- Home
- Government
- Departments, Divisions, & Offices
- Public Health
- COVID-19
- Employer & Workforce Guidance
Employer & Workforce Guidance
What Grand County Employers and Workforce need to know about the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act and Updated Guidance on Public Health Emergency Leave as we continue our COVID-19 Response
(Information is sourced directly from The Colorado Department of Labor & Employment and The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment)
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has continued its guidance surrounding paid sick leave requirements under the Colorado HFWA.
As of January 1, 2022, no employers — public or private, and any size or industry — are exempt (other than the federal government), and no employees are exempt either (other than some railroad employees). HFWA provides two types of leave: public health emergency leave and accrued leave. For both emergency and accrued leave:
- It must be paid for time on leave, and at the same pay rate the employee earns during time worked.
- It can’t be counted against employees as absences that may lead to firing or other negative action.
- No “waiver” is allowed; employers and employees can’t choose, for example, to have higher pay for time worked instead of the paid sick leave that HFWA requires.
- Employers can require documentation for accrued paid sick leave (not for COVID-related public health emergency leave), but only for absences of four or more consecutive days — and employees can provide the documentation after the leave ends.
Emergency leave is usable for a range of COVID-related needs, not just for confirmed cases. COVID-related needs include:
- illness with COVID symptoms
- quarantining or isolating due to COVID exposure
- COVID testing
- vaccination and side effects
- inability to work due to health conditions that may increase susceptibility or risk of COVID
- COVID-related needs of family (illness, school closure, etc.).
Outbreak control to keep our Grand County businesses open:
- Continue to encourage vaccinations among staff. Visit https://covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine or https://www.co.grand.co.us/vaccine for information of vaccine eligibility, providers, and all associated information
- Standard hygiene practices
- Perform routine cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces by customers and employees such as counters, registers, and door handles, workstations, countertops and doorknobs. If possible in your workplace, clean between each individual customer.
- Place posters that encourage staying home when sick, wearing masks, cough and sneeze etiquette, and hand hygiene at the entrance to your workplace and in other workplace areas where they are likely to be seen.
- Clean hands often:
- Use soap and water and wash for 20 seconds. Soap and water definitely should be used if hands are visibly dirty.
- Alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol may be used after customer interactions, but should not replace washing hands often with soap and water.
- All known or suspected outbreaks of COVID-19 must be reported to the appropriate local public health agency within four hours. If you suspect that multiple staff members are known or suspected to have COVID-19 please contact us for further guidance.
- For questions regarding Critical Infrastructure Workers please visit Critical infrastructure workers FAQ | Colorado COVID-19 Updates for more information.
All other information can be found on Colorado Department of Health and Environment and Grand County Public Health webpages.
Public Health | Grand County, CO - Official Website
Home | Department of Public Health & Environment (colorado.gov)