Attention Colorado law firms: We want to make sure you are ready for the new Colorado harassment rules and are aware of training options available from Savvy Training & Consulting that can help protect your organization and minimize your legal risks. Thanks to our amazing partners at Kantola, we can help you provide the prevention training that your Colorado law firm must provide under these new laws, and protect you from expensive law suits.

An overview of the new Colorado harassment rules

As you probably know, effective August 7, 2023 a new Colorado law (the POWR Act) establishes a lower burden of proof for harassment claims, significant limitations on how employers can defend themselves against claims of supervisor harassment, and other important changes. (See an overview of the new rules.)

A key consideration: Under these new Colorado harassment rules, not having an adequate harassment prevention program significantly increases legal risks for employers. In lawsuits alleging supervisor misconduct, only employers who establish programs reasonably designed to prevent harassment will be able to argue an affirmative defense. Effective training is key to these programs, which require employers to respond promptly to allegations, among other things. At the same time, Colorado is discarding the “severe or pervasive” standard for harassment, lowering the burden of proof for employees who sue.

With these changes, it is increasingly risky for employers not to have effective training for supervisors and employees on preventing and responding to harassment, as well as their reporting options.

What you need to do if you have employees in Colorado

For your next training cycle, implement/update harassment training for your Colorado employees. Training is the easiest way to educate employees on their responsibilities with harassment prevention, protect your workers and minimize your organization’s legal risks. That’s why we created a Colorado-specific course for managers and employees that can help quickly put essential protections in place for your organization.

• If you’re already training your Colorado employees on harassment prevention, that’s great—and we recommend that you use the Colorado-specific version the next time you train.
• If you have not been training your Colorado employees, we recommend you roll out training to this group using the Colorado-specific version.

As always, we’re here to support you. Email us any time at info@SavvyTraining.com or set up a quick demo of the new Colorado harassment rules training course.