Since then, the board of the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance (NCLA) has reviewed the draft and took the position of ‘opposed as now proposed.’
There’s a lot to unpack in the draft bill. While being soft-pedaled initially as only applying to companies with 20 or more employees and providing 8 weeks of leave, the bill would phase in over 7 years to cover all employers in Colorado (except for local government) with mandatory leave of 12 weeks.
There are a significant number of unanswered questions: How much will this cost employers? How will it relate to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act? Why is the burden being completed shifted to employers without employees being required to use existing PTO / vacation before tapping FAMLI benefits? What does the term ‘blood-like relationship’ mean? Why are local governments exempt when private employers are not? What impact will this have on not-for-profits? What will be the economic impact of this legislation? Etc., etc.
The bill hasn’t even been officially introduced and two of the original prime sponsors have already pulled their support because the bill doesn’t go far enough in their opinions. Obviously, that kind of internal fighting among proponents doesn’t bode well for passage, but the session is still young.
For your reading pleasure, here is the analysis of the draft bill. We’ll continue to monitor this topic and others that could impact your business operations.