Chapter 19 - § 19.9 • UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 19.9 • UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

§ 19.9.1—In General

The Colorado Employment Security Act (ESA) provides temporary and partial wage replacement to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. C.R.S. Title 8, Articles 70 through 83. See also companion regulations at 7 C.C.R. 1101-2. The program, which is funded by employer-paid taxes, is administered by the Division of Employment and Training of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, which publishes a comprehensive "Unemployment Insurance Handbook for Employers" that describes in detail all aspects of Colorado's unemployment program. The "Unemployment Insurance Handbook for Employers" is available at www.colorado.gov/cdle/unemployment. Taxes are paid on the first $10,000 (before deductions) paid each employee during each calendar year, at either the standard rate of 1.7 percent (.017) or at a computed rate, whichever is higher.

§ 19.9.2—Coverage

Nonprofit and charitable organizations are covered by the ESA if they have four or more employees for some portion of a day in each of 20 different weeks within the current or preceding calendar year. C.R.S. § 8-70-118. All other private-sector employers generally are covered if they have one or more employees. C.R.S. §§ 8-70-103(9), -113(1), and -114(1). There are a variety of other exceptions, including certain hospitals, agricultural employers, and people who hire domestic services. See C.R.S. §§ 8-70-119, -120, and -121; see also C.R.S. §§ 8-70-126 through -140.7. Independent contractors are not covered by the ESA, but the Department of Labor and Employment will presume employee status and place the burden on the employer to prove independent contractor status. C.R.S. § 8-70-115(1)(b).

Practice Pointer
An employer can use a written document, signed by both parties, to create a rebuttable presumption of an independent contractor relationship. The document must contain a disclosure, in type that is larger than the other provisions in the document or in bold-faced or underlined type, that the independent contractor is not entitled to unemployment insurance benefits unless unemployment compensation coverage is provided by the independent contractor or some other entity, and that the independent contractor is obligated to pay federal and state income tax on any moneys paid pursuant to the contract relationship. C.R.S. §§ 8-70-115(1)(c) and (2).

§ 19.9.3—Eligibility for Benefits

Minimum Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for...