Comply with new Employer Laws that go into Effect January 1, 2021
As of January 1, 2021, Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and Healthy Families and Workplaces Act took effect. Under the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, all employers should conduct an audit before the end of 2020 to cure any pay discrepancies amongst its employees prohibited by the law. The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act prohibits any wage differences amongst employees who share a gender identity and do the same work, unless the employer can show the difference is based on a system of seniority, merit, quantity or quality of work, or based on the person’s education, training, or experience as it applies to the work, geographic location, or travel if it is regular and necessary to the job.
On January 1, 2021, the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act also takes effect for all employers with 16 or more employees as of that date. It will take effect on January 1, 2022 for all other employers. It requires paid sick leave of 48 hours (6 full-time work days) for fulltime and part-time employees. The sick leave benefit is accrued as follows: 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with a cap at 48 hours per year. Also, if your business has more than 500 employees, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act now effects your business too. It provides 2 weeks of sick leave.
Contact Cindy Manzano at Frascona, Joiner, Goodman and Greenstein to learn more about these laws and how to keep your company compliant. We can answer questions, provide direction and assist with updating your company’s employment handbook.