DENVER (KDVR) — The public health emergency is coming to an end, and so is a benefit that helps workers get paid through a case of COVID-19.

Colorado has required paid sick leave for all employees since 2021, when the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act took effect. The law also requires up to 80 hours of additional paid sick leave during a public health emergency, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

But that stage is coming to a close in the U.S., with the federal public health emergency to end on May 11. Colorado’s emergency declaration will also end, the governor’s office has said.

So what does that mean for workers who need to use PHE leave for a COVID-related absence?

PHE leave applies not only to confirmed COVID cases but to related needs like testing, vaccination or caring for a family member. When the PHE ends, the benefit will not disappear right away.

Employees can still use PHE leave for another four weeks after both the state and federal public health emergencies end, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“If that end date is May 11, PHE leave would be available through June 8, 2023. Employees would not be entitled to take PHE leave from June 9th on,” a department spokesperson said on Tuesday.

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