Labor And Industry - Digest of Bills

Digest of Bills - 2000

LABOR AND INDUSTRY
S.B. 00-68 Workers' compensation - benefits - funeral and burial expenses. Increases the death benefit for funeral and burial expenses under the "Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado" for deaths occurring on or after February 1, 2000, from a sum not to exceed $4,000 to a sum not to exceed $7,000.

APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2000
EFFECTIVE April 17, 2000

S.B. 00-69 Workers' compensation - death benefits - minors. Provides that, if a deceased employee who dies on or after February 1, 2000, is a minor who has no dependents, the employer or the employer's insurance company shall make a payment of up to $15,000 pursuant to the "Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado" to the employee's surviving parents or, if there are no surviving parents, to the subsequent injury fund. If the minor has partial dependents, requires that a partial payment be made to such dependents, with the balance going to the surviving parents, or, if there are no surviving parents, to the subsequent injury fund.

APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2000
EFFECTIVE May 24, 2000

S.B. 00-127 Cement and plaster manufacturing plants - repeal of maximum workday. Repeals provisions mandating a maximum 8-hour work day at cement and plaster manufacturing plants. Specifies that such repeal should not be construed to mandate overtime for such employees.

APPROVED by Governor March 17, 2000
EFFECTIVE March 17, 2000

S.B. 00-174 Workers' compensation - experience rate modification factors - task force. Allows the workers' compensation classification appeals board to hear grievances related to the determination of an experience rate modification factor rather than the calculation of an experience rate modification factor.

Requires the commissioner of insurance (the commissioner) to convene a task force to evaluate the effectiveness of experience rate modification factors. Requires the commissioner to appoint members of the task force and the commissioner to consult with the division of workers' compensation within the department of labor and employment as well as any other interested parties. Requires the task force to evaluate:

Simplifying the computation of experience rate modification factors;
The degree of socialization of costs that occur with the current calculation of experience rate modification factors;
The equity of the current experience rate modification factors as applied to small and large employers; and
The appropriateness of including other elements used in the calculation of the experience modification factors, including preexisting injuries and mistakes in the calculation of claims.

Requires the study by the task force be completed by November 15, 2000. Allows the commissioner to accept volunteer participation and financial support to offset the costs associated with the task force. Allows the commissioner to accept gifts, grants, and donations.

VETOED by Governor May 26, 2000

S.B. 00-184 Underground facilities - damage prevention - liability. Establishes liability based upon damage to underground facilities under certain circumstances and provides for the awarding of attorney fees and costs in such actions. Requires owners of underground facilities to provide excavators with documentation regarding the facilities' location. Creates an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. Increases penalties for violators. Mandates safety education for violators. Requires owners and operators of underground facilities that are damaged so as to interrupt the service provided by the underground facility to notify the existing statewide notification association within 90 days after restoration of such service, and requires the notification association to include a statistical summary of such service interruption information in an annual report.

APPROVED by Governor May 23, 2000
EFFECTIVE May 23, 2000

H.B. 00-1056 Unemployment revenue fund - appropriation. Credits revenue collected from the following sources by the division of employment and training in the department of labor and employment to the unemployment revenue fund:

All employer penalties collected for failure to timely furnish tax reports or pay taxes under the "Colorado Employment Security Act";
All claimant monetary penalties collected and all investigative costs awarded in connection with overpayments established due to an individual's false representation or willful failure to disclose a material fact under the "Colorado Employment Security Act"; and
All remaining moneys in the federal advance interest repayment fund after all known interest charges and associated administrative costs have been paid.

Appropriates $437,403 and 8.0 FTE to the department of labor and employment, unemployment insurance fraud program for the provision of unemployment insurance fraud program services to the department of labor and employment related to the implementation of the act.

APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2000
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2000

H.B. 00-1083 Job training and workforce development - federal, state, and local programs - coordination - public/private partnerships - operation of one-stop career centers - appropriation. Implements the federal "Workforce Investment Act of 1998" by creating a system of local and regional boards, appointed by local elected officials, to deliver services and receive and administer federal moneys, including block grants, for:

Job training and placement;
Skill assessment and continuing education;
Assessment of current and projected personnel needs of employers;
Youth job training programs;
Employment programs for displaced workers and military veterans; and
Other work force development efforts.

Integrates existing programs within the governor's office into the statewide system and places the operation of the system under the general supervision of the governor, in accordance with federal guidelines. Provides for automatic designation, as part of the federal program, of geographic areas already designated by the governor under preexisting state programs.

Specifies that work force investment boards shall have a majority of members that represent the business community and each shall be chaired by a member representing the business community. Allows for the creation of a "consortium" work force investment board to act on behalf of the local boards collectively and serve as an agent for the purpose of coordinating with federal officials.

Requires the local work force investment boards to prepare and submit plans for their respective geographic areas. Directs the governor, with the assistance of the state work force development council, to prepare and submit a statewide plan to the United States department of labor.

Calls for the delivery of services via one-stop career centers, which shall be operated by private contractors selected by the local work force investment boards. Specifies that "core services" shall be offered to job-seekers, employers, veterans, and members of the general public. Defines core services for job-seekers to include registration in a centralized computer system, information on education and training programs, labor market information, skill assessment services, access to a multimedia library including internet-based services, job referral and placement, self-help resume preparation resources, and referrals to adult literacy programs, youth services, rehabilitation services, and other community resources.

Encourages the provision of services for employers, which services may include recruiting assistance, referral of skilled applicants, professional account representatives and management services, information on veterans' benefits and services, and layoff assistance. Allows for the provision of other services as well, at the option of local officials.

Creates an allocation process for the distribution of federal moneys. Directs the department of labor to administer the statewide labor market information and fiscal systems, assist in establishing and operating one-stop career centers, disseminate lists of eligible youth providers and other potential contractors, requesting federal waivers as necessary, and otherwise assist in the establishment, maintenance, and operation of the state's work force investment programs.

