At a Glance
- HB-1159: Department of Labor & Employment Supplemental — Effective March 12, 2026
- SB26-093: Workers Compensation Insurance Coverage Verification — Effective May 29, 2026
- HB26-1143: Non-Employment Educational Opportunities Background Check Information — Effective June 3, 2026
- HB26-1283: Protections Regarding Seizures of Identification Documents — Effective June 3, 2026
- SB26-160: Personal Protective Equipment and Restroom Breaks for Meatpackers — Effective June 3, 2026
- HB26-1417: Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act Testing Entities — Effective August 12, 2026
- HB26-1272: Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections — Effective August 12, 2026
- HB26-1207: Disclosure of Demographic Workforce Data — Effective August 12, 2026
- SB26-189: Automated Decision-Making Technology — Effective January 1, 2027
- SB26-121: Overtime Threshold for Agricultural Employees — Effective January 1, 2027
This update summarizes recently enacted Colorado employment-related legislation, including measures already in effect, changes taking effect in August 2026, and compliance obligations beginning in 2027 and beyond. Employers should review the effective dates and begin assessing whether any new notice, reporting, or policy updates are required.
Changes Already in Effect
HB26-1159: Department of Labor & Employment Supplemental Appropriation — Effective March 12, 2026
HB26-1159 is a supplemental appropriation concerning the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) budget. The supplemental appropriation decreased the CDLE overall budget by approximately $250,000.
SB26-093: Workers' Compensation Insurance Coverage Verification — Effective May 29, 2026
SB26-093 requires that applicants for building or construction permits related to projects costing greater than $1 million file a signed declaration verifying that all people working under the permit — including subcontractors — have valid workers' compensation insurance coverage during the entire duration of the permit. The CDLE Division of Workers' Compensation is authorized to investigate complaints of alleged violations.
Construction employers should take immediate action to confirm coverage documentation and subcontractor compliance to prevent any liability or construction delays.
HB26-1143: Non-Employment Educational Opportunities Background Check Information — Effective June 3, 2026
HB26-1143 applies to certain educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, covered K-12 schools, and health care entities that require background checks for non-employment-based educational opportunities. If a covered entity requires a Social Security number (SSN) for those background checks, it generally must accept an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) instead, unless an exception applies. Exceptions include:
- Licensed or certified hospitals and covered schools may accept a fingerprint background check in lieu of an SSN or ITIN.
- State higher education institutions or local district colleges requiring an SSN for non-employment-based educational opportunities involving vulnerable populations must accept either an ITIN or fingerprint background check as determined by the institution in lieu of an SSN.
- This law does not apply to entities required to collect an SSN as identified under HB26-1143.
Violators are subject to civil penalties. This law does not apply to positions constituting employment under Colorado's unemployment insurance law (see Colorado Revised Statutes § 8-70-115).
HB26-1283: Protections Regarding Seizures of Identification Documents — Effective June 3, 2026
HB26-1283 establishes criminal liability for employers or their representatives who demand, confiscate, retain, or otherwise require employees or individuals performing work for the employer to surrender government-issued identification (such as a driver's license, passport, visa, or work permit). This legislation extends protections to job applicants and all persons seeking to perform work for an employer in any capacity, including migrant and seasonal workers.
Employers or their agents are permitted to request and temporarily retain an individual's government-issued identification document solely for the purpose of verifying employment eligibility and creating a copy. However, such retention must not exceed 10 hours.
When conducting these procedures, employers are required to provide written notice to the individual regarding the prohibition against extended retention, both in English and, when applicable, in the individual's primary language if the employer knows the individual's primary language is not English. Individuals must acknowledge receipt of this notification, and employers must maintain records of both the notification and acknowledgment.
The bill provides two specific exceptions:
- Retention is mandated by state or federal law; or
- Retention occurs pursuant to a signed judicial warrant.
Note, employers may also maintain an employee's government-issued identification document when an employee is assigned to an off-site premises and does not surrender an employer-issued identification card for the entirety of the employee's presence on the premises under Colorado Revised Statutes § 8-2-125.
