Colorado generally prohibits restrictive covenants, except in narrow circumstances. On May 8, 2025, the Colorado Legislature passed Senate Bill 25-083, which imposes three significant new limitations on the use of restrictive covenants for certain healthcare providers and narrows their application in business sales. These changes will apply to agreements entered into or renewed on or after August 6, 2025. Current Law Overview Under current law (C.R.S. § 8-2-113), non-compete and customer non-solicitation agreements are enforceable only in certain circumstances. For instance, non-competes are enforceable for “highly compensated individuals” when the agreement is reasonably necessary to protect an employer’s trade secrets. However, covenants that restrict a physician’s right to practice medicine after leaving an employer are already void under Colorado law. Key Changes Under SB25-083 Broader Ban on Non-Competes for Healthcare Providers The amendment prohibits non-compete and non-solicitation agreements for certain licensed healthcare providers, even if they meet the "highly compensated" threshold. This includes those who: Practice medicine or dentistry Engage in advanced practice registered nursing Are certified midwives Fall under additional categories listed in C.R.S. § 12-240-113 Liquidated Damages in Physician Contracts Previously, physician employment agreements could include liquidated damages tied to termination or competition. This amendment removes that provision, meaning that: Agreements with unlawful restrictive covenants are unenforceable. Agreements without unlawful provisions remain enforceable and may still carry damages or equitable remedies. It remains unclear whether competition-related liquidated damages are still enforceable under the new law. Expanded Patient Communication Rights Medical providers can no longer be restricted from informing patients about: Their continued medical practice New professional contact information The patient’s right to choose their healthcare provider Confidentiality and trade secret agreements are still allowed, as long as they don’t prevent sharing general knowledge. New Limitations on Business Sale Non-Competes Colorado law has long permitted non-competes in connection with the purchase or sale of a business. SB25-083 narrows this by: Allowing non-competes only for owners of a business interest Placing time limits on non-competes for minority owners or those who received ownership through equity compensation For these individuals, the non-compete duration is capped using a formula: Total consideration received ÷ Average annual cash compensation in the prior two years, or the duration of employment if less than two years. For questions and assistance regarding the upcoming changes to restrictive covenants in Colorado, please contact your Polsinelli attorney.

Many state and local government employment laws go into effect this summer. Here is a non-exhaustive list of mid-year employment law updates. To hear a discussion on what you need to know from 2024 and more information about complying with these changing laws, regulations, and rulings, we invite you to register here for a webinar on September 26 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET. Contact your Polsinelli attorney if you have any questions or need assistance regarding employment law compliance for these legal updates.

On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued final guidance on workplace harassment. The guidance is effective immediately and is the first time the EEOC has updated its workplace harassment guidance since 1999. It reflects changes in the law in the last two decades, including making clear that federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The guidance provides an overview of anti-harassment laws but does not change legal requirements currently applicable to employers. While the guidance is not law and not binding on a court, it is intended to serve as a resource for employers, employees, and others, and provides insight into how the EEOC views various topics related to workplace harassment. Employers should review the guidance because it provides 75+ examples, as well as other information, that can be helpful in understanding the nuances of anti-harassment laws. For example, the guidance notes that “[n]ot all harassing conduct violates the law, even if it is because of a legally protected characteristic,” and it provides several examples of unlawful harassment. The guidance also covers topics such as establishing causation, hostile work environment, liability for harassment claims, and remote work. If you have any questions about workplace harassment, contact your Polsinelli attorney.

Chicago employers will soon need to ensure that they provide leave in accordance with a new Chicago law. Specifically, on December 31, 2023, the Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance will go into effect in the City of Chicago. This new law will require employers to provide Chicago employees up to 40 hours of paid sick leave to be available for use for specific sick leave purposes AND up to 40 hours of paid leave to be used for any reason each year. By December 31, 2023, employers must have a written policy in place, give notice of the policy to their employees, and post a notice to be provided by the City of Chicago. The Chicago ordinance applies to any employers with at least one employee who work at least two hours in a two-week period in the City of Chicago. Employers can choose for paid leave to accrue throughout the year or front-load the required leave for employees at the beginning of the year. If employees accrue leave throughout the year, each covered employee must accrue one hour of paid sick leave and one hour of paid leave to be used for any reason for every 35 hours an employee works. Under the ordinance, employers may have to pay out unused paid leave available for use for any reason upon separation of employment or transfer of employment outside Chicago, depending on the size of the employer. Specifically, employers with 100 or more employees must pay out accrued but unused paid leave that is available for use for any reason upon separation of employment or if the employee transfers to work outside of Chicago. Employers with 51-100 employees must pay out up to 16 hours of this leave through January 1, 2025. After January 1, 2025, these employees will have to pay out all accrued but unused paid leave available for use for any reason. Employers with 50 or less employees have no pay out requirements. Additionally, the pay out requirements do not apply to accrued but unused paid sick leave. Further, Chicago employees must be allowed to rollover up to 80 hours of accrued but unused paid sick leave and 16 hours of general paid leave at the end of the year. If you have questions or would like assistance preparing paid leave policies, contact your Polsinelli attorney.

