S.B. 05-28 Employment nondiscrimination protections - addition of sexual orientation - appropriation. Adds sexual orientation to the list of characteristics for which a person may not be discriminated against under state laws applying to:
● Employers' practices involving hiring, discharging, promoting, or demoting employees; the harassment of employees; and the compensation of employees;
● Employment agency practices involving listings, referrals, or compliance with an employer's direct or indirect request to discriminate;
● Labor organization practices involving the exclusion, expulsion, or other discrimination in membership;
● Employer, employment agency, or labor organization practices involving the use of a discriminatory publication, application, or inquiry; and
● Apprenticeship training programs or other occupational instruction programs.
Allows employers to require compliance with a reasonable and consistently-applied dress code and to require persons with transgender status to maintain reasonably consistent gender presentation.
Specifies that the nondiscrimination law is not intended to censor or restrain an employer's or employee's expression of religious beliefs but is not to be construed to allow an employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of the law.
Excludes religious organizations or associations from the definition of "employer" for purposes of complying with state employment nondiscrimination laws.
Defines "sexual orientation" as a person's actual or perceived orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender status.
Appropriates from the general fund to the department of regulatory agencies, civil rights division, $45,139 and 1.0 FTE, and from the general fund to the department of regulatory agencies, executive director's office, $35,513 for implementation of this act.
Makes the effectiveness of the act contingent on the passage of House Bill 05-1264 and a decrease in cash fund revenues related to House Bill 05-1264 that is equal to or exceeds the amount of the general fund appropriation made for the implementation of the act.
VETOED by Governor May 27, 2005
S.B. 05-39 Petroleum - storage tanks - financing - appropriation. Declares the petroleum storage tank fund to be an enterprise fund and gives the executive director of the department of labor and employment authority to issue bonds for the fund. Raises from $1 million to $2 million the per-occurrence liability of the fund during a fiscal year.
Expands from property owners to current and former property owners the persons who may have recourse to the fund if the other conditions are met. Clarifies that a property owner cannot have owned, leased, or managed a storage tank to have recourse to the fund after a spill.
Changes the environmental response surcharge on certain petroleum fuel products in the following manner:
● Raises the base fee from $75 to $100 per tank truckload, but lowers the trigger for imposing such fees from less than $5 million to less than $3 million in the fund.
● Raises the second-tier fee from $50 to $75 per tank truckload, but lowers the trigger for imposing such fee from less than $20 million to less than $6 million in the fund.
● Raises the third-tier fee from $25 to $50 per tank truckload, but lowers the trigger for imposing such fee from less than $30 million to less than $12 million in the fund.
Changes from 2007 to 2012 the effective date of a provision that sets the fee at $25 per tank truckload if there is less than $8 million in the fund.
Moves the liquefied petroleum gas inspection fund from the petroleum storage tank fund to the state treasury.
Appropriates $1 million to the department of labor and employment for allocation to the division of oil and public safety for implementation of the act. Decreases the cash fund appropriation to the department of labor and employment by $1,881,328 and specifies that said sum shall be from the petroleum storage tank fund. Increases the cash fund exempt appropriation to the department of labor and employment by $1,881,328 and specifies that said sum shall be from the petroleum storage tank fund.
APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005
S.B. 05-75 Petroleum tank storage fund - fee lands. Authorizes reimbursement of owners and operators of storage tanks on lands owned in fee simple within Southern Ute reservations for the costs of correcting petroleum contamination out of the petroleum storage tank fund if such tanks are registered and in compliance with certain regulations. Requires Indian tribes or tribe members who own a tank to comply with financial responsibility regulations. Authorizes owners and operators of such tanks to use the fund to demonstrate compliance with the financial responsibility requirements.
APPROVED by Governor April 29, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005
S.B. 05-134 Workers' compensation cases - discovery - expert testimony - reopening of awards - withdrawal of admissions. Modifies certain procedures for workers' compensation hearings as follows:
● In the case where each of the parties is represented by an attorney, eliminates the requirement that the parties must agree prior to engaging in discovery;
● Requires expert testimony to be presented by deposition only unless the parties agree otherwise or the trier of fact finds good cause to allow live testimony;
● Establishes a deadline for the completion of expert depositions and allows the parties to agree to an alternative deadline; and
● Requires experts to charge fees and be reimbursed in accordance with the fee schedule developed by the director of the division of workers' compensation.
