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Did You Know?

BOP NEWSLETTER • July 2025

Did you know Colorado Updated their Anti-Discrimination Law?

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.

Did you know the California Civil Rights Department published a “Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims Right to Leave & Accommodations Notice”?

Last year, California expanded victims’ leave provisions with Assembly Bill (AB) 2499. 

AB 2499 requires employers to inform each employee of their rights established under the expanded law in writing upon hire, annually, at any time upon request, and any time an employee informs an employer that the employee or the employee’s family member is a victim.  

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD), which is responsible for enforcement of the expanded law, developed and published a written notice of employee rights. Employers are allowed to use this notice to satisfy their own notice requirements under AB 2499. Click here for the notice.

In addition, the CRD also published a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the updates to the law. Click here for this document.