Colorado Sick Leave Law

Under the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, most Colorado employers are required to provide employees with paid sick leave. CO Statute 8-13.3-401 et seq Employers

Eligible Employees

Generally, all employees, whether working temporarily, part-time, or full-time, may exercise their right to access the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act or HFWA.

However, employees who work under the federal government are not covered by the law. Nonetheless, all employees are protected by another sick leave law called the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA. The FMLA covers workers for the federal government or in the private sector.

Covered Employers

Here’s a very important part of the law that everyone should know. It does NOT cover employers who already provide their employees with additional paid time off, including Sick Leave, Vacation Leave, Paternity/Maternity Leave, etc.

There is no coverage as long as the paid time off from the company falls under these three categories:

1. The paid time off or paid leave can be used for the same reasons listed under the HFWA.

2. The paid time off or paid leave is at least the same length or amount as the Colorado Sick Leave Law. This value includes the amount of leave available for use during public health emergencies.

3. The employer was able to provide the employees with a document regarding the employee’s anticipated leave request. This document includes information about their paid leave rights and time off policy.

Sick and Safe Accrual

We now know who is covered by this law. The next question is, how long could a sick leave be? Here’s a quick overview that should help you understand it better:

General Earned Paid Sick Time

For every 30 hours that you report to work, you are eligible to use one hour of paid sick time. This amount is regardless of being a full-time, part-time, or temporary worker. However, only a total of 48 hours of paid sick time per year is available to eligible employees.

Public Health Emergency Leave

During a public health emergency, all employers are expected to supplement their employees with paid sick time. However, the paid sick time of the employees should be relevant to the emergency.

Full-time employees or those who work 40 hours every week are allowed to access at least 80 hours of paid sick time. This allowance can be used to address concerns related to a public health emergency.

Paid sick time allowance is similar for part-time employees. Those who work less than 40 hours weekly can take a paid sick leave equal to the number of hours they work in 14 days.

Permitted Uses

The sick leave provision under the HFWA or Healthy Families and Workplaces Act is divided into two general categories. One is the General Earned Paid Sick Time, while the other is Additional Paid Sick Time During a Declared Public Health Emergency. Here’s how they differ:

General Earned Paid Sick Time

The General Earned Paid Sick Time under the HFWA may be exercised by employees under the following circumstances:

1. A mental and/or physical illness, a health condition that deems the employee unfit to work, or an injury;

2. The employee needs to access healthcare services for a medical diagnosis or treatment;

3. A family member needs to access medical care, and the employee’s presence is of the utmost importance;

4. A public health emergency;

5. A public official has closed the workplace or the employee’s children’s daycare or school; and,

6. The employee or a family member requires the employee’s assistance in seeking medical attention and legal help. This circumstance is valid if the employee or family member has been a recent victim of criminal harassment, sexual abuse, or domestic abuse.

Additional Paid Sick Time During a Declared Public Health Emergency

All concerned health emergencies should be publicly declared by the local or national government. Public health emergencies include an epidemic, an act of bioterrorism, or a widespread infectious disease or pandemic. Any form of a public health emergency also reserves an employee the right to access additional paid sick time under the following circumstances:

1. The employee needs to self-isolate because of a medical diagnosis or the presence of the disease’s symptoms.

2. The employee needs to access medical care to prevent the disease’s development, or they need to consult a medical professional.

3. The employer, a medical authority, or a public official has deemed that your presence in the workplace compromises the community’s general health.

4. A family member falls under the categories listed above.

5. The employee needs to take care of their child because the public health emergency declaration resulted in school closure.

6. The employee needs to avoid social contact because of pre-existing health conditions that may worsen and/or increase the risk of contracting the disease.

Family Member Defined

You are allowed to take your paid sick leave should you need to take care of a family member. This rule is listed In the HFWA section mentioned above. However, we have yet to discuss which of your family members are covered by the Colorado Sick Leave Law.

Of course, the first person you take your sick time for is yourself. Next, any person related to you by blood, civil union, marriage, or adoption is also covered. If you are the acting parent or “in loco parentis” for a minor, you can access your paid sick leave to take care of them.

Nonetheless, any person that requires your health-related care is also covered by the law. That is, provided there is sufficient evidence that you’re responsible for that said person.

Sick and Safe Leave Use Requirements and Limits

The Additional Paid Sick Time During a Declared Public Health Emergency took effect on January 2021, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been implemented by all businesses, regardless of the size. It’s expected to be accessible until August 12, 2022, unless the national and/or local government extends it.

On the other hand, the General Earned Paid Sick Time has been in effect since January 2022.

Alternative Eligible Leave Policies

Other federal and state leaves accessible to Colorado employees include:

• Organ Donor Leave
• Crime Victim Leave
• Domestic Violence Leave
• Jury Duty Leave
• Military Leave
• Emergency Responder Leave
• Voting Leave

Employee Notice of Use Requirements

Here’s what an employee needs to provide their employer to use the HFWA leaves:

General Earned Paid Sick Time

Under the General Earned Paid Sick Time, the Colorado Sick Leave Law requires that you provide your employer with reasonable documentation. This requirement becomes stricter if you have been or will be away from work for more than four days.

The documentation could be a doctor’s note indicating that the purpose of the sick leave was acceptable or justifiable. It does not necessitate that the note includes your or your family member’s illness.

However, there may be exemptions if you cannot access medical services or have no means to provide your employer with medical documentation. You can use your own written narration to indicate the cause for accessing the Colorado Sick Leave Law. This writing or letter does not require notarization.

Public Health Emergency

No documentation is required to access or use the Colorado Sick Leave Law during a public health emergency.

Discrimination and Retaliation

Some employees are hesitant to exercise their right to use the Colorado Sick Leave Law because of fear of retaliation. However, as an employee, you should remember that the law protects you should you use your paid sick time.

No disciplinary action, termination, reduction of paid hours, or demotion must be laid upon the employee who wishes to use the Colorado Sick Leave Law. Furthermore, employees must not be threatened whatsoever for wanting to use their paid sick time.

All employees must not be denied their right to exercise the sick leave law. Provided that their purpose for using paid leave time falls under the categories we’ve listed under the HFWA, a request is always valid.

Filing a Complaint, Complaint Procedure, and Penalties

Suppose an employee feels that they were wrongly treated for using or attempting to use the Colorado Sick Leave Law. In that case, they are encouraged to report the matter to the Colorado Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.

The federal government may also apply severe penalties and sanctions if the employee is denied access to the FMLA. However, an employer’s breach of an employee’s FMLA rights must be brought to record within two years after the violation.

If the violation is not reported within that time frame, the violation is nullified, and the penalties and sanctions are not enforced.

Relationships with Other Laws

While Colorado has implemented the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, it is crucial to recognize that the federal law FMLA still binds the state. Employers with at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of their workplace are subject to this law.

Employees who have worked for at least 12 months and have accumulated at least 1,250 hours may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Employees are likewise protected from being fired, demoted, or having their hours reduced under this law.

Additionally, after the FMLA leave has ended, the employee must be restored to the same role. Complaints may be filed against an employer who fails to provide this and all other sick leave benefits in the FMLA to an employee. In collaboration with the US Department of Labor, the Wage and Hour Division may file a complaint in court.