SB26-160: Personal Protective Equipment and Restroom Breaks for Meatpackers — Effective June 3, 2026
SB26-160 prohibits employers from making deductions from the wages or compensation of an employee for personal protective equipment. SB26-160 also prohibits a meatpacking employer with 500 or more employees in the state from unreasonably denying the use of a restroom during worktime.
Changes Effective August 2026
HB26-1417: Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act Testing Entities — Effective August 12, 2026
HB26-1417 amends the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act's testing-accommodation provisions by expanding the definition of "testing entity" and explicitly affirming accessibility requirements for examinations and related courses:
- Expanded Coverage: HB26-1417 broadens the definition of "testing entity" to include any person, business, or state or local government agency that offers examinations or courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, or for professional or trade purposes.
- Accessibility Requirement: Covered entities must offer examinations or courses in a place and manner accessible to individuals with disabilities or offer alternative accessible arrangements.
HB26-1417's legislative declaration emphasizes that equal access to education and professional opportunity is a fundamental right and that accommodations such as extended time, alternative formats, assistive technology, and accessible testing environments help ensure exams measure aptitude and achievement rather than the impact of a disability. The legislature also expressly responded to a recent district court decision, clarifying that the legislature intended for the National Board of Medical Examiners to be treated as a covered entity and that Colorado law be aligned with federal disability-access protections for examinations.
HB26-1272: Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections — Effective August 12, 2026
HB26-1272 directs the CDLE Division of Labor & Statistics (Division) to collect data on temperature-related injuries, illnesses, and emergencies and to develop a model temperature-related injury and illness prevention plan (TRIIPP) by July 1, 2028. Note, earlier versions of HB26-1272 required that employers in covered industries submit compliant TRIIPP plans to the Division by September 1, 2028. This requirement is not included in the signed bill, but employers in covered industries should monitor CDLE guidance and begin assessing heat- and cold-stress prevention practices.
HB26-1207: Required Disclosure of Demographic Workforce Data — Effective August 12, 2026
Beginning July 1, 2027, private entities doing business in Colorado with 100 or more workers and that, as of March 1, 2026, were required to submit EEO-1 data to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) must submit a periodic report that states the name of the reporting entity, the state where the reporting entity was formed, and the EEO-1 demographic workforce data collected for the EEOC to the Colorado Secretary of State. The requirement applies even if the federal government later discontinues its EEO-1 reporting requirement.
Changes Coming in 2027 & Beyond
SB26-189: Automated Decision-Making Technology — Effective January 1, 2027
After much public debate related to the potential implementation date of Colorado's 2024 Artificial Intelligence law SB24-205, SB26-189 repeals SB24-205's artificial intelligence framework and replaces it with a narrower set of requirements for automated decision-making technology (ADMT) used to materially influence certain consequential decisions.
The law defines ADMT as technology that processes personal data and uses computation to generate output — such as predictions, recommendations, classifications, rankings, or scores — that are used to make, guide, or assist a decision about an individual. An ADMT is considered "covered" if it is used to materially influence a consequential decision.
The law specifically covers any employee, a job applicant who is a Colorado resident, and any individual whose access to, eligibility for, or opportunity in Colorado is evaluated in a consequential decision by a person doing business in Colorado. "Materially influence" means that the ADMT output is a "non-de minimis" factor in making the consequential decision and the ADMT output affects the outcome of a consequential decision by "constraining, ranking, scoring, recommending, classifying, or otherwise meaningfully altering how a consequential decision is made." A "consequential decision" includes decisions affecting an individual's access to, eligibility for, or compensation related to a "covered domain" including employment or an employment opportunity that creates or may create an employer-employee relationship.
SB26-189 creates separate obligations for ADMT developers and deployers.
