House Passes Bill to Protect Vulnerable Workers

DENVER, CO – The House today passed legislation to prohibit employers from confiscating identification documents. HB26-1238 passed by a vote of 41-23.

“With the passage of this bill, we’re one step closer to establishing clear, legal protections for workers who fear retaliation from their employer,” said Rep. Naquetta Ricks, D-Aurora. “HB26-1283 safeguards vulnerable employees, especially those in the construction, service, agriculture, or hospitality industries, from having their personal documents unlawfully shared with federal law enforcement agencies. This bill strengthens protections for immigrant workers and keeps Coloradans safe on the job.” 

“You need your ID for everything from renting an apartment and driving a vehicle to accessing health care,” said Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder. “This bill protects workers by restricting an employer from confiscating employees’ and applicants’ personal IDs for more than ten hours. Threats and harassment on the job should never be tolerated, and this bill protects all workers, especially if their employer threatens unlawfully to report them to federal authorities.” 

HB26-1283 would prevent employers from seizing, demanding, confiscating, retaining or otherwise requiring an employee to surrender their government-issued identification card (ID) for more than a short period of time (up to ten hours), and except for lawful purposes like employment verification or when otherwise required by federal law. To enforce these provisions, the bill creates criminal penalties for unlawful confiscation and allows workers to pursue civil action and have their ID documents returned if their documents were unlawfully seized. Under the bill, employers must advise their employees of these protections. 

This bill also strengthens protections for employees if their employer unlawfully turns over their ID to federal immigration enforcement authorities or threatens to do so. If an employer holds an employee’s ID or personal document with the intent of harassing or intimidating the employee, they could be charged with a bias-motivated crime. HB26-1238 helps protect immigrant communities, especially for workers employed in the service industry, hospitality, agriculture and construction. 

In recent years, Colorado Democrats have passed legislation to strengthen existing data privacy and protections guaranteed to all Coloradans, including SB25-276, which prohibits public employees from sharing personally-identifying information related to immigration status with federal immigration enforcement.