COVID - 19 in Colorado - Key Takeaways
Updated: Mar 25, 2020
Almost overnight we have seen some significant changes in how agencies, businesses, school districts, and others are responding to COVID – 19 here in CO. We are closely monitoring information and are hoping to present the most updated information we have available.
Colorado HELP
In a posting, from Colin Walker, Legislative Director for COSHRM (Colorado Society of Human Resource Management State Council) shared that on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (“CDLE”) issued the Colorado Health Emergency Leave with Pay (“Colorado HELP”) Rules, which require employers in certain industries to provide up to four days of paid leave for employees who are being tested for Coronavirus.
The covered industries are:
Leisure and Hospitality
Food Services
Childcare
Education, including transportation, food service, and related work at educational establishments
Home health, if working with elderly, disabled, ill, or otherwise high-risk individuals
Nursing homes
Community living facilities
Pay Requirements include:
An employee being tested must be paid his/her regular rate of pay for the employee’s regularly worked hours.
If pay cannot be determined, based on fluctuating pay, the employee should receive wages of the average of pay for the previous month.
Timeline:
The requirement to pay the employee ends upon receiving a negative COVID – 19 test.
It also does not apply to those employees who are quarantined after receiving a positive test. The rules will remain in effect for 30 days after March 11, 2020, up to a maximum of 120 days through the duration of the state of emergency declared by Governor Polis.
More information is available on the CDLE website. You can review the entire COSHRM article by visiting the COSHRM website.