New Law Lets Colorado Workers Earn Paid Sick Leave
DENVER (CBS4) - All workers in Colorado will have a legal right to paid sick time, under a law signed Tuesday by Gov. Jared Polis.
The Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act guarantees workers the right to earn paid sick time. Workers will be able to earn, based on hours worked, up to 48 hours of paid sick time a year that can be used for personal or family health needs and needs related to domestic abuse and sexual assault. The law also provides additional paid sick leave during a declared public health emergency.
"Amidst the pandemic and resulting economic crisis, this law will help give Coloradans the relief they need—especially those working in low wage jobs, who are less likely to have access to this important protection," supporters stated. "Paid sick leave has been shown to improve public health, reduce the spread of contagion, and provide a critical safety net to workers who are struggling to make ends meet. "
Gov. Polis said no one should go to work sick.
"Somebody who works in food services restaurant, a store, they might go to work sick because they simply have no paid sick leave," Polis said. "Now they will in Colorado. That's very important for this pandemic, for us to be successful. People who are ill should not go into work, nobody who is has any symptoms should go into work."
"It could be a cold, it could also be coronavirus, which has an active community spread in our state and often starts with cold-like symptoms," Polis said.
