial willful misclassification to up to $50,000 for repeated or unresolved violations.
- CDLE can expedite payments to employees—reducing the waiting period from six months to 120 days after a wage determination.
- Courts can now award broader equitable relief to deter violations and address unjust enrichment—not just back pay.
- Cities or counties may enact wage payment laws as long as they don’t weaken protections under HB 25‑1001.
Biometric Protections Added to Privacy Act
https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2024/12/2024.12.05-TO-FILE-Proposed-Amendments-to-CPA-Rules.pdf
FAMLI Program
Protections for Minor Workers
Holiday Incentive Pay
Retaliation Against Organ Donors
CROWN Act Amended to Include Hair Length
Age-Related Inquiries Restricted
Wage Theft Employee Reimbursements
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb22-161
Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA)
Tax Withholding Notice Requirements
Current Colorado law requires an employer to provide its employees with an annual statement showing the total compensation paid and the income tax withheld for the preceding calendar year. Notice of federal and state earned income tax credits and child tax credits must be provided in addition to the required annual statement. The Colorado annual notice will be included with the W2 provided by FrankCrum as required by law.
Pay Transparency Requirements Amended
COMPS Order #39
- Updates the definition of a tipped employee for whom an employer may claim a minimum wage tip credit from an employee who receives more than $30 a month in tips to an employee who receives more than $1.64 per hour in tips averaged over any pay period permitted by Colorado law;
- Narrows employee eligibility for tip pools to include only those employees who perform significant customer-service functions in contact with patrons (COMPS Order #39 also provides examples of such employees);
- Establishes criteria for determining whether an employer must compensate an activity (or combination of multiple activities consecutively) of less than one minute; and
- Adds tips to the types of pay that may be excluded from the regular rate of pay when computing overtime.
Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
- For the employee's own serious health condition;
- To care for a family member with a serious health condition;
- To care for a new child during the first year after their birth, adoption or foster care placement;
- For a qualifying exigency leave; or
- For safe leave.
Overtime Threshold For Agricultural Employees
- 56 hours for up to 22 peak workweeks and 48 hours otherwise for Highly Seasonal Employers;
- 54 hours for Non-Highly Seasonal Employers; and
- 56 hours for Small Employers.
Governor Signs New Workplace Laws
- the record was made or received; or
- the date of the personnel action that resulted in the record or disposition of a charge of discrimination or related action
- To grieve, attend funeral services or a memorial, or deal with financial or legal matters after the death of a family member
- To care for a family member whose school/daycare is closed due to inclement weather, loss of water, loss of power, loss of heating, or other unexpected event
- To evacuate their residence due to inclement weather, loss of water, loss of power, loss of heating, or other unexpected event
Colorado Privacy Act
- Provides consumers the right to access, correct and delete personal data and the right to opt out not only of the sale of personal data, but also of the collection and use of personal data;
- Imposes an affirmative obligation upon companies to safeguard personal data; to provide clear, understandable and transparent information to consumers about how their personal data are used; and to strengthen compliance and accountability by requiring data protection assessments in the collection and use of personal data; and
- Empowers the state attorney general and district attorneys to:
- Access and evaluate a company's data protection assessments;
- Impose penalties where violations occur; and
- Prevent future violations.
Emergency Sick Leave Ending
Family and Medial Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI)
Employers that have 10 or more employees may withhold 50% of the full 0.9% contribution (i.e., 0.45%) from each covered employee's wages and must pay the remainder of the total required contribution. An employer with fewer than 10 employees is exempt from paying the employer share of the contribution and is responsible for remitting only the 0.45% employee share.
FrankCrum will withhold the required employee and employer contributions. Tell your Payroll Coordinator if you as the employer wish to contribute more to your employees' share.
Review last month’s FranklyHR for further FAMLI information and requirements.
