I met with my financial advisor, and he pointed out some interesting facts. Since 1925, the stock market has shown positive gains in every presidential election year except for four years. And of those four years, two years were 1932 in the midst of the Great Depression and 1940  during World War II.

There are multiple reasons why this is so. But as many financial observers point out, lawmakers enact much less legislation in election years, and the market loves predictability. This year is no exception. In the current congressional session — from Jan. 1, 2023 to the present — only 45 measures have been enacted into law. Only 10 have been enacted so far in 2024.

I point this out not to predict the performance of investment portfolios this year. Rather, I want to explain why, in part, it’s been a quiet year for employment legislation on both the federal and state levels. So far, the Colorado Legislature has introduced none of the groundbreaking labor and employment bills that marked recent years. Other bills, such as those proposing firearms restrictions, grab more attention. Many of the labor and employment bills the Colorado Legislature has introduced this year are technical or corrective in nature.

One corrective bill, Senate Bill 24-160, could affect public employers in limited circumstances. The Protecting Opportunities and Workers’ Rights (POWR) Act
(SB23-172) requires employers to maintain personnel and employment records for at least five years and to maintain complaints of discriminatory or unfair employment practices in a designated repository. But the POWR Act specified records in the depository aren’t public records, but rather personnel records government entities can release only under those limited circumstances specified by the Colorado Open Records Act.

Senate Bill 23-286 amended CORA to require a custodian of records to make any record of a sexual harassment complaint against an elected official available to the public if the investigation concludes the elected official committed sexual harassment and the custodian redacts the identities of accusers, witnesses, victims or an accused who’s not an elected official. SB-23-286 resolved conflicts between SB23-172 and SB23-286 and clarified the public may access records of sexual harassment complaints against elected officials when the official committed sexual harassment.

House Bill 24-1160 appears headed to passage. This bill amends the Colorado Privacy Code to add protections for individual biometric data and identifiers and imposes new requirements for collectors of biometric data.

Many bills still sit in the appropriations committee. The committee must refer those bills favorably to the legislative body for them to move forward. In some cases, the appropriations committee refers bills back to the original committee for additional work. This session, those bills include:

HB24-1004 specifying violent felonies and misdemeanors for which a state-regulated license can be denied and not permitting review of other offenses after a three-year period.

HB24—1008 expanding wage claim liability of general contractors in the construction industry for claims against their subcontractors.

HB24-1260 prohibiting discipline for employees who refuse to attend an employer’s “captive meeting” on religious or political matters, including meetings intended to discourage participation in labor organizations.

HB24-1132 prohibiting an employer from intimidating, threatening, coercing or discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is or becomes a living organ donor.

Only two bills appear dead in the water. Both bills were postponed indefinitely by unanimous committee votes. HB24-1298 would have prohibited a labor union composed of school employees from directly using union member dues to promote the election or re-election of a public officer or to promote a local or state ballot measure to which the union member has expressed opposition. HB24-1140 would have extended workers’ compensation coverage of mental impairment caused by an accidental injury arising out of and sustained in the course of employment to workers who, while working, experience complex trauma that causes post-traumatic stress disorder.

So far, employers can breathe a little easier this year and focus on the numerous requirements imposed on them over the past two years. This makes it a good time to take stock of compliance.

The Employers Council makes available to its members numerous resources on these legal changes. Consulting and enterprise members may consult with human resources professionals and employment attorneys.