SB20-216 Summary

• Creates a presumption that essential workers who contract COVID-19 have acquired it through employment, making it a compensable workers' compensation claim under Colorado law.

• Defines essential workers as those required to work outside their homes, including first responders, healthcare workers, corrections officers, food processing workers, grocery store employees, transit operators, and airline staff.

• Establishes that an essential worker has contracted COVID-19 if they test positive through laboratory testing, are diagnosed by a licensed physician, or have COVID-19 listed as cause of death on their death certificate.

• Allows employers and insurers to overcome the presumption only through clear and convincing evidence that the worker's COVID-19 contraction did not arise from employment, and permits offsets for disability and death benefits received from other sources.

• Sunsets the presumption effective June 21, 2022, and applies only to claims where disability arises on or after the act's effective date.