Just in time for the summer holidays, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued an opinion letter providing guidance regarding calculating the amount of leave used when an employee takes federal Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave during a week with a holiday. The DOL explained that, if an employee takes a full week of FMLA leave during a week with a holiday, the holiday has no effect on FMLA leave and the employee will use a full week of FMLA leave. For example, if an employee takes FMLA leave from July 3, 2023 – July 7, 2023, which includes the Fourth of July holiday, the full week will count as FMLA leave and reduce the amount of FMLA leave the employee has available accordingly. If, on the other hand, an employee takes intermittent FMLA leave during a week with a holiday and the employee was not expected or scheduled to work on the holiday, the holiday does not count toward the employee’s FMLA leave. For example, if an employee takes FMLA leave on Monday, July 3, 2023, and Wednesday, July 5, 2023; Tuesday, July 4, 2023, is a company holiday; and the employee works the rest of the week, the employee will use 2 days of FMLA leave. However, if the employee would have been expected or scheduled to work on Tuesday, July 4, 2023 if the employee did not take FMLA leave, and the employee uses FMLA leave to not work on July 4, the Fourth of July holiday counts as FMLA leave and reduces the amount of FMLA leave the employee has available. The DOL noted that deducting a holiday from an employee’s available FMLA leave when an employee takes intermittent leave in a block of less than a week constitutes unlawful interference with an employee’s FMLA rights. Employers should ensure that they properly calculate an employee’s FMLA leave during a week with a holiday. If you have any questions about FMLA requirements, contact your Polsinelli attorney.

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (“PUMP”) for Nursing Mothers Act into law. The law went into effect immediately, as we previously reported.  The United States Department of Labor has now issued a field assistance bulletin providing guidance to the Wage and Hour Division on the enforcement of the PUMP Act. The guidance explains that covered employers must “provide nursing employees reasonable break time each time such employee has a need to pump breast milk at work for one year after the child’s birth.” (Emphasis in Bulletin). The guidance further explains that, although an employee and employer may agree to a schedule for pumping, “an employer cannot require an employee to adhere to a fixed schedule that does not meet the employee’s need for break time each time the employee needs to pump.” Additionally, if the employer and employee agree to a schedule, it should be adjusted if the employee’s pumping needs change. The PUMP Act does not require employers to pay employees for break time used to pump, but the guidance clarifies that employers should consider whether breaks need to be paid pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and applicable state and local laws. Per the guidance, non-exempt employees should be paid for time spent pumping unless the employee is completely relieved from all work duties. For exempt employees, an employer cannot reduce the employees’ salary to compensate for the pumping break time. In addition to requiring employers to provide time to pump breast milk, covered employers must provide nursing employees a place to pump breast milk at work that is shielded from view, free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, available each time it is needed by the employee, and not a bathroom. The guidance explains that the space must also be functional for pumping and “contain a place for the nursing employee to sit, and a flat surface, other than the floor, on which to place the pump.” Additionally, employees “must be able to safely store milk while at work, such as in an insulated food container, personal cooler, or refrigerator.” Employers may not retaliate against an employee for asserting rights under the PUMP Act, and an employee may file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division or a lawsuit against an employee for a violation of the PUMP Act. Finally, the guidance reminds employers to post and keep a notice regarding the FLSA’s requirements. The notice is available from the Wage and Hour Division and was recently updated to address the PUMP Act requirements. Employers should ensure that their policies and procedures comply with the updated guidance and that they have an appropriate space available for nursing employees.  If you have any questions about the requirements under the PUMP Act, contact your Polsinelli attorney.

