Labor & Employment (Child Labor)

With regard to the family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program, the bill:Defines a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the duration extension that applies to a covered individual who has a child receiving care in a NICU; andExtends the duration of paid FAMLI leave for claims arising on or after January 1, 2027, up to an additional 2 weeks, following the death of a family member for whom a covered individual cared for while using such leave.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill increases overtime protections for agricultural employees by requiring that agricultural employees be paid at an overtime rate for any work performed in excess of:40 hours per workweek;12 hours per workday; or12 consecutive hours.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

In current law , the 'Colorado Employment Security Act' excludes services performed by certain individuals engaged in the trade or business of delivering or distributing newspapers or shopping news from the definition of 'employment' . The bill adds the same exclusion to the 'Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado', the 'Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act', and provisions concerning wages repeals that exclusion and adds clarifying language regarding how the independent contractor test should be applied to determine whether such individuals are employees. The bill adds the same clarifying language to the provisions concerning wages.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Beginning January 1, 2027, the act requires an agricultural employer to pay certain agricultural employees overtime pay for time worked in excess of 56 hours in a workweek. The act also increases penalties for an agricultural employer who commits wage theft and repeals the authority of the director of the division of labor standards and statistics to adopt rules concerning overtime pay for agricultural employees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)