On June 7, 2023, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 23-172 into law, radically transforming Colorado’s employment discrimination legal landscape by expanding the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
The end of the public health emergency (PHE) began the sunsetting of the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act’s requirement for employers in Colorado to provide PHE leave stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that Colorado employees may use PHE leave through June 8, 2023.
On February 25, 2022, the Wyoming Supreme Court issued a decision prohibiting courts from revising, or “blue penciling,” noncompete agreements to be reasonable and enforceable under the law. The decision overrules the Wyoming Supreme Court’s prior holdings on the issue and changes the landscape for employers drafting and enforcing Wyoming noncompete agreements.
Employers covered by the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, Part 2 (EPEWA) will now have to post wage and benefit information for all covered promotional opportunities and job openings (including remote jobs that can be performed anywhere), unless that work is specifically tied to a non-Colorado worksite. In a reversal of its prior interpretation, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) issued a revised Interpretative Notice & Formal Opinion (INFO) #9 on July 21, 2021—six months after the law went into effect on January 1, 2021. The revised INFO #9 contains several critical changes with regard to the CDLE’s interpretation of the EPEWA that will affect virtually all employers with at least one employee in Colorado.
On June 14, 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court provided an answer to the long-standing question of whether “use-it-or-lose-it” vacation policies are permissible under the Colorado Wage Claim Act (CWCA). In the case of Nieto v. Clark’s Market, No. 19SC553, the Colorado Supreme Court held that an employer may not require an employee to forfeit vacation pay upon the termination of the employment relationship, and any agreement purporting to do so is void.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis is expected to sign the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA), Senate Bill 20-205, which will immediately make all Colorado employers, excluding the federal government, subject to the provisions of the federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
The Colorado General Assembly recently passed legislation intended to protect employees and certain independent contractors from discrimination and/or retaliation if they raise health and safety concerns related to a public health emergency. House Bill (HB) 20-1415, which Governor Jared Polis is expected to sign, appears to be in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, although it will ultimately apply to health and safety concerns unrelated to COVID-19.
With the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president last month, many are wondering what impact the new Trump administration will have on employers. President-elect Trump has given few details regarding his plans for labor and employment policy, but the following is a summary of how different areas of labor and employment could be affected by the incoming administration.
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (WARN Act) requires covered employers to provide affected workers 60 calendar days’ notice prior to a plant closing or a mass layoff that results in an employment loss. Whether a reduction in workers constitutes a “plant closing” or a “mass layoff” is the subject of much debate, determined by the definitions provided within the WARN Act. However, whether an affected employee suffers an “employment loss” would seem to be less debatable.
The foundation of the relationship between an employer and a union is the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the parties. Central to those agreements are dispute resolution processes that allow for expedited procedures to resolve conflicts. Disputes between employers and unions are typically resolved through a grievance process that culminates…..
“Black Friday” is the day after Thanksgiving and considered by many to be the start of the holiday shopping season. In recent times, the term “Black Friday” has been associated with the concept that retailers’ shift from operating at a loss (or in the “red”) to operating with a profit…..
