Colorado Paid Sick Leave Law

By: HUB's Absence Management Team

Colorado passes Senate Bill 23-017, expanding upon the qualifying reasons employees may take leave under the Colorado Health Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA). The changes are set to take effect August 7, 2023.

Overview

Colorado signs into law SB 23-017, adding bereavement and inclement weather as covered leave reasons under Colorado’s Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA).

Colorado Senate Bill 23-017 Expands Qualifying Leave Reasons Under HFWA

On June 2, 2023, Governor Jared Polis signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 23-017, which expands the qualifying reasons an employee may take leave under the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA).

Colorado’s HFWA requires employers to provide paid sick leave benefits to employees at the rate of 1 hour of accrued paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to an annual maximum of 48 hours.

Specifically, the bill expands the existing qualifying leave reasons to also allow employees to:

• Grieve, attend funeral services or a memorial and/or address financial and legal matters that arise after the death of a family member;
• Care for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed due to inclement weather, loss of power, loss of heating, loss of water, or other unexpected occurrence or event that results in the closure of the family member’s school or place of care; and
• Evacuate the employee’s residence due to inclement weather, loss of power, loss of heating, loss of water, or other unexpected occurrence or event that results in the need to evacuate the employee’s residence.

The addition of these covered leave reasons under HFWA as provided by SB 23-017 is set to take effect on August 7, 2023.

Next Steps

Employers with Colorado employees should review their paid sick time policies and update if/where needed to ensure employees are able to use their paid sick leave accruals for all reasons outlined within Colorado’s Healthy Families and Workplaces Act.

Disclaimer: Neither Hub International Limited nor any of its affiliated companies is a law or accounting firm, and therefore they cannot provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is provided for general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or tax advice as to an organization’s specific circumstances. You should consult an attorney, accountant, or other legal or tax professional regarding the application of the general information provided here to your organization’s specific situation in light of your organization’s particular needs.