Family and Medial Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI)
Accrued Leave and Public Health Emergency Leave
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Accrued Leave: up to 48 hours of paid leave per year, for use for a variety of health and safety purposes, which employees “earn” at a rate of 1 hour of leave for every 30 hours worked; and
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Public Health Emergency (PHE) Leave: up to 80 hours of PHE-related leave when a PHE is declared. Please note that a COVID-19-related PHE is ongoing and has been extended through at least October 13, 2022. If the employee used 40 hours of PHE leave last year, they have 40 hours remaining until the end of the public health emergency period.
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The time period within which an employee must inform the employer of a work-related injury is lengthened from four to 10 days after the occurrence of the injury;
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An employer that receives written notice of an injury must affix the time and date of receipt on the notice and make a copy available to the injured employee within seven days; and
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The new poster must be posted by August 10, 2022. Employers are required to hang this in a conspicuous location on all work sites.
Effective August 10, 2022, the general ban against noncompete agreements does not apply to an agreement governing a person who, at the time the noncompete agreement is entered into and at the time it is enforced, earns an amount annually equal to or greater than the state's threshold amount for highly compensated workers, provided the covenant not to compete is for the protection of trade secrets.
In addition, an agreement prohibiting the solicitation of customers is permitted only if it governs a person who, at the time the covenant is entered into and at the time it is enforced, earns an amount of annualized cash compensation equal to or greater than 60 percent of the threshold amount for highly compensated workers.
"Threshold amount for highly compensated workers" means the greater of the threshold amount for highly compensated workers as determined by the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in the Department of Labor and Employment:
- As of the effective date of this statutory section, as amended; or
- At the time the noncompete agreement is executed by the parties.
Noncompete and non-solicitation agreements must be no broader than reasonably necessary to protect the employer's legitimate interest in protecting trade secrets.
An employer must provide notice of any permissible noncompete agreement and its terms:
- Before a new worker accepts an employment offer; or
- Fourteen days before the effective date of the agreement or the change in conditions of employment for a current employee.
The notice must be clear and conspicuous and in the language in which the employer and employee communicate. An employee may request an additional copy of the noncompete agreement once each calendar year.
An employer is strictly prohibited from entering into, presenting or attempting to enforce any covenant not to compete that is void.
Employers should consult with legal counsel for these types of agreements.
Notice Requirement at Termination
- The employer's name and address;
- The employee's name and address;
- The employee's identification number or the last four digits of the employee's social security number;
- The employee's start date and date of last day worked, year-to-date earnings, and wages for the last week the employee worked; and
- The reason the employee separated from the employer.
Colorado has extended their emergency leave an additional 90 days from the previous April 16, 2022 expiration.
Under state law, all Colorado employers must provide this leave if there is a federal, state, or local declaration of emergency. Colorado public health emergency leave is a one-time leave obligation. If an employee used all of their supplemental leave in 2021, they must rely on their accrued leave or take any additional COVID-19 leave unpaid.
A compilation of recent developments and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s current position are contained in the recently updated Interpretive Notice & Formal Opinion (INFO) #14, which explains that:
- Employees must be paid all earned vacation pay when their job ends.
- No employment policy or agreement can waive or forfeit earned vacation at any time.
- All paid leave which can be used at the discretion of the employee is considered “vacation pay” subject to the non-forfeiture rules.
Colorado employers are not required to provide paid vacation or paid time off to employees (beyond that required by the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act). However, if an employer does provide such a benefit, once earned, it cannot be forfeited.
WARNING Rules
Effective March 2, 2022, amendments to the Colorado Whistleblower, Anti-Retaliation, Non-Interference and Notice-Giving Rules (WARNING Rules) prohibit retaliation and interference with employees' exercise of their rights under the Agricultural Labor Rights and Responsibilities Act.
The amendments also extend the time within which the state Division of Labor Standards and Statistics must decide whether to investigate a complaint from 30 to 90 days.
Noncompete Agreement Criminal Penalty
Effective March 1, 2022, any violation of the Colorado restrictive covenants law is a Class 2 misdemeanor subject to penalties of:
- Up to 120 days' imprisonment; and/or
- A $750 fine for each violation.
