Colorado: Emergency Temporary Paid Sick Leave Relief Enacted for Select Industries

On March 10, 2020, the Colorado Governor instructed the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to issue emergency regulations implementing mandatory paid sick leave for employers in the following industries: leisure and hospitality; food services; child care; education, including transportation, food service, and related work at educational establishments; home health, if working with elderly, disabled, ill, or otherwise high-risk individuals; and nursing homes and community living facilities. The rule applies to all businesses who have employees working in any of these types of industries, but only for that portion of the business or employees working in that sub-division or sub-unit that are covered by the rule.

On March 11, 2020, emergency regulations were issued requiring the above-industries provide up to four calendar days of paid sick leave for employees with flu-like symptoms being tested for coronavirus COVID-19. Of the four calendar days that are triggered by illness and planned testing, the employee gets paid only for those days they actually would have worked. The requirement is not in addition to sick leave an employer already provides and does not cover wage replacement should an employee test positive and require quarantine resulting in lost work time and wages.

If an employer already provides the paid leave necessary to meet these rules’ requirements, then the employer does not need to provide additional leave. However, if an employee already exhausted the employer’s paid leave, but then has flu-like symptoms and is being tested for COVID-19, he or she is entitled to the additional paid sick days provided under the new rule.

The rule will be in effect for 30 days, or longer if the state of emergency declared by the Governor continues.

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