HB 26-1283

House Bill 26-1283, which has been signed into law, protects individuals from employers or their agents who demand or take possession of government-issued identification cards without lawful authority. This means that employers cannot confiscate IDs like driver's licenses or passports from employees under most circumstances. The bill also makes it a crime if someone takes an ID with the intent to intimidate or harass another person based on characteristics such as race, religion, or sexual orientation, and imposes stricter penalties for those who provide personal documents to federal immigration authorities out of bias. This law affects both employers and employees in Colorado, ensuring that individuals' identification remains secure from misuse by employers or others motivated by discrimination.

Official Summary

With certain exceptions, the bill prohibits an employer or an employer's agent from demanding, confiscating, retaining, or otherwise requiring an individual to surrender the individual's government-issued identification card.      The bill states that an individual A person who violates the bill's prohibition commits criminal confiscation of a government-issued identification card if the individual knowingly takes into possession or control, or attempts to take into possession or control, another individual's government-issued identification card without lawful authority. Criminal confiscation of a government-issued identification card criminal possession of an identification document, which is a class 2 misdemeanor.      An individual A person commits a bias-motivated crime if, with the intent to intimidate or harass another individual, in whole or in part, because of that individual's actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity, the individual person :Violates the bill's prohibitions; orProvides, or threatens to provide, an individual's government-issued identification or personal documents document to federal immigration authorities, except where required or permitted by state or federal law .      Such a bias-motivated crime is a class 1 misdemeanor, and a victim may seek additional remedies available under law.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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