Employment Laws in Colorado
Definition of employee. Employee is any person employed by an employer, except a person in domestic service of any person.
Definition of employer. Employer means the state or any political subdivision, commission, department, institution or school district of the state, and every other person employing persons within the state, but it does not mean religious organizations or associations, except organizations or associations supported, in whole or in part, by money raised by taxation or public borrowing.
Employers with 25 or fewer employees may not discharge or refuse to hire a person or employee solely on the basis that the person or employee is married to or plans to marry another employee of the employer, unless one spouse would supervise the other, one spouse would audit or be entrusted with money handled by the other, or one spouse has access to the employer's confidential records.
Prohibited employment discrimination. Employers may not discriminate against employees or job applicants on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry. It is not discriminatory or an unfair employment practice to refuse to hire persons with disabilities if there is no reasonable accommodation that the employer can make with regard to the disability, the disability actually disqualified the person from the job and the disability has a significant impact on the job. Employers may not terminate an individual because the individual engages in any lawful activity off the employer's premises during non-working hours.
A health care professional who is employed by a health care facility that provides emergency medical care to sexual assault survivors is not required to inform the survivor of the availability of emergency contraception if the professional refuses to provide the information on the basis of religious or moral beliefs.
Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited. Effective October 30, 2007, transgender status is included under prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Recordkeeping requirements. Employers must keep all records relevant to a job bias complaint until its final disposition.
Posting requirements. Employers must conspicuously display a poster prepared by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, outlining the Fair Employment Practices law, in easily accessible and well-lighted places customarily frequented by employees and applicants for employment. There is no charge for the poster.
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