- Developers: A developer is a person doing business in Colorado that develops, offers, sells, leases, licenses, or otherwise makes available a covered ADMT, including certain covered components, or that intentionally and substantially modifies an ADMT so that it becomes a covered ADMT. Developers must:
- Provide deployers with technical documentation describing the ADMT's intended uses, categories of training data, known limitations, and instructions for appropriate use and human review
- Notify deployers of material updates or modifications
- Retain records needed to demonstrate compliance for at least three years
- Deployers: A deployer is a person doing business in Colorado that uses a covered ADMT (i.e., Colorado employers who use an ADMT). Deployers must:
- Provide clear and conspicuous notice to consumers before a covered ADMT is used at the point of interaction (e.g., an online application post)
- Provide certain information to the consumer within 30 days after the deployer uses a covered ADMT that results in an adverse outcome for the consumer. This information includes:
- A plain-language description of the covered ADMT's role
- Simple instructions to request additional information about the covered ADMT and the inputs, including the name of the covered ADMT, the covered ADMT's version number (if applicable), the covered ADMT's developer, and the types of categories and sources of personal data used (if available)
- An explanation of the consumer's rights under SB26-189 and how to exercise them; these rights include:
- Instructions for requesting personal data (similar to above) and an opportunity to correct factually inaccurate personal data upon request
- An opportunity for meaningful human review (to the extent commercially reasonable) and reconsideration after an adverse outcome based on a covered ADMT's consequential decision
- Note — SB26-189 specifically states that additional regulations will be provided related to the post-adverse action notice. These rules are to be provided on or before January 1, 2027.
- Retain records needed to demonstrate compliance for at least three years
Violations are considered deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, and the attorney general may bring action to enforce the requirements of SB26-189. The attorney general must provide developers and deployers with 60 days' notice and an opportunity to cure an alleged violation before initiating an enforcement action under SB26-189 unless the violation is demonstrated to be knowing or repeated. The law does not create a new private right of action, but violations may still implicate rights and remedies available under other applicable laws, including the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, and product liability law.
Employers using automated tools in hiring, promotion, compensation, or other employment-related decisions should identify any covered ADMTs, review vendor documentation, and prepare consumer notices and human-review procedures before January 1, 2027.
Governor Polis also vetoed a related AI bill, HB26-1210, which would have prohibited employers from using surveillance-derived data or automated systems to set or recommend wages, benefits, or employment conditions if doing so would have an adverse effect on workers. The bill targeted "surveillance price and wage setting," including algorithmic tools that analyze worker data to influence compensation decisions. In his veto letter, Governor Polis expressed concern that the legislation was overbroad and could inadvertently restrict beneficial uses of data analytics, such as restricting differentially lower prices (which would be otherwise beneficial to Coloradans). Employers should be aware that while HB26-1210 did not become law, the legislature's focus on AI-driven wage-setting practices signals continued regulatory interest in this area.
SB26-121: Overtime Threshold for Agricultural Employees — Effective January 1, 2027
SB26-121 establishes a statutory 56-hour weekly overtime threshold for agricultural employees beginning January 1, 2027. Under SB26-121, agricultural employers must pay agricultural employees an overtime rate for hours worked in excess of 56 hours in a workweek, except for employees principally engaged in production of livestock on the open range, decision-making managers, and family members of a family owner of the agricultural employer.
SB26-121 also increases wage-enforcement exposure for agricultural employers related to willful failures to pay wages without good-faith legal justifications that are recurring or not remedied after the CDLE identifies the violation. Agricultural employers should revisit overtime classifications, timekeeping practices, manager classifications, family-member exemptions, and wage-payment compliance ahead of the January 1, 2027, overtime threshold date.
Conclusion
Colorado's 2026 legislative session produced significant employment law changes spanning workers' compensation, identification document protections, workplace safety, demographic data reporting, and AI-driven decision-making. Some requirements are already in effect, while others phase in through 2027 and 2028. Employers should review their policies and procedures for compliance and contact employment counsel for additional assistance.
Summer associate Robbie Mazer contributed to this update.
