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Agricultural Labor Rights and Responsibilities

On June 25, 2021, Senate Bill 21-087 (“SB87”), on agricultural labor rights and responsibilities, was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis. SB87 took effect as law immediately upon being signed, with provisions taking effect with varied dates, and with the CDLE Division of Labor Standards and Statistics tasked with adopting and publishing rules to implement and enforce SB87. After an eight months of public outreach, stakeholder engagement, and rulemaking processes, the Division adopted all rules by January 31, 2022, and then published guidance on SB87 and those rules by February 28, 2022:

  • on the Division rules page, for rules related to SB87, see
    • Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order (“COMPS Order”) #38, 7 CCR 1103-1 (wage-and-hour and related rules),
    • the Agricultural Labor Conditions Rules, 7 CCR 1103-15 (heat protection, service provider access, and related rules),
    • the Colorado Whistleblower, Anti-Retaliation, Non-Interference, and Notice-Giving Rules (“Colorado WARNING Rules”), 7 CCR 1103-11 (anti-retaliation, notices of rights, and related rules), and
    • from the Division’s rulemaking process, all written comments received from the public,
  • on the Division published guidance page, for rules related to SB87, see 
    • INFO #12, a one-page summary of agricultural labor rights and responsibilities, and
    • INFO #12A-12D, more detailed guidance on the specifics of each right and responsibility under SB87 and Division rules

Advisory Committee (and sub-committee) Meeting Location:

Virtual: 

  • Topic: Agricultural Work Advisory Committee Meeting
  • Time: April 9, 2025 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
    • 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM: Labor Conditions Subcommittee
    • 11:00AM to 12:00 PM: Wages Subcommittee
  • Join Zoom Meeting: April 9, 2025 Zoom Meeting Link
    • Meeting ID: 899 8002 5161
      Passcode: 323041

Agricultural Work Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda

April 9, 2025:

March 12, 2025:

February 5, 2025:

January 8, 2025:

2024 Meeting Agendas, Minutes, Documents, and Recordings

2022 and 2023 Meeting Agendas, Minutes, Documents, and Recordings

 

Under COMPS Rule 2.3.2(C), highly seasonal employers may pay weekly overtime after 56 hours (rather than 48 hours) during up to 22 peak weeks if they provide employees with disclosures and written notices about overtime and peak weeks.  

The disclosure must be provided to employees at least once a year and at least 30 days before the first expected peak week. The disclosure must include (1) notice that during peak weeks, overtime will be paid for hours over 56; (2) how the employer plans to group those peak weeks — whether the employer’s up to 22 peak weeks per year will be divided into one, two, or three periods (of four weeks or more); and (3) a good-faith estimate of the months the peak weeks will be in.  

Written notice of which weeks will be the peak weeks must be provided to employees at least once a year and no later than the seventh day before the first peak week starts. After that notice, the employer may change which weeks are the peak weeks if (1) it provides at least one week’s written notice of any week being added or removed as a peak week, (2) the initial disclosure was the employer’s good-faith estimate of which weeks would be the peak weeks, and (3) the changes are based on reasons the employer did not expect, such as a late frost.

Notices and disclosures about agricultural overtime and peak weeks must be provided in English and any language that is the first language spoken by at least five percent of the workers at the site at any point during the year.

Highly seasonal agricultural employers may, but are not required to, use the Division’s courtesy forms, provided here, to meet the notice and disclosure requirements: