On June 15, 2015, in a 6-0 opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court provided its long-awaited ruling in Coats v. Dish Network, LLC (PDF). The Court affirmed the Colorado Court of Appeals’ decision below, and held that because marijuana is a Schedule I banned substance under federal law, it is not a “lawful” off-duty activity under Colorado law. Therefore, employers such as Dish Network, LLC may terminate employees who test positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), a …

On June 1, 2015, in an 8-1 decision, the United States Supreme Court reversed the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in favor of Abercrombie & Fitch in EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. (PDF) — a case involving a failure-to-accommodate religious discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.…

Five years in the making (previously introduced without success in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012), the Job Protection and Civil Rights Enforcement Act of 2013 (HB 13-1136) (PDF) was introduced again this year in the House on January 18, 2013, and took less than five months to pass through both branches of the Colorado legislature and get signed into law by the Governor on May 6, 2013, despite considerable opposition from business groups.…

On April 19, 2013, Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law SB 13-018, otherwise known as “the Employment Opportunity Act.” The Employment Opportunity Act prohibits employers from obtaining and using consumer credit information for employment purposes unless the credit information is “substantially related” to the position. Currently, there are only 8 other states where employment protections have been adopted for individuals who may have fallen on hard economic times, including California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland,…

  Employers take note of a slew of employment law changes in 2013, including new I-9 forms, new FMLA posters and forms, and new FCRA forms. New I-9 Forms Effective May 7, 2013, new Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9s are required. The new forms are available from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website at:http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf. The new I-9 form was published on March 8, 2013 and must be in place and used by…

While many Coloradoans are taking advantage of their last few ski days of the season, the Colorado legislature has been busy passing new, groundbreaking legislation with respect to civil unions and the use of individual credit histories in employment decisions. How will this new legislation affect employers? Read on.…