Colorado's noncompete statute generally bans covenants not to compete, but allows them in the following limited situations:
- Contracts for the purchase and sale of a business or the assets of a business;
- Contracts for the protection of trade secrets;
- Contracts for recovery of the expense of educating and training an employee who has served an employer for a period of less than two years; or
- Where the individual subject to the covenant is executive and management personnel or an officer or employee who constitutes professional staff to executive and management personnel.
Consult with your legal counsel regarding a noncompete agreement.
Wage Protection Rules
The Colorado Department of Labor has enacted new wage rules effective January 1, 2022.
These changes, include Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order #38; 2022 Publication and Yearly Calculation of Adjusted Labor Compensation (2022 PAY CALC) Order; and updated Wage Protection Rules.
The minimum wage exemption for certain agricultural employees is repealed. All agricultural employers must pay all agricultural workers the Colorado minimum wage which is $12.56, effective January 1, 2022.
Other highlights are:
Pay rate for paid sick leave
2021 was the first year of state-mandated paid sick leave in Colorado under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA). The rules clarify that:
- Bonuses need not be included in the HFWA pay rate
- The HFWA rate is determined based on “the employee’s pay over the 30 calendar days prior to taking leave” (or the length of employment whichever is shorter)
- The HFWA pay rate for employees with variable hourly rates should be calculated by adding all the wages for the period and then dividing that amount by the total number of hours worked for that period
New highly compensated employee exemption
An employee qualifies under this exemption if they are paid 2.25 times the rounded annual salary for the executive, administrative or professional (EAP) salary limit (for 2022, this amount is $101,250); customarily and regularly performs any one of the exempt duties and responsibilities of an EAP employee; and whose primary duty is office or nonmanual work. The federal FLSA only requires an employee’s primary duty to include office or nonmanual work, which is an important distinction. Employees performing manual work are not eligible for the exemption no matter how much they are paid.
Regular rate of pay for employees with multiple jobs
There are two options for determining the regular rate of pay for employees working multiple jobs at different hourly rates for the same employer:
- The regular rate may be determined by adding all the wages earned performing each job then “dividing that amount by the total number of hours worked in all jobs, consistent with the FLSA, and resulting in an weighted average rate of pay”.
- Alternatively, the regular rate can be determined by using “the regular rate of hourly pay for the job being performed during the actual overtime hours”.
Without a written agreement with the employee that the second option will be the method used, the first option automatically applies.
Paid Sick Leave for Small Employers
Starting January 1, 2022, under Colorado's Healthy Families and Workplaces Act eligible employees who work for an employer with fewer than 16 employees may begin to accrue at least one hour of paid sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours each year.
Employers with 16 or more employees must provide up to 48 hours of paid sick and safe time each year, which began January 1, 2021.
Subminimum Wage Phases Out
An employer may not:
- Pay an employee a subminimum wage unless it holds a special certificate issued by the US Department of Labor (DOL) on or before June 30, 2021; or
- Hire any new employees at a subminimum wage rate.
An employer that holds a special certificate issued on or before June 30, 2021, must submit to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing no later than June 30, 2022, a transition plan detailing how it plans to phase out subminimum wage employment and other additional information.
Effective July 1, 2025, the subminimum wage is repealed. An employer must pay employees with disabilities the highest applicable minimum wage regardless of whether it was issued a special certificate.
Veterans Preference Law
Effective September 7, 2021, private employers in Colorado may adopt and apply a veterans preference hiring policy if the following conditions are met:
- The policy applies uniformly to all hiring decisions;
- The policy is in writing, public and implemented at least 14 days before it is applied to any new job posting or hiring decision;
- Eligible veterans are required to provide proof of service by submitting a copy of their discharge document (DD214); and
- Eligible spouses of service members killed in the line of duty are required to provide proof of marriage to the service member and a copy of the service member's DD214 and death certificate.
Veterans preference hiring policy means a private employer's preference for hiring an eligible individual if the eligible individual is at least as qualified as other applicants.
