Colorado Passes New Extreme Temperature Standard

On June 4, 2026, Governor Jared Polis signed HB 26-1272, expanding Colorado’s heat protections beyond agricultural workers to employees across all industries. The law takes effect August 12, 2026.

Before HB 26-1272, Colorado’s temperature-related worker protections were limited mainly to agricultural heat exposure. The law now applies to employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, agricultural employers, state and local governments, and entities that contract with five or more independent contractors in Colorado annually. Covered employers must protect workers exposed to extreme heat and cold temperatures at the worksite with measures such as temperature mitigation, rest breaks, and temperature-related injury and illness prevention plans.

HB 26-1272 amends Article 14.4 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and requires the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (division) within the Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to implement the law in two phases.

By January 15, 2027, the division must begin building the law’s data infrastructure by creating a public CDLE reporting platform for temperature-related worksite incidents, obtaining heat-related injury and illness data from department of public health and environment’s (CDPHE) syndromic surveillance program, and collecting data at least twice yearly from the Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Center for Improving Value in Health Care. The data will support rulemaking and help Colorado track temperature-related workplace harm.

By July 1, 2028, the division must develop a model Temperature-Related Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (TRIIPP) and post it on the CDLE website. The model must include written procedures for no-cost access to cool, potable drinking water; cool-down or warm-up rest areas; workplace temperature monitoring; 14-day acclimatization for new or returning workers; training on temperature-related injury and illness symptoms; and emergency response.

The division may adopt implementing rules, incorporate and adapt established TRIIPP models, and must review and update the model TRIIPP at least every five years. See the Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections Bill.

Please contact a Husch Blackwell Workplace Safety & Health attorney with any questions about Colorado’s new extreme temperature standard.

Written with the assistance of Elise Cloonan, a summer associate in Husch Blackwell’s Denver office.