Pub. 10 2020-2021 Issue 6

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S March • April 2021 7 1 It should be noted that the HFWA provides a “floor” for paid sick leave and specifically en- courages employers to provide more paid leave if they are able and willing to do so. 2 A “public health emergency” is defined in the statute as an act of bioterrorism, pandemic influenza, epidemic caused by a novel and highly fatal infection agent , or highly infectious illness or epidemic or pandemic potential for which an emergency is declared by a federal, state or local public health agency or a disaster emergency declared by the governor. 3 A family member is broadly defined as an imme- diate family member, a child/person to whom the employee stands, or stood, in loco parentis, or a person for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health care, who needs the employee’s help in getting the listed care. care for themselves or a family member if the employee/family member has symptoms of such illness, to seek medical diagnosis, care or treatment of that illness for themselves or a family member, or to seek preventative care regard- ing that illness for themselves or a family member. It should be noted that employees are only entitled to one supplemental paid sick leave of up to eighty (80) hours per public health emergency. So, for example, if an employee used eighty (80) hours of paid sick leave in 2020 because they had to care for a spouse with COVID-19 and months later — in 2021 — they are diagnosed with COVID-19, the employee is not entitled to the eighty (80) hours of supplemental paid leave again. How- ever, the employee would be entitled to 2021 accrued paid leave, up to forty-eight (48) hours. Additional requirements of the HFWA include the employer maintain- ing records regarding hours worked and paid sick leave accrued and used and posting a notice to employees of their HFWA rights. This requirement can be met by posting a Colorado Department of Labor and Employ- ment poster (specifically, the Colora - do Workplace Public Health Rights Poster: Paid Leave, Whistleblowing, & Protective Equipment poster) in an “easily accessible” place. Based on the numerous require- ments and restrictions briefly (and nec - essarily incompletely) described above, many employers may be in violation of the HFWA already. Even employers who already meet the minimum paid sick leave hourly requirements, many of the “how” and “when” requirements may conflict with employers’ current policies. All such policies should be reviewed and revised. n Julie Trent is a senior attorney with Coan, Payton & Payne, LLC. She practices in all areas of general commercial litigation and employ- ment law, assisting many types of businesses and financial institu - tions in a wide range of cases. SBA 504 WE MAKE IT EASY LET OUR TEAM HELP YOU SECURE THE DEAL AND LOWER YOUR RISK • UP TO 90% OVERALL FINANCING • UP TO 25 YEAR TERM • FIXED-RATE PREFERREDLENDINGPARTNERS.COM | 303.861.4100 Leveraged financing and refinancing of owner occupied real estate and long-term equipment. Most for-profit small businesses eligible. SBA defines businesses with net profit after tax <$5.0 Million and tangible net worth <$15.0 Million as small.