In the 2025 legislative session, Colorado passed two significant amendments to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), expanding protections related to gender expression and disability rights in public accommodations.

HB25-1312: The Kelly Loving Act

Signed into law on May 16, 2025, the Kelly Loving Act clarifies that discrimination based on gender expression includes an employee’s chosen name and how they choose to be addressed.

A “Chosen Name” is defined as “a name that an individual requests to be known as in connection to the individual’s disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, national origin, or ancestry,” but must not include offensive language or be requested for a frivolous purpose. However, “offensive” and “frivolous” are undefined and open to interpretation.

Likewise, the law does not define the phrase “How the Individual Chooses to be Addressed.”

HB25-1239: Expanded Disability Remedies

Effective May 22, 2025, this new law expands remedies for individuals with disabilities facing discrimination in public accommodations. 

Under the enacted law, individuals with disabilities who experience discrimination in places of public accommodation may now seek attorney’s fees and costs, and either (a) actual monetary damages plus non-economic damages; or (b) a statutory fine of $5,000. Damages for non-economic losses are capped at $50,000. 

Employers that operate places of public accommodation may want to review their premises to ensure that they are accessible to the disabled, and train employees how they may assist individuals with various types of common disabilities, such as but not limited to mobility challenges and hearing or sight impairments.