Daphne Shih Gebauer

Paid sick leave seems to have stolen the thunder from the Colorado Equal Pay For Equal Work Act, but the EPEW Act also came into effect on January 1, 2021 and brings some major changes in how employers hire and compensate employees.

In a nutshell, EPEW prohibits discrimination in pay on the basis of gender.  To this end, Colorado employers are now required to announce all advancement opportunities to all employees, and each job posting must include a predetermined pay range. This law also prohibits seeking or relying upon a prospective employee’s past pay history in determining compensation, and also discriminating against employees who refuse to provide their pay history.

Something to also note is that the EPEW Act now has a defined list of 6 approved reasons for pay disparity (seniority, merit, quantity/quality of production, geographic location, education/training/experience, and job-required travel.)  This is different than the federal Equal Pay Act, which has a much broader catchall provision. The EPEW Act also encourages employers to proactively address equal pay issues through a self-audit, which may later be used as a defense against the law’s liquidated damages provision.

The full text of the EPEW Act can be found here.

The Colorado HFWA (Healthy Families and Workplaces Act) is Colorado’s paid sick leave law, and will begin requiring all employers with 16 or more employees to grant up to 48 hours of paid sick leave to employees beginning January 1, 2021.  Smaller employers will be required to start providing paid sick leave starting in 2022.

Wrongfully denied paid sick leave is treated as unpaid wages under the Colorado Wage Act, therefore can incur significant penalties for employers. If you’re an employer, start reviewing your PTO policies to see if your existing policy satisfies HFWA and make changes as needed. If you’re an employee, be sure you understand how your employer’s PTO policies work starting in 2021.

A point of confusion we’ve seen is that many Colorado employers do not realize that HFWA has a separate, COVID-19 related leave provision that has been effect since July 2020.  Under HFWA, employees are entitled to take up to two weeks for COVID-19 related reasons, ranging from waiting for COVID-19 test results to return, symptoms consistent with COVID-19, and the need to care for family members due to COVID-19 (including children who are remote learning.)  Both employers and employees should note that the two weeks of guaranteed COVID-19 related sick leave is provided in addition to HFWA’s 48 hours of sick leave.

This law has been the subject of a lot of confusion, and we welcome the opportunity to help you navigate these new requirements.