March Madness - Colorado Legislature Keeps Colorado Employers on Their Toes

By Michael Santo, COSHRM Legislative Director and Managing Attorney at Bechtel & Santo

While a lot of people are checking their college basketball tournament brackets for upsets and Cinderella picks, Colorado employers and human resources professionals are refreshing the Colorado General Assembly home page (https://leg.colorado.gov/) to keep track of the latest updates to a number of proposed bills. 

Colorado Worker Protection Collective Bargaining (SB25-005).  The Colorado Senate proposed a bill that would repeal a Colorado labor law that has been in place since the early 1940s.  The existing bill, which is known as the Colorado Labor Peace Act, requires a union to win two votes approving the union, with the second requiring an affirmative vote of 75% of the employees, before all employees are required to pay dues. So, in short, in elections, there is one vote to form a union, and a second vote to collect mandatory fees for representing workers. Colorado Republicans say the law keeps the state competitive, but Colorado Democrats counter that the two votes is an unnecessary hurdle that discourages unionization. The proposed bill (i.e., SB25-005) would eliminate the second vote (i.e., only one vote would be required). Recently, the Colorado Senate Bill passed the bill, and it proceeded to the House of Representative where it has been recently assigned to the appropriation committee. 

What’s also interesting about this Bill is that it was recently reported in the Sum & Substance, a publication from the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, that Colorado’s largest union recently filed a ballot initiative that would require private-sector employers to prove just cause before they could suspend or fire any workers.  While the ballot initiative regarding just-cause termination isn’t part of SB25-005, many believe that the fate of SB25-005 will determine whether the just-cause initiative actually reaches the 2026 ballot. A few other states, Illinois and New York city, have similar just-cause initiatives underway.    

Enforcement Wage Hour Law (HB25-1001). While the Colorado Senate addresses the Colorado Worker Protection Collective Bargaining bill, the Colorado House of Representatives has propounded a bill that would modify the Colorado Wage Act, which covers most state wage issues. One of the many things that this bill would provide is that it would raise the threshold to file a claim with the Colorado Department of Labor. That is, currently, the threshold to file a wage claim with the Colorado Department of Labor is $7,500. HB25-1001 would raise that threshold to $13,500, and this amount would increase every year in the future based on inflation.  Such an increase requires that all Colorado companies ensure their compensation practices are compliant. For example, are employees advised in guidelines, handbooks, newsletters, etc. regarding the importance of not working off the clock and do supervisors counsel (e.g., email, reprimand, etc.) employees if the supervisor discovers an employee working off the clock?  And do employers convey (verbally and in writing) that all nonexempt employees are authorized and permitted to take one, 10-minute rest period every four hours. These, and many more, compensation issues will become front-and-center on a lot of CDLE wage claims if the threshold is raised as proposed in this Bill.

Local Governments Tip Offsets for Tipped Employees (HB25-1208). This Bill proposes to cut the minimum wage for restaurants where the city or county where the restaurant is located has raised the minimum wage above the state-required amount of $14.81 per hour. The House of Representative recently passed this Bill on third reading and, so, it is expected to be sent to the Senate in the near future.

Protecting Workers from Extreme Temperatures (HB25-1286). This 26-page bill is chock full of a numerous of requirements and identifies as its goal to protect employees from extreme temperatures, which the Bill identifies as being at or above 80 degrees Fahrenheit and/or at or below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The Bill, if passed, would require employers to closely monitor the temperatures (both outside and inside) and provide workers with access to shade or heated areas, scheduled breaks, drinking water, etc. The Bill would also require Colorado employers to prepare procedures to reduce heat/cold stress on employees. This Bill was only proposed a few weeks ago, so it will be one to closely monitor during the upcoming weeks. 

In addition to these bills, the Colorado legislature is seeking to amend current law regarding noncompete agreements, particularly with respect to physicians.

With less than two months to go until the end of the Colorado legislative session, things are certainly heating up and its certain to be an interesting finish the legislative session on May 7.