Modifies the grounds for reopening an award in a workers' compensation case as follows:
● Eliminates error as a ground for reopening an award; and
● Specifies that a mistake must be mutual in order to constitute grounds to reopen an award.
Allows the director of the division of workers' compensation or an administrative law judge to permit an admission to be withdrawn on the grounds of fraud, overpayment, or computational or typographical error.
VETOED by Governor May 25, 2005
H.B. 05-1020 Unemployment insurance benefits - alternate base period - creation - appropriation. Creates an alternative base period for the purpose of qualifying workers for unemployment insurance benefits. Defines alternative base period as the last 4 completed quarters preceding the benefits period. Allows the division of employment and training to base a determination of eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits on the affidavit of the unemployed person for the quarter immediately preceding the benefit period.
Appropriates $250,000 to the department of labor and employment, for allocation to the division of employment and training, for implementation of the act.
VETOED by Governor May 25, 2005
H.B. 05-1092 Unemployment insurance tax rate - acquisition of trade or business subject to employment security laws. For purposes of compliance with the federal "SUTA Dumping Prevention Act of 2004", modifies the method of determining the unemployment insurance tax rate for an entity that acquires the trade or business of an employer subject to the "Colorado Employment Security Act" as follows:
● Specifies that, when the successor acquiring the business or trade of an employer was not an employer at the time of acquisition, the successor employer is to be assigned the rate of the predecessor employer or, in the case of multiple predecessor employers, the highest rate of any predecessor employer if the predecessor rates were not identical.
● Clarifies that a successor employer retains its rate for the remainder of the calendar year after the transfer if, at the time of transfer of a trade or business from the predecessor employer to the successor employer, there was not substantial common ownership, management, or control of the 2 employers.
● In the case of common ownership, management, or control between 2 employers, specifies that the unemployment experience of the predecessor employer is to be transferred to the successor employer and the rates of both employers are to be recalculated.
● Establishes special rules when the division of employment and training in the department of labor and employment (division) determines that the purpose of a transfer was solely or primarily to obtain a lower rate of or reduced liability for contributions, and requires the division to use objective factors when making the determination.
● Establishes civil and criminal penalties for knowingly violating or attempting to violate the law or advising a person in a way that leads to a violation.
● Requires the division to establish procedures for identifying the transfer or acquisition of a business or trade.
Applies to acquisitions and transfers occurring on or after January 1, 2006.
APPROVED by Governor May 25, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005
H.B. 05-1105 Unemployment benefits - eligibility for domestic abuse victims. Exempts a victim of domestic abuse from the requirement to actively be seeking employment in order to receive unemployment benefits for the first 15 days after a claim is filed if the requirement to be actively seeking work would make it more difficult for the victim to escape domestic abuse or would unfairly penalize the victim.
APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2005
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2005
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning
the effective date, see page vi of this digest.
H.B. 05-1113 Permanent partial disability payments - limitations. Raises the limit on temporary and permanent partial disability payments to $75,000 for those whose impairment rating is 25% or less. Raises the limit on temporary and permanent partial disability payments to $150,000 for those whose impairment rating is greater than 25%.
BECAME LAW June 9, 2005
EFFECTIVE January 1, 2006
H.B. 05-1115 Labor relations - access to employee's personnel file. Makes legislative findings. Allows an employee, including a former employee, to inspect the employee's personnel file and to obtain certified copies of documents in the file. Defines personnel files to exclude documents or records required to be maintained in a separate file by federal law or documents or records pertaining to an investigation by the employer or a regulatory agency of allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, fraud, theft, or identity theft against an employee or former employee. Exempts financial institutions, including banks, trust companies, savings institutions, or credit unions, from compliance with these requirements.
VETOED by Governor May 25, 2005
H.B. 05-1139 Workers' compensation - enforcement - penalties - reporting. Strengthens the authority of the division of workers' compensation ("division") in the department of labor and employment to collect penalties from employers who repeatedly and willfully violate requirements to maintain workers' compensation insurance. Specifies that the penalty for a first violation is $250 per day, with a maximum of $500 per day for subsequent violations. Applies penalties for all periods when an employer is out of compliance with the insurance requirements. Deems an initial violation to have occurred with regard to subsequently formed employers that comprise substantially the same people or entities that were involved in an initial violation. Deposits 25% of the penalties in the workers' compensation cash fund and 75% in the general fund.