An eligible individual means:
- If the hire date is within ten years after the veteran's discharge date: A veteran with a disability who has a one hundred percent permanent and total disability rating.
- If the hire date is within five years of the veteran's discharge date: A veteran, a veteran with a less than one hundred percent permanent and total disability rating, a military reserve member or a National Guard member who received a DD214 discharge document.
- If the hire date is within five years of the death of a service member killed in the line of duty: The spouse of a service member killed in the line of duty.
A veteran with a disability means a veteran with a compensable, service-connected disability as determined by the US Department of Veterans Affairs or the appropriate branch of the armed forces.
In addition, private employers in Colorado may advertise for and actively recruit veterans regardless of whether a veterans preference hiring policy is adopted.
Expanded Definition of Discrimination
The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) has been amended to include gender identity and expression, effective September 11, 2021.
Gender identity means an individual's innate sense of gender, which may or may not correspond with the individual's sex assigned at birth.
Gender expression means an individual's way of reflecting and expressing gender to the outside world, typically demonstrated through appearance, dress and behavior.
Updated Guidance for the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act
The Colorado DOL released additional guidance and opinions in July regarding employer obligations regarding the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA) and the Equal Pay Transparency (EPT) rules.
Since this took effect earlier this year, some employers expressly excluded Coloradans from consideration for remote positions. It was clarified that employers cannot avoid compensation and benefit disclosures for remote job postings by excluding Colorado candidates
INFO #9 clarifies that the EPT Rules cover job postings for either (1) work tied to Colorado locations or (2) remote work performable anywhere, but not (3) work performable only at non-Colorado worksites.
The EPT Rules require written job postings to announce promotional opportunities. The Rules do not require job postings for positions that are not considered opportunities for promotion and INFO #9 makes clear that employers are not required to post jobs unless needed to announce promotional opportunities. If an employer chooses to advertise for external candidates with a job posting, which is a standard practice for most employers, the employer must comply with the regulations. Employers need not disclose compensation for jobs to be performed entirely outside Colorado.
Each job posting must include (1) the rate of compensation (or a range thereof), including salary and hourly, piece, or day rate compensation; (2) a general description of any bonuses, commissions, or other compensation; and (3) a general description of all benefits the employer is offering for the position.
Learn more here.
Ban the Box
- Advertising that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position;
- Stating on an employment application, including an electronic application, that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; or
- Inquiring into, or requiring disclosure of, an applicant's criminal history on an initial written or electronic application form.
Colorado Bans the Box for All Employers
Effective September 1, 2021, the Colorado Chance to Compete Act prohibits all employers from:
- Advertising that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position;
- Stating on an employment application, including an electronic application, that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; or
- Inquiring into, or requiring disclosure of, an applicant's criminal history on an initial written or electronic application form.
In addition to other exceptions, an employer may obtain the publicly available criminal background report of an applicant at any time. Colorado implemented the "ban the box" law for employers with 11 or more employees, effective September 1, 2019.
Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies Vacation Pay Obligation
As noted in a previous FrankCrum news alert, the Colorado Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision that an employer must pay an employee’s earned but unused vacation pay upon separation of employment. This decision brought clarity to how vacation policies are addressed under the Colorado Wage Claim Act. Colorado employers do not have to provide vacation pay but if they choose to do so it cannot be forfeited once earned and must be paid out when the employee leaves the company.
Employers should review their policies and make any needed changes so that vacation pay is not forfeited either at year end (“use it or lose it”) or at termination of employment.
Last year, Colorado enacted the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act requiring employers to provide sick leave. Under that law, sick leave does not need to be paid out at termination, and nothing in the Supreme Court’s decision changes that.
Reach out to your FrankAdvice HR Consultant as needed.
Wage Protection Rules Amended
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment adopted amended Wage Protection Rules, which clarify the amount of Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEL) new hires or part-time employees are entitled to. The amount of PHEL part-time employees receive is tied to when they request the leave and all employees are entitled to PHEL regardless of their date of hire.
