Effective June 3, 2026, Colorado revised its law regarding how employers must handle employee government identification documents for employee employment eligibility verification, including by limiting how long employers may retain an applicant’s or employee’s ID documents. Under the previous law, there was no express limitation on the duration of time employers could retain government ID documents for the purposes of employment eligibility verification.

Quick Hits

• Colorado now prohibits employers from retaining original versions of employee government identification documents for longer than ten hours.
• There is an express carveout for employers making and retaining copies of government identification documents.
• Employers must notify employees of the new prohibitions on retaining government identification documents when employment eligibility is verified, even if the employer does not require or retain original identification documents.
• Violations of the new law result in civil liability with a private cause of action, and criminal liability as a “bias-motivated crime.”

New Prohibitions

House Bill (HB) 26-1283, which amended Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-2-124.5, significantly restricted employers’ ability to demand, confiscate, retain, or require the surrender of employee or applicant government ID documents including passports, drivers’ licenses, and other photoidentification cards. Employers may request and retain an employee’s or applicant’s government ID documents for the...

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