What You Need To Know About Colorado’s Paid Sick Days Bill
This Q&A is excerpted from a State Innovation Exchange telephone townhall featuring Colorado state legislators. Questions came from various Colorado residents and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
What is in the paid sick days legislation?
Senator Jeff Bridges: This is an earned sick days policy, meaning you will earn the benefit while working at a job — this is not a benefit that you show up with on day one. Under the policy, workers will earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours per year, or roughly 6 eight-hour days. But employers are not limited to just providing 48 hours.
Another thing we’re also putting into this bill is making sure that especially during this crisis that we’re in right now, workers can take the two weeks of leave they need to make sure they aren’t bringing COVID with them into the workplace. No one wants a burger and fries with a side of COVID.
Why do we need a paid sick law when workers already get leave if they are sick?
Representative Yadira Caraveo: So, not everybody does get paid sick. At this moment, the COVID-19 emergency orders do offer up to two weeks of paid sick time, but this expires in December. And I can tell you, as a doctor, coronavirus is not going to be over in December. So it’s entirely possible that we’re going to be facing part of this pandemic, without the protection of paid sick time.
And so people are going to be going to work, without necessarily having been tested, and they’re going to be putting their colleagues and the customers that they come in contact with at risk.
Every business needs paid sick leave. Whether they have five employees or 500 — people get sick. And whether there’s five employees or 500, you come in contact with a lot of other people every day.
Studies have shown that by implementing paid sick days, businesses end up saving money in the long term because they have a much more productive workforce.
I live in Denver, and I work as a line cook. I can’t afford to take a shift off when I get sick, so I just work regardless of how I’m feeling. Will I know my hourly rate if I decide to take a day off?
Senator Jeff Bridges: You are exactly the person that we had in mind when we were working on this legislation. There’s so much economic pressure on so many people right now that some folks have to go to work even they know they’re sick, and know they can get others sick. And you shouldn’t have to. So yes, you will make your hourly rate.
If you’re someone who’s a tipped worker, you won’t get your tips obviously, but you will get the minimum wage for non-tipped workers. So you’ll be getting that higher wage. That’s part of the Colorado constitution.
I’m a small business owner in Thornton. I can’t afford to pay every employee who leaves their remaining paid leave time after they quit. What are you going to do to make sure that we don’t have to take on a huge financial liability?
Representative Yadira Caraveo: This bill does not require you to pay out paid sick days benefits after an employee leaves. The paid sick days are the amount of time that an employee can take while they are employed — it’s different than vacation days.
