Weekly Policy Update: Colorado Dept. of Labor & Employment Issues Proposed Rules on Equal Pay Transparency

On September 29, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) published proposed Equal Pay Transparency Rules (“EPT Rules”) providing guidance for implementation of the state’s new Equal Pay for Equal Work Law. The law is set to go into effect January 1, 2021.

The proposed rules address two general areas of the new law:

Complaint, Investigation and Appeal Procedures

The proposed rules lay out the process for investigation procedures and protections and provide details for the process of complaint filing, service and deadlines, and determinations and appeals.

Job Posting Requirements

The proposed rules provide additional guidance about how employers should comply with the law’s requirements to provide compensation information and a description of benefits on their job postings and announce promotion opportunities to all employees.

The rules instruct that:

Employers must include the following compensation and benefits information in each posting: (1) the hourly rate or salary compensation (or a range thereof) that the employer is offering for the position, including any bonuses, commissions, or other forms of compensation that are being offered for the job; and (2) a general description of all employment benefits the employer is offering for the position, including health care benefits; retirement benefits; any benefits permitting paid days off, including sick leave, parental leave, and paid time off or vacation benefits; as well as any other benefits that must be reported for federal tax purposes; but not benefits in the form of minor perks.

The rules also state that:

An employer is required to make “reasonable efforts” to “announce, post or otherwise make known all opportunities for promotion to all current employees on the same calendar day and prior to making a promotion decision.”

In the last section, the proposed rules require that Colorado employers would have to include compensation range and available benefits in job postings, even for positions that will not or may not be filled in Colorado.

 Additionally, the rules would apply to any employers with one or more employees in Colorado, regardless of where the employer is headquartered or incorporated, or where the rest of the workforce is located.

The CDLE is holding a remote public hearing on these proposed rules on November 2, 2020 and is accepting written comments through November 5, 2020. The final rules will be adopted November 10, 2020 and take effect January 1, 2021.

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