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July 23, 2025

This is an official communication of Colorado's Department of Labor and Employment.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE)’s Compliance Quarterly provides employers with important reminders, upcoming deadlines and engagement opportunities relevant to the labor laws enforced by CDLE’s regulatory divisions. Update your subscriber preferences and make sure your colleagues are subscribed by sharing this link.

Need to Know

Rules & Regs

Upcoming Deadlines & Effective Dates

Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (DLSS)

• The following bills adopted during the 2025 Colorado Legislative Session and enforced by DLSS may impact Colorado employers:
  • House Bill 25-1001 (effective Aug. 6, 2025) makes several amendments to the Colorado Wage Act, including:
    • Changing the definition of “employer” for purposes of wage and hour laws to include an individual who owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interest in an employer;
    • Allowing DLSS to waive the penalty for an employer's failure to pay claimed wages in certain cases;
    • Requiring DLSS to publish violation citations on its website; and
    • Providing for fines for misclassifying non-employees.
  • House Bill 25-1328 (effective Aug. 6, 2025) implements recommendations made by the Direct Care Workforce Stabilization Board, including:
    
    • Requiring DLSS to collaborate with the board and other entities to establish a comprehensive “know your rights” (KYR) training for direct care workers and requiring direct care employers to document each direct care worker’s completion of the training;
  • Senate Bill 25-128 (effective May 29, 2025) amends the Agricultural Labor Rights and Responsibilities Act, repealing provisions that prohibit an employer from interfering with an agricultural employee's access to service providers on private land, and prohibiting an employer from interfering with a worker’s access to service providers through remote channels on the employer's property.

Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)

• Avoid penalties or interest! The following reports and payments are due July 31, 2025:
  • Quarterly wage reports
  • Corresponding premium payments
  • Quarterly private plan reports 

• If you need assistance in preparing your FAMLI wage reports, please see FAMLI’s collection of how-to-videos, user guides, file specifications, and sample templates for help.

• New leave type & lowered premiums coming January 1, 2026: SB 25-144 lowers FAMLI premiums to 0.88% of wages and adds a new category of paid leave, called “Neonatal Care Leave,” for parents with a newborn receiving treatment in a neonatal intensive care unit. These changes take effect January 1,  2026. More information is available on the FAMLI blog.
• Average wage increases: The 2025-26 state average weekly wage (SAWW) is now $1,534.94. This means that, effective July 1 of this year, the weekly FAMLI benefits max increased to $1,381.45. This does not impact your premium payments.

Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI)

• UI quarterly wage detail reports and premium payments are due Thursday, July 31, 2025. Reports must include monthly employee data. Visit the UI Division’s Wage Reporting page for more information and resources.
  
  • Accounts with delinquent quarterly wage reports are subject to a $50 penalty for each delinquent quarter. (Newly liable employers are subject to a $10 penalty.)
  • Past-due premium or penalty payments are subject to interest charged at a rate of 1.5 percent (0.015) per month, or any portion of a month.
  • Learn more on the Interest and Penalties page.

Division of Workers’ Compensation (DOWC)

• With the updated Rule 16: Utilization Standards, the DOWC adopted rule language that eliminates a longstanding requirement that a physician personally examine an injured worker in-person within the first three visits post-injury, effective July 1, 2025.
• The DOWC also adopted HIPAA X12 standards for electronic billing of medical claims, effective January 1, 2026. Medical bills will be required to be submitted and processed in a HIPAA-compliant electronic format.
• Two bills were adopted during the 2025 Colorado Legislative Session that impact workers' compensation. The 2025 Legislative Update highlights some of the key changes these bills address, DOWC rule changes, form and publication updates, and additional changes affecting workers' compensation in Colorado.

Upcoming Rulemaking Dates

Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)

• A proposed amendment to the rule governing private plan maintenance fees will be filed July 31, 2025 and proposed amendments to other FAMLI rules will be filed on September 15. Public hearing dates to discuss all rule proposals will be announced soon. Check our Rules and Regulations page for updates.

Division of Oil & Public Safety (OPS)

• The Conveyance program is continuing to solicit feedback from stakeholders on proposed revisions to regulations. View proposed regulation revisions here. These regulations are set to be effective Jan 1, 2026.

Tech Updates 

Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)

• Healthcare License Expiration Notice: The My FAMLI+ portal now alerts healthcare providers (HCPs) when their license is about to expire. HCPs will get a notification in their account message center and by email 30 days before the expiration date — so they can update it in time and avoid disruptions to claim certifications.
• My FAMLI+ Employer: Release 16 is slated for August.

Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI)

• Out-of-state wage credit processing: The Division is reviewing out-of-state wage credit requests if the wages being adjusted were reported to CO within the last six quarters and are verifiable within the Interstate Connection Network (ICON) system. See How to Manage Out-of-State Wage Credits for more information and instructions.
• Account reactivations; modifying qualifying and liability dates: Employer and TPA users can submit a “Contact Us” request in MyUI Employer+ to reactivate an employer account, or to request changes to the account’s liability or qualifying date. Visit the How-to Reactivate an Employer Account page for more information and instructions.

