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Employer Liability Chart

Most employers are required to pay Unemployment Insurance (UI) premiums based on various liability criteria. Domestic, agriculture and nonprofit employers have different liability criteria based on the amount of wages paid and the number of employees. There are however some types of employees that employers are not required to pay premiums for. 

Review the Colorado Employment Security Act (CESA) for a full list of employer liability criteria.


General Employer Liability Criteria

  • The employer paid $1,500 or more in wages during a calendar quarter in either the current or previous calendar year.
     
  • The employer employed at least one person for any part of a day for a period of at least 20 weeks during the current or previous calendar year. (This does not have to be the same person for all weeks nor consecutive weeks.)
     
  • The non-liable employer voluntarily elected (and is approved) to participate in the UI program.
     
  • The employer acquired all or part of a Colorado trade, business organization, or a substantial portion of the assets from a predecessor employer who is liable to pay UI premiums.
     
  • The employer is a corporate officer in an LLC reporting to the IRS as a corporation, a corporation or S-Corp.

Employees not covered by CESA

  • Children (under the age of 21) or spouses of sole proprietors or partners in a partnership
     
  • Non-U.S. citizens holding various nonimmigrant visas, including student, exchange-visitor, foreign-vocational-student, and cultural-exchange-visitor visas
     
  • Certain drivers of taxis or limousines
     
  • Certain insurance agents paid by commission only, real-estate or newspaper salesperson paid for performance of service, not hours worked


Domestic Employers

  • The employer paid $1,000 or more in wages to one or more workers in a private home during a calendar quarter.

Employees domestic employers are not liable for

  • Domestic workers who were paid less than $1,000 in any calendar quarter
     
  • Children under the age of 21 or spouses, so long as the organization is a sole proprietorship or partnership


Agricultural Employers

  • The employer paid $20,000 or more in wages to one or more agricultural workers in a calendar quarter, or employed ten or more agricultural workers for some portion of a day in each of 20 different weeks during a calendar year.

Employees agricultural employers are not liable for

  • Agricultural workers who were collectively paid less than $20,000 in a calendar quarter
     
  • Foreign agricultural workers who are holding type H2-A visas


Nonprofit Employers

(religious, educational, and charitable nonprofit organizations)

  • Meets the description in the federal IRC 501(c)(3) and has employed four or more employees for some portion of a day in each of 20 different weeks during a calendar year. These employees do not all have to reside in Colorado.

Employees nonprofit employers are not liable for

  • Workers employed by a church, religious place of worship or religious school, or workers employed by an elementary or secondary school that is operated primarily for religious purposes
     
  • Students or spouses of students employed by a school, college, or university which the student or spouse attends and is employed through a financial aid program or is participating in work-study


Government Employers

  • A state agency, state-operated hospital or school of higher education, or a political subdivision of the state (which can include charter and other PK-12 schools).

Employees government employers are not liable for

  • Elected officials, members of a legislative body, judiciaries of a state, members of the state or Air National Guard, railroad workers insured by the Railroad Retirement Tax Act


Employer Liability Determinations

Employers receive a Liability Determination Notice when the UI Division has determined the employer is responsible for providing UI coverage for its workers, and therefore required to submit quarterly wage reports and UI premium payments.

Liability determinations are issued to employers under the following scenarios:

  • When a former employee files for UI benefits and the Division determines the employer is liable pursuant to Colorado law. The Division reviews the wages the worker has earned from all employers during a specified period. If a business has not reported the worker's wages and has not paid UI premiums on those wages during that period, the Division will make a determination as to whether the worker was engaged in services as an employee for the company. If it is determined the individual was an employee, a Liability Determination will be issued.
  • When the Division conducts field audits to ensure employers are complying with the tax and benefit provisions of CESA. A Liability Determination must be provided to an employer when changes are made to an employer's account (for example, it is found that workers were not properly classified, were not reported as workers, or there were payroll-posting errors). The Liability Determination accompanies the audit findings and details the reason the changes were made to the employer's account.

The Liability Determination becomes final unless a written request for an appeal is received within 20 days of the mailing date of the Liability Determination Notice of liability. Visit the Appeals page for more information about the appeals process.

  Contact UI Employer Services

Denver Metro
(303) 318-9100

Toll-free
1-800-480-8299

UI Employer Services
P.O. Box 8789
Denver, CO 80201-8789