Colorado House Votes to Expand Employment Discrimination Laws to Cover Domestic Workers
By Corey Bartkus
The Colorado House of Representatives voted to approve House Bill 1367 on Thursday, April 28, 2022, which, if passed by the Senate, would expand the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (“CADA”) to cover domestic workers—those who work for private households such as cleaners, gardeners, nannies, and elderly care takers.[1] As currently enacted, CADA’s definition of “employee” excludes domestic workers.
CADA makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against an employee for disability, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, or nationality. If House Bill 1367 were enacted, the state estimates it would result in around 200 additional discrimination complaints filed each year.[2]
In addition to expanding CADA’s protections to domestic workers, House Bill 1367 specifies that it is not a discriminatory or unfair employment practice with respect to sex for a person to consider sex when hiring an employee to engage in child-care-related domestic services.[3] The bill would also expand the time limit to file a charge with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission from 180 days to 300 days after the alleged discriminatory or unfair employment practice occurred,[4] which is currently the time frame for filing charges if the employee dually files with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.[5]
Takeaway:
Although the passage of this bill will not significantly affect most employers in the state of Colorado, it is important to stay up to date on all changes to federal and state employment laws and regulations. Give the attorneys at Campbell Litigation a call to discuss House Bill 1367 or any other changes in the laws governing employers in the state of Colorado.
[1] http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2022A/bills/2022a_1367_ren.pdf
[2] https://gazette.com/premium/colorado-house-oks-expanding-employment-discrimination-law-to-cover-domestic-workers/article_85ae8388-124e-56f5-b5a4-11498b7f1e26.html
[3] http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2022A/bills/2022a_1367_ren.pdf
[4] Id.
[5] https://www.eeoc.gov/time-limits-filing-charge