The amended rules take effect April 14, 2021 but employers can rely on them now.
January 2021
Equal Pay For Equal Work Act
Effective January 1, 2021, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA) prohibits an employer from discriminating between employees based on sex, or based on sex plus another protected status, by paying one employee a wage rate less than the rate paid to an employee of a different sex for substantially similar work. The Colorado Department of Labor & Employment has released additional guidance for promotional and job postings for compliance with the EPEWAP. Learn more here.
Healthy Families and Workplaces Act
As detailed in a FrankCrum News Alert the end of December, the Department of Labor and Employment released new guidance that all employers (regardless of size) must provide up to 80 hours of leave, irrespective of whether they already supplied paid leave related to COVID-19 in 2020. Read more about the recent guidance here.
December 2020
Paid Sick Leave
As a reminder, The Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) requires employers with 16 or more employees to provide eligible employees with paid sick and safe leave beginning January 1, 2021. The HFWA applies to smaller employers beginning January 1, 2022.
Employees accrue at least one hour of paid sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours each year. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb20-205
November 2020
Effective January 1, 2021, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA) prohibits an employer from discriminating between employees based on sex, or based on sex plus another protected status, by paying one employee a wage rate less than the rate paid to an employee of a different sex for substantially similar work. The law also prohibits employers from seeking prior wage history or discriminating based on a prospective employee’s failure to disclose wage history. In addition, employers may not prohibit an employee from discussing their wage rate. Read about the EPEWA here.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has issued their final pay transparency rules. Colorado employers are also required to:
- Inform Colorado employees of promotional opportunities worldwide.
- If an employer posts a job to be performed in Colorado, or that can be performed remotely from anywhere, the employer must include the compensation range for the position as well as details of incentive compensation and other benefits.
Jobs can be posted on the company intranet or for small employers, the employer can post jobs where they may be easily read during the workday or send an email to remote employees to inform them of job opportunities.
Learn more here: https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/7%20CCR%201103-13%20Equal%20Pay%20Transparency%20Rules%20ADOPTED%20%28Clean%29_0.pdf
October 2020
Healthy Families and Workplaces Act
The Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) requires employers with 16 or more employees to provide eligible employees with paid sick and safe leave beginning January 1, 2021. The HFWA applies to smaller employers beginning January 1, 2022.
Employees accrue at least one hour of paid sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours each year. An employee may carry over up to 48 hours of accrued, unused paid sick and safe time to the next year. However, an employer is not required to allow an employee to use more than 48 hours of paid sick and safe time in a year.
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb20-205
Unemployment Insurance Notice
In addition to posting the Colorado Employment Security Act Poster (click here), an employer must also provide notice to every worker upon separation of employment. This notice must include:
- A statement that unemployment insurance benefits are available to unemployed workers who meet the eligibility requirements of Colorado law;
- Contact information to file a claim;
- Information the worker will need to file a claim; and
- Contact information to inquire about the status of their claim after it is filed
September 2020
Colorado Prohibits Hairstyle Discrimination
As a reminder, the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2020 (CROWN Act) has amended the definition of race under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to include hair texture, hair type or a protective hairstyle that is commonly or historically associated with race. This includes hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, bantu knots, afros and headwraps
August 2020
Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act
Colorado joins the rising number of states requiring most employers to provide paid sick leave – not only extending COVID-19-related sick leave protections, but also creating a traditional paid sick leave requirement beginning January 1, 2021.
The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) applies to employers with less than 500 employees. Colorado’s new law applies to all employers regardless of size. This means Colorado employers with 500 or more employees must provide paid sick leave for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, beginning January 1, 2021, the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act requires employers with 16 or more employees to provide paid sick leave to their employees, accrued at one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours. Beginning January 1, 2022, the Act applies to all employers regardless of size.
The Colorado DOL has released a Paid Leave, Whistleblower, and Personal Protective Equipment poster. This must be posted and shared with remote workers electronically or on paper. Click here for the poster.
