There’s an old expression that goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” While that proverb generally holds true for weather, the 2025 year in the employment/human resources law arena has started out like a really, super big lion.

Like really big.

After all, it seems that a day doesn’t go by without another announcement about a bill, executive order, regulation, etc., that could significantly impact employment/human resources law for Colorado employers. Here are some of the Colorado bills and other measures that Colorado employers are facing:

Colorado Worker Protection Collective Bargaining (SB25-005). This bill would repeal a Colorado labor law that has been in place since the early 1940s. The existing bill, which is known as the Labor Peace Act, requires a union to win two votes approving the union, with the second requiring an affirmative vote of 75 percent of the employees, before all employees are required to pay dues.

The proposed bill (i.e., SB25-005) would eliminate the second vote (i.e., only one vote would be required). Recently, the Colorado Senate passed the bill, and sent it to the House, where it is also expected to pass, which would send it to the governor.

FAMLI Modifications. Way back in 2020, Colorado voters passed the paid family and medical leave insurance program (FAMLI). As you’ll recall, Colorado FAMLI provides for 12 to 16 weeks of paid leave for employees who meet certain conditions. FAMLI also requires the employee’s employer to hold the employee’s job until the employee returns and maintain the employee’s health-care benefits during the duration of their leave.

Recently, the Colorado Legislature proposed a change to FAMLI that concerned limiting the rights of employees that work at a highly specialized employer. That bill, though, was quickly shelved.

Then, on February 25, 2025, another bill was propounded in the Senate that would: (1) increase the leave available to parents who have a child receiving inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit; and (2) reduce the premium payment from its current rate of 0.9 percent to 0.88 percent in 2026. Unlike the “highly specialized” bill, this bill could have the legs to go the distance.

President Trump’s executive order regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion put on hold by a Maryland Court. On Jan. 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that identified the intent to terminate most Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives in the federal government. While the order mostly concerns federal departments and their agencies, it did have implications regarding DEI programs in the private sector.

That is, the president ordered “all agencies to enforce (the Country’s) longstanding civil rights laws and to combat illegal private sector DEI preferences.” So, the president’s order did not identify that DEI programs in private organizations are illegal. Instead, the order sought to deter DEI programs that constitute illegal/unlawful discrimination, often referred to as “unlawful reverse discrimination.”

But the Country’s law protecting against discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on certain protected classifications (e.g., sex, race, national origin), as identified in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, remains in effect.

This executive order has been the subject of a number of litigations wherein parties requested courts to limit the executive order or strike it down. In fact, on Feb. 21, 2025, a Maryland federal court handling one of the litigations issued a nationwide injunction preventing, at least temporarily, enforcement of three key provisions in the order on the basis that the executive order violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution. The president’s administration is very likely to appeal this ruling, so this is far from a settled landscape.

In addition to these bills and orders, the Colorado Legislature is seeking to amend current law regarding non compete agreements, how wage claims are addressed by the Colorado Department of Labor, and the tip credit in cities and counties that have raised their local minimum wage above the statewide minimum amount. This later bill would, for example, lower the minimum wage for Denver restaurant employees from $15.79 to $11.79.

In short, the year has just begun, but efforts to modify existing employment/human resources laws seem to crop up every day. And it’s certain to be an interesting legislative year that is unlikely to be described as “going out like a lamb.”