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Tag: State of Emergency

Update on State’s Response to COVID-19
DENVER – On Tuesday, Gov. Polis declared a state of emergency in response to the presence of coronavirus disease 2019 in Colorado (COVID-19). The declaration will help ensure resources are available to the State to combat COVID-19. The Governor has urged Coloradans to exercise personal responsibility to protect public health, especially vulnerable populations like older Coloradans and those with underlying health conditions.

“Our state is responding to this virus by taking bold action to protect our most vulnerable populations,” said Governor Polis. “We will continue working together to put health and safety first and be guided by science. Colorado is in this together.”

Details of the executive order:
- Directs Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to engage in emergency rulemaking to ensure workers in the following industries get paid sick leave if they exhibit flu-like symptoms and have to miss work while they await testing results for COVID-19: leisure and hospitality, food services, child care, education at all levels, home health care, operating a nursing home, or operating a community living facility.
- For workers who test positive and lack access to paid leave, directs CDLE to identify additional supports and wage replacement such as access to emergency unemployment assistance. These steps are especially important for those who work with vulnerable populations like older Coloradans and those with underlying health issues. When those workers lack access to paid sick leave, it poses a great risk to our ability to protect the public.
- Directs the Department of Revenue to temporarily allow Coloradans over the age of 65, a vulnerable population, to renew their driver’s licenses online to avoid having to congregate at DMV offices at this time.
- Directs the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA) to engage in emergency rulemaking regarding state employees. The administration wants to ensure that state functions continue to run smoothly and that state workers who are subject to mandatory or voluntary quarantine or isolation and who cannot work from home have access to paid leave. For employees who may be put either in quarantine or isolation and can work from home, they should do so. If these workers fall ill and cannot perform their duties, they will be able to use paid leave, and the state will be flexible with that paid leave. For impacted employees who cannot work remotely, such as correctional officers, assisted living staff, etc., the administration is working to ensure paid leave options for those who are ill to ensure that those workers can continue to put food on the table while protecting public health.
- Suspends statutory provisions that exclude temporary employees from the definition of “employee” for the purposes of leave benefits eligibility, and directs the State Personnel Director to determine what, if any, state leave benefits may be provided to temporary employees.
- Suspends the requirement that state employees who are absent from work due to COVID-19-like symptoms for three or more consecutive days provide a medical certificate form from a health care provider, and directs the State Personnel Director to create and promulgate an Employee Self-Certification Form that shall be used by employees in lieu of a medical certificate form.
Read the executive order here.

Last night, the Governor issued guidelines to all K-12 schools, preschools, and child care centers requiring closure for 72 hours if they have a student or faculty member who tests positive for COVID-19, allowing for schools to be disinfected. The guidelines also cover institutions of higher education. More details on the guidelines are available here.

Per the Governor’s instruction, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) are engaging in emergency rulemaking to limit visitation to facilities that serve older Coloradans, to screen all employees and visitors to these facilities, and to take necessary steps to protect those in these facilities. Older Coloradans and those with underlying health conditions are much more vulnerable to COVID-19. Read more here.

CDPHE recently provided information on social distancing, how to prevent community spread, ways Coloradans can reduce fear and take care of themselves.

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March 12, 2020
State Labor Department Releases Emergency Rules on Paid Sick Leave for COVID-19

Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) published emergency rules which temporarily require employers in certain industries to provide a small amount of paid sick leave to employees with flu-like symptoms while awaiting COVID-19 testing.

The emergency rules take effect today for 30 days, or longer if the state of emergency declared by the Governor continues.

“Colorado is acting swiftly to contain the spread of this virus. These steps are important for individuals who work with vulnerable populations like older Coloradans and people with underlying health issues. When workers who might have Coronavirus lack paid sick leave, it poses a great risk to our ability to protect the public,” said Gov. Polis. “People want to do right by their fellow Coloradans and stay home when they are ill. But they shouldn’t be forced between doing what’s best for our community or missing rent. I am asking the entire private sector of Colorado to voluntarily offer paid sick leave pending Coronavirus testing results so that we can collectively do our part to contain the spread of the virus.”

On Tuesday, Governor Polis declared a state of emergency for Colorado in response to COVID-19. Included in the Executive Order were directives for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to 1) engage in emergency rulemaking for temporary paid sick leave and 2) identify additional supports and wage replacement such as access to unemployment insurance.

The Colorado Health Emergency Leave with Pay Rules (“Colorado HELP” 7 CCR 1103-10) requires up to four days of paid sick for employees being tested for coronavirus COVID-19 in select industries which include: leisure and hospitality; food services; child care; education, including transportation, food service, and related work at educational establishments; home health, if working with elderly, disabled, ill, or otherwise high-risk individuals and; nursing homes and community living facilities.

