SB 22-097

Senate Bill 22-097, also known as the Whistleblower Protection Health & Safety Act, expands existing protections for workers who report health and safety concerns in their workplace. Previously, these protections were limited to situations involving a declared public health emergency; now, they cover all types of health and safety issues regardless of whether an emergency is declared or not. The bill allocates funds to various departments to implement this new protection, including $417,629 for the Department of Labor and Employment and $228,499 for the Department of Personnel. Since it has been signed into law, these protections are now in effect, providing broader safety nets for whistleblowers across Colorado.

Official Summary

Current law provides whistleblower protections for workers who raise a reasonable concern about health or safety related to a public health emergency. The act expands the protection to all health and safety concerns regardless of whether there is a declared public health emergency. To implement the act, the act appropriates: $417,629 to the department of labor and employment, of which $386,579 is for use by the division of labor standards and statistics and $31,050 is for the purchase of legal services; $228,499 to the department of personnel, of which $125,000 is for use by the division of human resources for liability claims and $103,499 is for the purchase of legal services; and $134,549 to the department of law, reappropriated from the department of labor and employment and the department of personnel.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Votes