Articles about Colorado Labor and Employment Law Articles.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a motion filed by the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma for leave to file a complaint against the state of Colorado, challenging that State’s legalization of marijuana. The Supreme Court denied the motion without opinion or explanation on March 21, 2016.

The U.S. Solicitor General filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court December 16, 2015 opposing Nebraska and Oklahoma’s challenge to Colorado’s legalization of marijuana. Last December, the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking permission to file suit against the state of Colorado, arguing that Colorado’s legalization of marijuana is unconstitutional. They argue that the “legal” marijuana in Colorado overflows into its neighboring states, creating law enforcement problems for those states. Among other things, Nebraska and Oklahoma argue that Colorado’s law is preempted by federal law which provides that marijuana is illegal. We blogged about that motion here.

Colorado employers are not required to provide their employees any paid vacation benefit. However, when they do, clear “use-it-or-lose-it” provisions in vacation policies are valid under certain conditions under the Colorado Wage Claim Act, according to the Colorado Division of Labor’s guidance on vacation pay.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Division of Labor has promulgated new guidance on “use-it-or-lose-it” vacation policies. While the Colorado Division of Labor has taken no enforcement position on use-it-or-lose it policies for many years, the Wage Protection Act of 2014 gave the Division new enforcement authority to adjudicate complaints for unpaid wages (including earned vacation time). As such, the Division now feels that it is in a position where it must take a formal position on vacation policies.

In a long-awaited decision, the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously upheld an employer’s termination of an employee who tested positive on a drug test due to his off-duty use of medical marijuana. Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, No. 13SC394 (June 15, 2015). Interpreting Colorado’s “lawful activities statute,” the Court held the term “lawful” refers only to activities that are lawful under both state and federal law. Since marijuana remains unlawful under federal law, although its medical use is allowed under state law, the Court refused to extend the protection of the statute to the employee.

On June 15, the Colorado Supreme Court provided good news to Colorado employers that prohibit employee marijuana use. In the long-awaited decision in Coats v. Dish Network, the court ruled that medical marijuana use—which is permitted under state law but prohibited under federal law—is not a “lawful activity” under Colorado’s lawful activities statute.

In a closely watched case involving the use of medical marijuana by an employee, the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the lower courts’ rulings that businesses may fire employees for being under the influence of medical marijuana, even if that use takes place off the job.

In Sarrazin v. Coastal, Inc., 311 Conn. 581 (2014), the Connecticut Supreme Court analyzed when an employee’s travel time between home and work constitutes compensable work time. The Court affirmed the decision of the trial court in holding that a plumber who carried company tools in a company vehicle during his daily commute to his jobsite and home was not entitled to compensation for that travel time. He was, however, entitled to overtime compensation for the after-hours time he spent picking up tools or equipment from the company’s warehouse.

Effective January 1, 2014, state-licensed retail establishments are permitted to sell marijuana to the general public under Colorado’s “Amendment 64: The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012,” which on November 6, 2012, Colorado voters approved as an amendment to the state constitution. For information, see our article, Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiatives Passed by Colorado and Washington Voters; ‘Medical Marijuana’ Passed in Massachusetts.

The Colorado Division of Labor is conducting more than a thousand audits on employers each year to enforce Colorado’s Employment Verification Law. The Division has conducted approximately 200 complaint-based audits, 5,400 random audits, and 650 re-audits (more than 6,000 audits total) of employers with employees in Colorado since the Law went into effect on January 1, 2007. It has levied over $500,000 in fines and fined more than 160 individual employers.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has signed legislation limiting employer access to employees’ and job applicants’ private social media information. Under the measure (HB 13-1046), effective upon signing on May 11, 2013, employers in Colorado may not “suggest, request or require” or cause employees or applicants to (i) disclose the means of accessing the employees’ or applicants’ personal account or service through the employees’ or applicants’ electronic communication device, or (ii) change their privacy settings for an associated social networking account.

On May 6, 2013, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law the Job Protection and Civil Rights Enforcement Act Of 2013 (Act), which amends the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), the state law prohibiting employment discrimination because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin, or ancestry. Beginning with cases arising on or after January 1, 2015, plaintiffs pursuing claims under the CADA may recover both economic and non-economic damages from employers – including small businesses with fewer than 15 employees – who are found liable for engaging in workplace discrimination.