CDLE reminds Colorado employers that state-mandated paid emergency sick leave is still required so long as federal COVID-19 emergency remains in effect.

In its recent email newsletter, dated 7/23/2021, the CDLE reminded Colorado employers that state-mandated emergency paid sick leave is required, so long as the federal COVID-19 emergency is in effect (and for so long as any subsequent state or local pandemic emergency is in effect).

Under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA), Coloradans can take up to 80 hours of paid leave in 2021 for any COVID-related needs. This includes not only having COVID-19, but also going to get a COVID-19 test or vaccine, recovering from any vaccine side effects, following a mandatory quarantine, or caring for a family member with any of those needs.

Colorado’s 80-hour COVID-related leave continues as long as a COVID-related emergency remains “declared by a federal, state, or local public health agency” (C.R.S. 8-13.3-402(9)), and the federal COVID-19 emergency is ongoing. The latest declaration extends through October 18, 2021.

HFWA continues the right to COVID-related leave “until four weeks after” all applicable public health emergencies end or are suspended. That means the earliest possible end date of Coloradans’ HFWA right to 80-hour COVID-related leave is November 15, 2021. However, the Biden administration has publicly stated that the federal emergency declaration will likely extend through year’s end.

For more information on paid sick leave, please see the CDLE Division of Labor Standards and Statistics’ fact sheets, INFOs #6B and 6C. You may also call the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics at 303-318-8440.