Colorado Employment Law Blog

Labor & Employment Bills Before 2010 Colorado Legislature

By Tobie Hazard

The Colorado General Assembly convened January 12, 2010, and as in years past, several bills have been introduced that, if passed, would  have significant impact on Colorado employers.  The following is a summary of some of the bills that have been introduced this session, their effect on Colorado employers, and their status as of press time.  We’ll provide you an update later with any new developments.

Recent and Upcoming Supreme Court Decisions and Congressional Legislation Affecting the Employment World

 

Recently, my partner & colleague, Jim Goh wrote a chapter for a book published by Thomas Reuters/Aspatore (see http://aspatore.com/), entitled "Employment Law 2010 Top Lawyers on Trends and Key Strategies for the Upcoming Year".

 

Jim's article tells us what we might expect in the area of employment law for 2010 and beyond based upon the current trends and the influence of the Obama White House and the Democrat-controlled Congress.  In addition, Jim discusses how the movement for greatly expanded employee rights might be impacted by the current make up of the United States Supreme Court—with the addition of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito in 2005 and 2006 respectively—and its slim but definitive majority vocally resistant to any perceived encroachment into corporate interests. The substitution of Justice Sotomayor for Justice Souter does not, at least in theory, appear to shake up the pro-business orientation of the court.

 

Jim explains how the first glimpses of the showdown between the pro-business Roberts Court on one side and the employee-leaning Congress and the Obama White House on the other, challenges the U.S. employer.  In order to survive these tumultuous economic times, Jim explains how the nation’s ultimate law deciders and its law makers engage in an incessant tug of war and what is the besieged employer to do. 

 

If you are interested in reading the entire article and the other articles contained in this publication, click on the following:  http://www.hollandhart.com/articles/GohChapter.pdf

 

Steven M. Gutierrez

New Law Gives Colorado Employees Leave for Parent-Teacher Conferences

June 9, 2009
By Tobie Hazard

Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed on June 1 H.B 1057, the Parental Involvement in K-12 Education Act, which requires employers of 50 or more employees to grant leave to employees to attend their children’s academic activities. The new law takes effect August 4, 2009.

Colorado Governor Signs New Law on Independent Contractors

          On June 2, Governor Bill Ritter signed into law HB 1310, which provides significant penalties for misclassifying individuals as independent contractors.  For willful violations, a business may be fined up to $5,000 per misclassified employee for the first offense, and up to $25,000 per misclassification for subsequent violations.  This new law only adds to the existing misclassification pitfalls, including potential fines, penalties and liability associated with failure to pay appropriate payroll taxes, minimum wage or overtime, and benefits.  Such penalties add up quickly if a large number of individuals were misclassified. 

The Employee Free Choice Act:

Restoring the Middle Class Dream or Bolstering the Influence of Unions?

By Steven M. Gutierrez and Winter L. Torres of Holland & Hart, LLP

The American labor movement has made significant contributions to the American economy and is rightly credited with helping grow the American middle class and create the most powerful and productive workforce in the world.  Nevertheless, since the early 1980s, the American labor movement has suffered from a longitudinal decline in membership – that is, until recently.

 

On January 25, 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that union membership slightly increased in 2007, up by 311,000 workers to 15.7 million or, as a percentage of the workforce, up by 0.1 percent to 12.1 percent.[1]  In January 2009, the BLS reported that union membership again increased for a second straight year, up by 428,000 workers to 16.1 million or, as a percentage of the workforce, up by 0.3 percent to 12.4 percent..[2]  This trend has at least temporarily halted the 23-year decline in union membership.[3]  Nonetheless, because unionized workers comprised 20.1 percent of the workforce in 1983 – the first year for which comparable data are available – unions still have a long way to go to regain their former prominence in the economy.[4]

 

According to at least one source, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would essentially eliminate secret ballot elections and force a collective bargaining agreement upon employers and employees under certain circumstances, could become law in as little as five months.[5]  But is the true purpose behind EFCA to restore the American middle class and fix the American economy, as its advocates claim, or is it simply to empower politically connected labor unions by swelling their membership rosters?

---

[1] Press Release, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Members in 2007 (Jan. 25, 2008), available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/union2_01252008.pdf.

[2] Press Release, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Members in 2008 (Jan. 28, 2009), available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Ben James, EFCA Could Be Law Within 5 Months:  Union Leader, Law360, Mar. 3, 2009, http://employment.law360.com/articles/89606 (last visited Mar. 31, 2009).

Colorado Legislative Update

By Tanya Milligan

Several proposed bills currently pending in the Colorado legislature will affect employers in Colorado.  The following is a summary of four of the most significant proposals:

“Just Cause” Measure Makes November Ballot in Colorado

By Tobie Hazard

Of Holland & Hart LLP

            A proposed measure that would amend the Colorado constitution to bar employers from firing or suspending employees without just cause was certified for the November 2008 ballot by the Colorado Secretary of State on August 22, 2008.  The “Just Cause Initiative,” which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 55, gathered more than 130,000 signatures to be placed on the ballot.  State law required only 76,047 certified signatures to make the ballot.

Colorado Employers Required to Accommodate Nursing Mothers, Allow Open Discussions of Wages

By Tobie Hazard and Kerri J. Antencio*

Two new state laws went into effect in early August that every Colorado employer needs to know about. One requires Colorado employers to accommodate nursing mothers in the workplace, while the other prohibits employers from firing or disciplining employees for discussing their wages with others. Read on for the details of these new statutes.