Hinrichsen Bill to Support Working Puebloans Clears Committee

Hinrichsen: “With so many Puebloans employed by the state, we need this bill so they have an open field of future job prospects, and can file compensation claims without fear of retaliation.”

DENVER, CO — Today, the Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee passed Senator Nick Hinrichsen’s, D-Pueblo, bill that would protect working Puebloans who are injured on the job with bipartisan support. 

The bill addresses a growing trend in which an injured state worker is asked or required to resign or refrain from seeking future state work as a condition of a workers’ compensation settlement. SB24-149 would prohibit the State from suggesting or imposing these terms, and invalidate previous settlements that have imposed these requirements. The bill also requires the State to test the market for insurance annually to determine whether an outside provider could offer a better deal than the current practice of self insurance. 

“Workers shouldn’t be punished for getting injured on the job,” said Hinrichsen. “There have been instances in Colorado when a worker was required to resign from their job and prohibited from working for the State again as a part of their work comp claim settlement. With so many Puebloans employed by the State, we need this bill so they have an open field of future job prospects, and can file compensation claims without fear of retaliation.”

Over 20,000 Coloradans have workplace accidents every year, and roughly 17 percent of Puebla’s are employed by the State of Colorado. With these changes, workers will no longer be locked out of other State jobs that may still be a good fit for them, despite an injury that made them unable to perform a previous job. This may also help the State, which has suffered from high vacancy rates across many agencies, with a wider candidate pool for hard-to-fill jobs. 

The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further review. Follow its progress HERE.