[co-author: Alexis Opper]

This past spring, Colorado legislators enacted several new employment-related laws, including Senate Bill 22-234. The bill provides $600 million in federal pandemic relief funds to replenish Colorado’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and updates the notice requirements employers must follow when providing employees with information about unemployment insurance.

Existing Colorado Notice Requirements

As background, Colorado law already requires employers to inform workers about the availability of unemployment insurance by posting and maintaining notices in the workplace. Employers must also provide unemployment insurance notices to workers upon separation from employment, regardless of the reason for the separation.

Among other requirements, these notices must explain that unemployment benefits are available to unemployed workers who meet Colorado’s eligibility requirements. The notices must also include any information (including contact information) the employee will need to file a claim or inquire about the status of their claim after it is filed. In addition, such notices may be in electronic or hard copy format.

Updates to the Notice Requirements

Under the new bill, unemployment insurance notices must now include the following:

• The employer’s name and address.
• The employee’s name and address.
• The employee’s Social Security number or other identification number.
• The employee’s first and last day worked.
• The employee’s year-to-date earnings and the employee’s wages for the last week the employee worked.
• The reason the employee separated from the employer.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is expected to issue a model notice in the coming weeks. However, since the requirements went into effect as soon as the bill was signed into law on May 25, 2022, employers should act now to update their standard unemployment benefits notices to include the newly required information.

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