Appropriates $150,467 and 2.0 FTE to the department of local affairs for implementation of the act.

APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2000
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2000

H.B. 00-1086 Unemployment insurance benefits - offset for social security benefits. Reduces to 50% the amount of the offset against unemployment insurance benefits for persons receiving social security and other types of pension benefits.

APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2000
EFFECTIVE October 1, 2000
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see the note from page vi of this digest.

H.B. 00-1091 Boiler inspections - explosives - permits - fees. Directs the boiler inspection section of the division of labor ("section") to adopt rules setting forth a time schedule and establishing fees for the inspection of boilers and pressure vessels, replacing the current statutory requirements for annual inspections and $40 annual fees, respectively. Requires the division to take an inventory of existing boilers in the state and report the results of such inventory to the legislative audit committee together with a proposed range of basic fees that take into account specified factors, including the size and type of boilers and whether or not they are insured with an authorized inspection organization.

In addition to the basic fee, allows the section to adopt special fee for disconnection and reconnection inspections.

Requires the owners of boilers that have been condemned or voluntarily taken out of service to report the location of such boilers to the section. Allows the section to adopt rules for the safe removal from service of such boilers. Allows owners to place such boilers back in service upon compliance with existing provisions for satisfactory repair and pre-service inspections.

In provisions regulating the production, storage, transportation, sale, and use of explosives, changes from a one-year to a 3-year permit structure and adjusts the permit fee accordingly, from $25 for a one-year permit to $75 for a 3-year permit. Allows for the issuance of conditional permits.

Allows the office of active and inactive mines ("office") to issue explosives permits with effective dates that coincide with the effective dates of federal explosives permits. Authorizes the office to establish transitional permits for purposes of coordinating with the federal schedule. Adopts fees, ranging from $30 to $270 depending on the number of employees of the mining operation, for the 3-year explosives permits.

APPROVED by Governor March 17, 2000
EFFECTIVE March 17, 2000

H.B. 00-1175 Workers' compensation - subsequent injury fund. Clarifies that the subsequent injury fund maintains sufficient resources to pay for occupational diseases occurring prior to April 1, 1994.

APPROVED by Governor March 10, 2000
EFFECTIVE August 2, 2000
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see the note from page vi of this digest.

H.B. 00-1180 Workers' compensation - written orders. In workers' compensation cases, requires the issuance of written orders with specific findings of fact and conclusions of law within 30 calendar days after the conclusion of a hearing. Removes the authority for administrative law judges to make summary rulings without written orders in such cases. Allows orders to be sent to the parties by electronic mail.

By July 1, 2003, requires the division of administrative hearings to report to the business affairs and labor committees of the senate and house of representatives on the effect of the elimination of summary orders in workers' compensations cases.

APPROVED by Governor April 28, 2000
EFFECTIVE April 28, 2000

H.B. 00-1291 Labor relations - wages - final paycheck - delivery. Specifies that if an employer terminates an employee, and the employer's accounting unit is located off the work site, the employer must deliver the employee's last paycheck no later than 24 hours after the start of such employer's next regular workday to a location selected by the employer. Specifies that if an employee quits or resigns, the employer must deliver the employee's last paycheck to a location selected by the employer.

APPROVED by Governor April 24, 2000
EFFECTIVE April 24, 2000

H.B. 00-1293 Workers' compensation - benefits - to whom payable - attorney for claimant. Adds an exception to the existing prohibition on payment of workers' compensation benefits to anyone other than the injured employee or his or her dependents. Allows a licensed attorney to accept benefits on behalf of a claimant, for the purpose of distribution, pursuant to a power of attorney in cases where the employer has admitted liability or where the division of workers' compensation so orders.

APPROVED by Governor March 29, 2000
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2000

H.B. 00-1383 Workers' compensation - age of retirement. Deletes the specific reference to age 65 as the age of retirement for the purpose of calculating the offset for periodic benefits for permanent total disability under the "Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado", in order to account for changes at the federal level in the age of retirement.

APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2000
EFFECTIVE June 1, 2000

H.B. 00-1446 Workers' compensation - insurance - definition of "employee" - exclusion of host home providers. Excludes host home providers from the applicability of the term "employee" for purposes of workers' compensation. Also excludes host home providers from the provision in workers' compensation law that deems a person who conducts any business by leasing or contracting out any part or all of the work to a contractor to be an employer.

APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2000
EFFECTIVE August 2, 2000
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see the note from page vi of this digest.

H.B. 00-1455 Employment of youth - limitations on working hours - penalties. Raises the administrative penalties for violating the prohibition on persons under 16 working from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the "Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act of 1971" from $20 to a range of $200 - $500 for first time violators and of $500 - $1000 for a subsequent violation within 6 months after the first offense. Adds penalties of $1,000 - $10,000 for all third and subsequent violations within 6 months after the first offense. Requires notice of the provisions of this act to be included in any wage order sent to the employer and posted in the employer's establishment.

APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2000
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2000

H.B. 00-1486 Petroleum storage tank fund. Allows moneys from the petroleum storage tank fund (fund) to include facility inspections and meter calibrations until July 1, 2003. Clarifies that moneys in the petroleum storage tank fund may not be used to supplant moneys received from the statewide indirect cost allocation agreement with the federal government or be used for purposes not specifically enumerated. Reduces the maximum fee that may be collected for the fund through the environmental response surcharge from $100 to $75 per tank truckload. Postpones the date after which the minimum fee so collected becomes effective whenever the fund falls below $8,000,000 from the current date of July 1, 2001, to July 1, 2004.

APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2000
EFFECTIVE May 30, 2000