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New law provides guaranteed paid sick leave for all Colorado employees

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DENVER (KRDO) -- As the world is still dealing with a coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Jared Polis signed a new law Tuesday that will provide some relief for workers in Colorado who don't earn paid sick leave.

The Healthy Families and Workplaces Act requires all employers in Colorado to provide up to 48 hours of paid sick leave. It's earned at one hour for every 30 hours worked, which would add up to the 48 hours in less than a calendar year.

According to the bill text, the paid sick leave can be used for mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition. It can also be used if you need to take care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition.

The new law also requires employers to provide employees with an additional amount of paid sick leave during a public health emergency based on the number of hours the employee works, and it has protections for workers against retaliation for using the sick time.

According to Colorado Senate Democrats, 40% of Coloradans currently don't get guaranteed paid sick leave.

The bill says that if an employer provides "comparable paid leave to their employees and allows employees to use that leave as permitted under the act," then they are not required to provide additional paid sick leave.

The law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2021. Small businesses with fewer than 16 employees get an extra year of a grace period, and the law takes effect for them in 2022.

Article Topic Follows: Health

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Andrew McMillan

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