Even though it is early fall, many necessary human resource tasks have practitioners already looking to 2026. It can be frustrating that many items of information necessary for planning are not available in Colorado until at least early November. Why is this? There is a regulatory process that must be followed by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to implement any new rules from changes made in statutes by the legislature. This rulemaking process usually takes place in the Spring and the Fall. Every state agency in the Executive Branch must adhere to the rulemaking process outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act or APA (Section 24-4-101, Colorado Revised Statutes) unless explicitly exempted. The rulemaking process involves four stages: 1) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; 2) Comment Period on Proposed Rule; 3) Hearing on Proposed Rule; 4) Final Adoption of Proposed Rule.
Before creating proposed new rules for the Fall of 2025, the CDLE gave notice and held its first pre-rulemaking meeting to gather input, facts, and opinions on September 4th. This meeting of stakeholders helps in drafting the proposed rule changes which begins the official process. Discussed at that meeting were changes to the rule sets for:
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Publication and Yearly Calculation of Adjusted Labor Compensation Order (PAYCALC Order), 7 CCR 1103-14
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Wage Protection Rules (WPR), 7 CCR 1103-7
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Colorado Whistleblower, Anti-Retaliation, Non-Interference, and Notice-Giving Rules (WARNING Rules), 7 CCR 1103-11
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The Agricultural Labor Conditions Act Rules (AGLABOCO Rules), 7 CCR 1103-15
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Colorado Overtime Minimum Pay Standards Order (COMPS Order), 7 CCR 1103-1
The most generally interesting rules are those for the COMPS posters and minimum wage. While possible to anticipate some of the minimum wage information following the publication of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official amounts and poster for 2026 can only be issued after the rulemaking process is completed.
The full agenda items for review during the rulemaking process for Fall 2025 are:
First, Implementing and updating rules to conform with new laws enacted in spring 2025:
House Bill 25-1001 makes several amendments to the Colorado Wage Act, including: changing the definition of “employer” to include an individual who owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interest in an employer; allowing Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (DLSS) to waive the penalty for an employer’s failure to pay claimed wages in certain cases; requiring DLSS to publish violation citations on its website and to report unremedied, willful violations to licensing authorities; authorizing fines for misclassifying employees; clarifying protections against retaliation; shortening the timeframe for payments to claimants from the fund created under CRS 8-4-113 to reimburse victims; and increasing the wage amount the Division can order in individual wage claim beginning July 1, 2026.
Senate Bill 25-128 amends the Agricultural Labor Rights and Responsibilities Act, repealing provisions that prohibit employers from interfering with an agricultural employee’s access to service providers on private land, and prohibiting employers from interfering with a worker’s access to service providers through remote channels on the employer's property.
HB25-1208: Local Government Tip Offsets for Tipped Employees, allows (but does not require) a local government to set a tip credit higher than the state tip credit of $3.02, as long as the local tipped minimum wage is at least the state tipped minimum wage.
Then, also,
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Issuing a new rule set as to hazardous occupations and investigation procedures under the Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act (“CYEOA”) C.R.S. § 8-12-101, et seq.;
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Issuing a new rule set as to processes for Division appeals under the Colorado Administrative Procedure Act, C.R.S. § 24-4-103;
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Implementing the annual adjustment of the minimum wage, as mandated by the Colorado Constitution, and other related minimum wage and salary figures adjusted annually; and
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Considering any other potential changes to labor rules that may be suggested or proposed, based on stakeholder input or other developments that may warrant rule changes.
This agenda will result in proposed rule changes issued a few weeks after the pre-rulemaking meeting. Following the issuance of proposed changes, there is a comment period and a public hearing is held. Finally, after the hearing on the proposed rules, an agency has 180 days to issue final rule changes. This process can take weeks but is a valuable way to ensure the rules are reviewed thoroughly and with public input. All rules, proposed and final, are published in the Colorado Register by the Secretary of State’s Office.
Should you wish to follow the process, information can be found online at https://cdle.colorado.gov/dlss/labor-laws-rules-resources/labor-rules-proposed-and-adopted or https://coprrr.colorado.gov/rulemaking-and-cba/rulemaking
So, while planning for 2026 this rulemaking process must be kept in mind. In most years, the final rules, including the COMPS poster and official minimum wage rates, are issued by the end of November.
Jacqueline Talbot is a paralegal with Employers Council