**Content updated on March 26, 2020 to provide a link to the U.S. Department of Labor model poster released on March 25, 2020 and to update the new effective date of the FFCRA.**

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers now have new emergency paid leave obligations for employees in Colorado and across the United States.

On March 18, 2020, a new federal law, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, was enacted to provide paid sick leave and family leave to employees in the U.S. impacted by COVID-19.  Last week, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment adopted emergency rules, the Colorado Health Emergency Leave with Pay Rules, to provide paid sick leave for employees in specific industries in Colorado.

A summary of the new federal law and the Colorado emergency rules is outlined below:
Continue Reading COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick and Family Leave Laws

iStock_000018764690_ExtraSmall.jpgAs of January 1, 2013, Colorado’s minimum wage increased from $7.64 per hour to $7.78 per hour, with tipped employee’s minimum wage increasing from $4.62 per hour to $4.76 per hour. The Colorado Division of Labor adopted Colorado Minimum Wage Order Number 29 (PDF) to reflect the new state minimum wage.  The Minimum Wage

SnowDay.jpgI have received quite a few requests for inclement weather policies of late, and since the topic of “snow days” frequently arises this time of year, I wanted to provide some (hopefully) useful information for employers.  The question of whether an employer is obligated to pay employees for “snow days” depends largely on two questions:

  1. Is the

On October 28, 2010, in Carruthers v. Carrier Access Corporation, the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s discretionary award of attorney fees in favor of a prevailing employer in a Colorado Wage Act case.  This is a significant ruling interpreting the 2007 amendments to the Colorado Wage Act, C.R.S. 8-4-101 et seq.