If House Bill 23-1118, the Fair Workweek Employment Standards proposal, passes, it could fundamentally change how retail and restaurant outfits do business in Colorado.
The bill, which was introduced on January 24, proposes to provide shift workers more predictability — and penalizes their employers for not providing that. Among many legal requirements, HB23-1118 requires shift workers to receive their schedule at least fourteen days in advance, charges “predictability pay” to the employer for changes after the fourteen-day threshold, and requires clear record-keeping for shift requests and shift changes.
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Opponents of the bill described how, if passed, the proposal would increase the cost of operations in Colorado — stifling growth, scaring off businesses and, especially for restaurants, hitting them when they’re still down and recovering from the pandemic. An assessment of the business climate showed that the “top concern is the growing cost of doing business in Colorado which we’re currently 36th in the nation,” explained Meghan Dollar, senior vice president of Governmental Affairs and Political Operations for the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. “Bills like 1118 will ensure that Colorado falls even further.”