With the 2026 Colorado legislative session now complete, we have a full picture of which labor and employment bills advanced, which were vetoed, and what employers need to know now.
The table below summarizes the final disposition of all bills covered in our earlier update.
| Bill | Topic | Final Status |
| SB26-093 | Workers’ Comp Insurance Coverage Verification | Signed into law |
| SB26-189 | Automated Decision-Making Technology | Signed into law |
| HB26-1045 | Disabilities Housing Protection | Signed into law |
| HB26-1207 | Disclosure of Demographic Workforce Data | Signed into law |
| HB26-1272 | Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections | Signed into law |
| SB26-175 | Adjust Experience Modification in Workers’ Compensation | Signed into law |
| HB26-1210 | Surveillance Wage Setting | Vetoed |
| HB26-1236 | Arbitration Reform | Vetoed |
| HB26-1005 | Worker Protection Collective Bargaining | Vetoed |
| HB26-1054 | Protections for Worker Safety | Failed to pass |
| SB26-087 | Job Protection for General Assembly Members | Failed to pass |
| HB26-1319 | Right to Be Out at Work | Failed to pass |
| SB26-127 | Family Medical Leave Insurance Duration Extensions | Failed to pass |
| SB26-081 | Agricultural Employee Overtime Protections | Postponed indefinitely |
Of the bills signed into law, the Disclosure of Demographic Workforce Data (HB26-1207) and Protections Regarding Seizures of Identification Documents (HB26-1283) are of particular importance for employers.
Disclosure of Demographic Workforce Data (HB26-1207)
Beginning July 1, 2027, private Colorado employers with 100 or more employees must submit demographic workforce data to the Colorado Secretary of State. While these employers already report this information, known as “EEO-1 data,” to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the new law adds a state-level reporting obligation through employers’ periodic reports to the Secretary of State. The required data mirrors the federal EEO-1 form as it existed on March 1, 2026, including counts of employees by race or ethnicity, sex, and job category.
The law was enacted against the backdrop of the EEOC’s proposal to discontinue federal EEO-1 reporting. Notably, Colorado employers must continue reporting this data to the Secretary of State even if the federal requirement is repealed. Colorado is not alone in this approach — California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey have also established their own state-level reporting frameworks. Multi-state employers should track requirements in each jurisdiction where they operate as demographic workforce data reporting is increasingly becoming a state-level consideration for compliance planning.
Significant implementation questions remain open, including whether employers’ demographic workforce data will be publicly available in the same manner as periodic reports. It also remains unclear whether reporting requirements will apply only to Colorado-based employees or to multi-state employers’ entire workforce. Employers should monitor guidance from the Secretary of State and begin evaluating their data reporting infrastructure and internal data governance practices ahead of the July 2027 deadline.
Protections Regarding Seizures of Identification Documents (HB26-1283)
Governor Polis signed HB26-1283 into law on June 3, 2026, which took effect immediately. The law creates new requirements for employers when handling employees’ and applicants’ government-issued identification.
Under the new law, Colorado employers may not demand, confiscate, retain, or otherwise require any employee, applicant, or worker, including migrant and seasonal workers, to surrender their government-issued identification. Narrow exceptions apply for routine I-9 employment eligibility verification, retention required or permitted by state or federal law, or retention pursuant to a signed judicial warrant.
For I-9 employment eligibility verification, employers may temporarily retain an individual’s government-issued identification card only as long as necessary to verify employment eligibility and copy the card, and in no case for more than ten hours. Employers may retain a copy in their records.
The law also imposes a new notice obligation. During employment eligibility verification, employers must provide written notice of the protections against confiscation of identification documents in English and, if the employer knows the individual’s primary language is not English, in the individual’s primary language. Employers must obtain the individual’s acknowledgment and retain both the notice and acknowledgment in their employment records.
The penalties for violations are significant. An employer who knowingly violates the confiscation prohibition commits criminal possession of an identification document, a class 2 misdemeanor. If the offense is motivated by the individual’s race, national origin, or other protected characteristic—or involves threatening to turn the document over to federal immigration authorities—it may be elevated to a bias-motivated crime, a class 1 misdemeanor. Affected individuals may also bring a civil action to recover damages.
Colorado employers should immediately review their I-9 and onboarding processes to confirm that identification documents are returned promptly after verification, retention does not exceed ten hours, and required notices are integrated into hiring workflows. Employers using third-party administrators or staffing agencies for onboarding should confirm those agents are also compliant, as the law applies equally to employer agents.
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Employers should prioritize planning for enacted laws with near-term effective dates, including SB26-189 and SB26-175, both effective January 1, 2027, and HB26-1272, with initial obligations beginning January 1, 2027. We will continue to monitor developments and provide practical guidance to help employers keep their policies and practices compliant.
If you have questions about these developments, please contact Barbara Grandjean, Ashley Jordaan, Shawna Ruetz, Keith Ybanez, Owen Davis, Marina Fleming, Charlotte Rhoad, or your Husch Blackwell attorney.
Written with the assistance of Pema St.Germain, a summer associate in Husch Blackwell’s Denver office.