Colorado Passes Paid Sick Leave Law

On July 14, 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (“Act”), guaranteeing paid sick leave to Colorado workers.  Colorado joins 12 other states, including New York, and Washington, D.C. in enacting legislation that requires businesses to provide job-protected paid leave to its employees. 

As of January 1, 2021, businesses (with 16 or more employees) must provide up to 48 hours of paid sick time to its employees – accruing at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.  Starting January 1, 2022, all part- and full-time employees (regardless of the size of their employer) will share the same right to paid sick leave.  Employees may use this paid sick time to recover from mental or physical illnesses, visit doctors, care for sick family members, and tend to certain personal or family medical needs stemming from sexual or domestic violence.

The Act also provides immediate protections to all Colorado workers to combat COVID-19.  Regardless of a business’s size or industry, the Act requires all Colorado businesses to provide 80 hours of paid sick leave to employees for illnesses related to COVID-19 and nullifies exemptions that certain businesses obtained from providing paid leave under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act.  Workers who believe they were improperly denied paid leave or subjected to other workplace violations should seek legal counsel to analyze their potential claims.