Colorado recently expanded whistleblower protections at the state law level, and employers need to make sure their health and safety protocols are fully compliant if they want to avoid costly litigation.
Under the new law signed by Gov. Jared Polis on May 31, both employees and independent contractors may now file a complaint with the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE) if they have a reasonable, good faith belief that that their employer is committing a workplace violation of a government health or safety rule or a significant workplace health or safety threat.
The law, which went into effect immediately, expands Colorado's Public Health Emergency Whistleblower (PHEW) law into broad new territories.
What do you need to know about this new law, and what should you to do to prepare?
Summary of Key Elements
The PHEW law was initially enacted in 2020, permitting employees to raise workplace health or safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic to the CDLE. Now the law has been expanded to include any violation of a health or safety rule, regulation, or other significant health or safety threat.
Employers with at least five independent contractors or workers are subject to the expanded PHEW law.
The new law does not obligate employers to address a worker's health or safety concern. But businesses cannot fire or take other adverse action against the worker for raising such a concern, as long as the concern was reasonable and in good faith.
The law permits...
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