Division of Workers’ Compensation (DOWC)

• The DOWC is modernizing its claims database system to enhance how the DOWC serves stakeholders. The new system, called CoComp, will feature an updated, user-friendly design that automates work processes where possible, significantly reducing the need for batch processing. DOWC is in the earliest stages of modernization, so keep an eye out for future updates. If you have questions, please email Education & Outreach at cdle_dowc_communications@state.co.us.

Nice to Know

Upcoming Engagement Opportunities

CDLE’s Quarterly Compliance Live Webinar

Join us for our next Compliance Quarterly Live Webinar on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 11 a.m. Division leaders will be presenting the important updates mentioned above, and we’ll answer as many questions as we can. Register in advance. Space for our live webinars is limited, so join early. If we reach capacity before you are able to join on Zoom, the webinar will be streamed live on YouTube. We'll answer questions from both our Zoom and YouTube audiences.

If you attended our last session in Q2, share your feedback and identify topics you’d like to hear more about by filling out this short survey.

Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (DLSS)

• The Office of Labor Standards can provide webinars, in-person presentations or other types of outreach tools addressing a wide variety of topics  like minimum wage and overtime pay, paid sick leave, pay transparency and much more.
• Use the Labor Standards Outreach Request Form to request a presentation.

Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)

• Take the My FAMLI+ Employer feedback survey to help FAMLI determine what and how the Division prioritizes potential enhancements that serve your businesses, your clients and your employees best:

Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI)

• Share your thoughts on UI reporting processes and requirements in the Q2 UI Compliance Survey:

• Sign up for a free workshop and learn more about Colorado’s unemployment insurance laws. Learn more and RSVP for an upcoming workshop on the Understanding Unemployment Insurance page.

Division of Workers’ Compensation (DOWC)

• DOWC is hosting the 2025 Legislative Updates webinar to cover pertinent changes to workers’ compensation law. The session will start at 11 a.m. MT on August 12, 2025. You must register in advance on Zoom to attend.
• The Colorado Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference (CWCEC) will be back at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs from March 9-11, 2026. Get alerted when registration opens by signing up for the Colorado Workers' Compensation Educational Conference email list.

Division of Oil & Public Safety (OPS)

• OPS is hosting “Outreach 2025: Keys to Compliance” this fall. Agency members and industry partners can attend either in Grand Junction on August 20, 2025 or in Aurora on September 18, 2025. OPS will present information regarding regulation revisions for Boiler and Conveyance programs as well as updates in Petroleum and certification training for Liquified Petroleum Gas. To register, sponsor or exhibit, please see the Outreach 2025 website.
• Some OPS programs provide in-person information sessions, upon request. To request a session, visit ops.colorado.gov and look for the Contact Us link on your program of interest.

Resources & Toolkits

Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (DLSS)

• The DLSS Labor Law Guidance & Education webpage includes multiple forms of published guidance for Colorado employers and employees:
  
  • INFOs: (Interpretive Notices and Formal Opinions) — the Division’s approved notices, opinions, and explanations on various labor law topics.
  • KNOWLEDGEs: (Knowledge for Workers on Labor Law is Empowering & Drives Good Employment) — one-page summaries for employees on their labor rights.
  • Labor Law Videos: These are short educational videos about Colorado labor laws, including “Break Times,” “Final Pay,” and “What are Impermissible Deductions. " Many more educational labor law videos are coming soon.
  • Other published labor law guidance that includes public notices, reports, and other releases from DLSS

Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)

• File specifications and file templates for wage reporting for third party administrators (TPAs) are published on FAMLI’s TPA page.
• User guides and how-to videos for employers are published on the My FAMLI+ Employer page.
• User guides and how-to videos for the appeals process are published on FAMLI’s appeals page.
• FAMLI also has various tools to help employers communicate with staff available in the toolkit and marketing kit.

Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI)

• Employers can find more information and resources to manage their UI account on the Employer Resources page.
• TPAs can find more information and resources to manage employer UI accounts on the Division’s TPA Toolkit page.

Division of Workers’ Compensation (DOWC)

• The DOWC recently premiered its new Workers’ Compensation 101 for Injured Workers video, available in English and Spanish. The video provides an accessible overview of the claims process, medical care options, and employee rights following a workplace injury. While designed to support injured workers, it can also be a valuable educational tool for all stakeholders. The DOWC also offers Workers' Compensation 101 for Employers. A Spanish version of the video for employers is also available.

Division of Oil & Public Safety (OPS)

• The Petroleum Program has finalized several updates to various report formats including the Remediation Combined Report. These can be found on the OPS home page under “What’s New?”