Colorado Companies Can’t Charge Workers for Protective Equipment

Colorado’s governor signed into law a bill to block businesses in the state from deducting the cost of personal protective equipment from their employees’ wages.

The new law (SB 26-160) prohibits Colorado employers from deducting from an employee’s paycheck the cost of goods or services that primarily benefit the business. The law specifically carves out personal protective equipment as primarily benefiting the business.

Employers with 500 or more workers engaged in the packaging or slaughter of meat are also required to provide workers with reasonable access to bathrooms. The state’s division of labor standards and statistics has the ...