The requirement is not on top of sick leave an employer already provides and does not cover wage replacement should an employee test positive and require quarantine resulting in lost work time and wages.

Workers are covered regardless of pay rate or method (hourly, weekly, piece rate, etc.); the daily pay during leave is either their established daily rate or, if their pay fluctuates, their average daily pay for the past month.

Today’s emergency rules only speak to paid leave for the four-day period required for testing.

Other wage replacement options, including unemployment insurance, are still under review by the department to determine the specifics for compensation for those who test positive. Under current state law, unemployment insurance benefits are only available to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. The Department is currently reviewing options to expand eligibility under existing rules.

Under Colorado wage and hour law, CDLE’s Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (DLSS) has authority under existing state law to promulgate rules when “[t]he welfare of the state of Colorado demands that workers be protected from conditions of labor that have a pernicious effect on their health and morals, and it is therefore declared … that inadequate wages and unsanitary conditions of labor exert such pernicious effect” (C.R.S. 8-6-101(1)).

FAQs and resource pages for both workers and employers can be found at coloradolaborlaw.gov.

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March 12, 2020
Gov. Polis Provides Update on State’s Response to COVID-19
Gov. Polis declared a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 (coronavirus). The declaration will help ensure resources are available to the state to combat COVID-19.

“Our top priority is protecting public health and our vulnerable populations which is why we are taking swift bold action. Our administration’s response will be guided by the science and lessons learned from the countries and states that this virus arrived in first” said Governor Jared Polis. “We will continue to be proactive and working around the clock to protect public health and safety with an eye towards preventing the need for more drastic measures that result in social disruption.”

“In order to slow the spread of the disease, some of the most effective measures we can take as a state is to test more people so that those who test positive can be isolated from the general population as we continue to stress the need for personal action such as staying home when sick, keeping their kids home when they’re sick and diligently washing your hands,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “We thank everyone who has been involved with this containment effort for their tireless efforts and works to ensure the people of our state are safe.”

Details of the executive order:
- Directs Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to engage in emergency rulemaking to ensure workers in food handling, hospitality, child care, health care, and education can get paid sick leave to miss work if they exhibit flu-like symptoms and have to miss work awaiting testing results for COVID-19.
- For workers who test positive and lack access to paid leave, the Governor is directing CDLE to identify additional supports and wage replacement such as access to unemployment insurance. These steps are especially important for those who work with vulnerable populations like older Coloradans and those with underlying health issues. When those workers lack access to paid sick leave, it poses a great risk to our ability to protect the public.
- Directs DPA to engage in emergency rulemaking regarding state employees. The administration wants to ensure that state functions continue to run smoothly. For employees who may be put either in quarantine or isolation and can work from home, they should do so. If these workers fall ill and cannot perform their duties, they will be able to use paid leave, and the state will be flexible with that paid leave. For impacted employees who cannot work remotely, such as correctional officers, assisted living staff, etc., the administration is working to ensure paid leave options for those who are ill to ensure that those workers can continue to put food on the table while protecting public health.
- Directs the Department of Revenue to temporarily allow Coloradans over the age of 65 – a vulnerable population – to extend their driver’s licenses online to avoid having to congregate at DMVs at this time.
- Starting tomorrow, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment will be opening a drive-up lab at their facility in Lowry to test anyone who has a note from their doctor stating that they meet the criteria for testing. Let me repeat because this is important, you must still have a doctor’s order to get tested at the new drive-up lab. That facility is located at 8100 E Lowry Blvd, Denver, CO 80230.
The Governor issued the executive order verbally. The Governor encouraged the private sector of Colorado to voluntarily offer paid sick leave so that we can collectively do our part to contain the virus.

The Governor was joined by Rachel Herlihy, State Communicable Disease Epidemiologist, CDPHE, Scott Bookman, Incident Commander, CDPHE, Mike Willis, Director, Colorado Office of Emergency Management, Stan Hilkey, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, Joe Barela, Executive Director of the Department of Labor and Employment today at the state capitol.

Yesterday, the Polis administration took action to ensure Coloradans can get tested for COVID-19 without financial fear. Last week, the Governor directed all state agencies to implement the State Emergency Operations Plan. This is a plan that the state has used in the past to respond to a variety of incidents, including natural disasters like fires and floods, and it is designed to ensure we have the resources and systems in place to respond to COVID-19.

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March 10, 2020