Effective January 1, 2023, regulations under Colorado's
Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) will again change how
employers calculate the rate of pay when employees use paid sick
and safe leave and/or public health emergency leave. Although
employers might welcome certain changes to the pay rate calculation
rules, the fact is that these new regulations amount to the third
time that Colorado's Department of Labor & Employment
(CDLE) has revised the pay rate calculation rules since the HFWA
first took effect in mid-2020. Thus, pay rate calculations under
the HFWA are a moving target, making compliance a challenge.
Statutory Pay Standards: Under the HFWA, paid
leave must be paid at the "same hourly rate or
salary"—which does not include overtime, bonuses, or
holiday pay—and with the same benefits, including health care
benefits, the employee normally earns during hours worked.
Additionally, the HFWA expressly establishes how to calculate the
rate of pay when
