The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has issued guidance that makes clear that all employers must provide paid leave to employees who need time off to receive the COVID-19 vaccination during the public health emergency.
Background:
In 2020, Colorado enacted the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act of 2020 (HFWA). The HFWA included various leave requirements, including:
Paid sick leave:
Effective January 1, 2021, employers with 16 or more employees must provide paid sick leave to their employees. Employers with 15 or fewer employees have until January 1, 2022 to comply. Paid sick leave must accrue at a rate of at least one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours.
Public health emergency leave:
In addition to the paid sick leave outlined above, all employers must provide public health emergency leave (PHEL) effective January 1, 2021. Employees who normally work 40 hours or more per week are entitled to at least 80 hours of PHEL. Employees who normally work fewer than 40 hours in a week are entitled to at least the greater of either the amount of time the employee is scheduled to work in a 14-day period or the amount of time the employee actually works during an average 14-day period.
Employees may use PHEL for the following purposes:
- To self-isolate because they're diagnosed with, or experience symptoms of, the communicable illness that is the cause for the public health emergency;
- To seek or obtain medical diagnosis, care, or treatment if experiencing symptoms associated with the communicable illness;
- To seek preventive care concerning the communicable illness;
- If local officials or the employee's employer determines that the individual's presence on the job or in the community would jeopardize the health of others because of the individual's exposure or because they're exhibiting symptoms of the communicable illness (regardless of diagnosis);
- To care for a family member to whom any of the above applies;
- To care for a child or other family member when the child's care provider is unavailable due to a public health emergency, or if the child's or family member's school or place of care has been closed due to a public health emergency, including if a school or place of care is physically closed but providing instruction remotely; or
- If an employee is unable to work because the employee has a health condition that may increase susceptibility to or risk of the communicable illness.
Employees are only eligible for PHEL once during the entirety of the public health emergency, even if it is amended, extended, restated, or prolonged. Employees may use PHEL until four weeks after the official public health emergency.
Updated Guidance:
In updated guidance, the CDLE has clarified that seeking a diagnosis, treatment, or care of a communicable illness also includes preventive care, such as a vaccination. Therefore, all employees are entitled to use their PHEL for the purposes of COVID-19 vaccination.
Compliance Recommendations:
Colorado employers should review the guidance in full and ensure compliance. Please contact your dedicated service professional with any questions.