Historically, a pregnant woman with a “normal” pregnancy was not considered “disabled” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and, therefore, there was no requirement for employers to provide her with a reasonable accommodation during pregnancy. Effective June 29, 2023, that rule will change. On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law two laws protecting pregnant and nursing mothers. The two laws are the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (“PUMP”) for Nursing Mothers Act. Each of these Acts provides new, additional protections to pregnant women. The PWFA provides that covered employers must provide “reasonable accommodations” to allow pregnant workers to perform the essential functions of their positions. PWFA incorporates various definitions from the ADA and, as a result of that, employers must engage in the interactive process with pregnant employees who request an accommodation in order to attempt, in good faith, to reach such an accommodation which may include temporarily adjusting the non-essential functions of the job and/or leave. The PUMP Act, which went into effect immediately, amends the Fair Labor Standards Act and requires certain employers to provide reasonable break time for all employees, including salaried employees, to express breast milk as needed and to provide a clean and private space for nursing mothers to express milk separate and apart from restrooms. Although some state and local laws already provided employees protections and rights similar to those under the PWFA and the PUMP Act, this is the first time these protections and rights apply under federal law. Employers should ensure that their policies and procedures comply with the PWFA and PUMP Act. If you have any questions about the requirements under these laws, contact your Polsinelli attorney.

In November 2020, Colorado voters approved a ballot initiative for a state-run paid family leave benefits program. Under Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (“FAMLI”) program, employees and most employers will make contributions into the FAMLI fund, and employees may take 12 weeks of paid leave per year for certain family and medical reasons. Employees who suffer serious health conditions caused by pregnancy or childbirth complications may take up to 4 more weeks of paid leave per year for a total of 16 weeks. Deductions from employee wages for contributions to the FAMLI program begin on January 1, 2023, and employees may begin taking FAMLI leave on January 1, 2024. Although employees cannot take leave until 2024, employers must notify employees of FAMLI benefits by January 1, 2023. Specifically, employers must post a poster available on the Colorado FAMLI Program website by January 1, 2023. The poster must be hung in a prominent and visible workplace location. For employers with remote employees, the poster should be shared electronically with employees. Employers can also prepare for the FAMLI requirements by registering with the My FAMLI+ Employer online system through the Colorado FAMLI Program website. The first premium payments from employers are due April 30, 2023. If you have questions about the FAMLI program, contact your Polsinelli attorney, and continue following the Polsinelli at Work blog in 2023 for more information about the FAMLI program.

The Equal Opportunity Clause in federal contracts requires employers to post a notice for employees regarding nondiscrimination. The Officer of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) adopted a new updated poster. In order to maintain compliance, all covered federal contractors should update their posters as soon as possible. In recent years, OFCCP designated the EEO is the Law and its Supplement as the required poster.  Earlier this month the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”)  released an updated workplace nondiscrimination notice. The new notice is titled “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” and is available on the EEOC website and OFCCP website. Per the Equal Opportunity Clause, the notice must be placed in “conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants”. With many applicants applying digitally and more employees working remotely, federal contractor employers should also consider sharing the notice digitally to share the notice with applicants and remote or hybrid workers. While a deadline has not been set for employers to post the updated notice, employers, especially those with a pending or upcoming OFCCP audit, should post the updated notice soon to ensure that they satisfy the posting requirements. Additionally, employers that use a subscription service for required workplace notices should contact their service provider to ensure that they receive the updated version. If you have questions about required notices, contact your Polsinelli attorney.

Federal law requires employers to post a notice for employees regarding federal anti-discrimination laws. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) provides the notice, and the EEOC recently released an updated workplace discrimination notice. The notice is titled “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” and is available now on the EEOC website. The updated notice is more “reader-friendly” than the previous version because it uses simpler language and is more visually appealing. The updated notice also provides employees information not previously provided in the previous version. For example, the updated notice notes that harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination; clarifies that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and provides information about equal pay discrimination for federal contractors. It also includes a QR code that links to the EEOC website about how to file a Charge of Employment Discrimination. Per the EEOC, the notice must be placed in “a conspicuous location in the workplace where notices to applicants and employees are customarily posted.” Employers should also consider sharing the notice digitally to inform remote or hybrid workers of their rights. The EEOC has not set a deadline for employers to post the updated notice, but employers should post the updated notice soon to ensure that they satisfy the posting requirements. Additionally, employers that use a subscription service for required workplace notices should contact their service provider to ensure that they receive the updated version. If you have questions about this notice or other required notices, contact your Polsinelli attorney.