For purposes of addressing discriminatory or unfair employment
practices pursuant to Colorado's anti-discrimination laws, the bill enacts the Protecting Opportunities and Workers' Rights (POWR) Act, which:
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Directs the Colorado civil rights division (division) to include harassment as a basis or description of discrimination on any charge form or charge intake mechanism;
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Adds a new definition of harass or harassment and repeals the current definition of harass that requires creation of a hostile work environment;
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Adds protections from discriminatory or unfair employment practices for individuals based on their marital status;
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Specifies that in harassment claims, the alleged conduct need not be severe or pervasive to constitute a discriminatory or unfair employment practice;
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For purposes of the exception to otherwise discriminatory practices for an employer that is unable to accommodate an individual with a disability who is otherwise qualified for the job, eliminates the ability for the employer to assert that the individual's disability has a significant impact on the job as a rationale for the employment practice;
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Specifies that it is a discriminatory or an unfair employment practice for an employer to fail to initiate an investigation of a complaint or to fail to take prompt, reasonable, and remedial action;
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Specifies the requirements for an employer to assert an affirmative defense to an employee's proven claim of unlawful harassment by a supervisor; and
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Specifies the requirements that must be satisfied for a nondisclosure provision in an agreement between an employer and an employee or a prospective employee to be enforceable.