Clarifies the division's authority to penalize carriers for overall noncompliance with the claims adjusting requirements. Requires the director of the division to promulgate rules to specify the circumstances pursuant to which the director may issue an order imposing a fine and criteria for determining the amount of the fine. Deposits 75% of the penalties into the general fund and 25% into the workers' compensation cash fund.
Requires reporting by employers of occupational diseases that involve lost time and that are listed by the director by rule. Requires summary reporting by employers of exposures to injurious substances, as defined by the director by rule, that do not involve lost time. Requires reports to be filed in an electronic format unless exempted by the director pursuant to rule. Requires notices of admission or denial of liability to be filed within 20 days after a report was or should have been filed with the division.
APPROVED by Governor April 7, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005
H.B. 05-1179 Wages - penalty for late payment upon termination. Increases the amount of earned, vested, and determinable wages due if the employee does not receive the wages within 10 days after written demand from 50% of the amount due to:
● A minimum of 50% and a maximum of 200% if the wages due do not exceed $10,000;
● A minimum of 50% and a maximum of 150% if the wages due exceed $10,000 and do not exceed $20,000; and
● A minimum of 50% and a maximum of 100% if the wages due exceed $20,000 and do not exceed $50,000.
VETOED by Governor June 3, 2005
H.B. 05-1208 Unemployment insurance - credit against tax rate for 2006 calendar year - amount equal to increase in solvency tax surcharge. For the 2006 calendar year, allows a rated employer a credit, in an amount equal to the amount of the increase in the solvency tax surcharge, against the computation of the employer's standard or computed unemployment insurance tax rate for that calendar year if, as of June 30, 2005, the ratio of the unemployment compensation fund balance to the total wages reported by ratable employers equals or exceeds that ratio on June 30, 2004.
Appropriates from the employment support fund to the department of labor and employment, for allocation to the division of employment and training, $100,000 for implementation of this act.
APPROVED by Governor May 25, 2005
EFFECTIVE May 25, 2005
H.B. 05-1213 Workers' compensation - Pinnacol Assurance - statistics - appropriation. Repeals the collection of statistics from licensed insurance carriers and Pinnacol Assurance concerning the costs of providing workers' compensation benefits. Repeals the requirement that the commissioner of insurance collect data for the purposes of updating the 1993 Colorado workers' compensation closed claim study.
Decreases the appropriation to the department of regulatory agencies, division of insurance, for workers' compensation studies, from the workers' compensation cash fund by $75,000.
APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005
H.B. 05-1239 Unemployment insurance benefits - lockout. Specifies that an employee is eligible for unemployment benefits if the employee's unemployment is due to a lockout. Deletes obsolete language.
VETOED by Governor May 25, 2005
H.B. 05-1265 Unemployment benefits - full award despite voluntary termination - military medical related relocation. Provides that good cause for leaving employment exists if an employee voluntarily leaves a job to accompany his or her military-connected spouse for medical-related purposes, from which location the employee's place of employment is not reasonably accessible, and, as such, the employee is eligible for unemployment benefits.
APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2005
EFFECTIVE June 2, 2005
H.B. 05-1318 Workers' compensation - proof of coverage - construction work - responsibility of contractor. Requires every person who contracts for the performance of work at a construction site to either provide workers' compensation coverage for, or require proof of workers' compensation coverage from, every person with whom he or she has a direct contract to perform construction work at the site. Specifies that, when a portion of the contract price is withheld to cover workers' compensation premiums, the premiums shall be calculated only on the portion of the contract price representing labor. Punishes violations with a $500 per day administrative fine.
VETOED by Governor June 1, 2005
H.B. 05-1328 Fuel products. Recodifies the statutes addressing the regulation of fuel products to clarify, harmonize, and modernize the law, specifically:
● Defines "department" to mean the department of labor and employment;
● Defines various national organizations;
● Defines "antiknock index";
● Defines the various classifications of liquid fuel products;
● Changes references to the American society for testing and materials to reflect the organization's new name, ASTM International; and
● Repeals the specifications of kerosene.
APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2005
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2005
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning
the effective date, see page vi of this digest.
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