Pursuant to the Colorado Employment Verification Law (C.R.S. §  8-2-122), all public and private employers in Colorado must adhere to additional employer compliance requirements, separate and in addition to those mandated by the Federal Form I-9 requirements.  All Colorado employers are required to complete the Colorado Affirmation Form (Affirmation of Legal Work Status) for all Colorado employees hired  on or after January 1, 2007, within 20 calendar days of the employee’s hire.   The Division issued a revised Form, effective October 1, 2014, and it is essential that Colorado employers are aware of this update to ensure continued compliance.

As recently reported, the Colorado Division of Labor released a new version of the Colorado Affirmation Form with a revision date of September 1, 2014.  The newly revised Colorado Affirmation Form, containing the Revision Date 9/1/2014 and Expiration Date 10/1/2017, must be used by Colorado employers to meet their obligations for all Colorado employees hired between October 1, 2014 and October 1, 2017.  The revised form cannot be used for Colorado employees hired prior to September 1, 2014.

Since the introduction of the Colorado Affirmation Form, many employers have raised questions relating to the time-frame within which the Form must be completed.  With the revised Form, the Division has clarified in the Form instructions that the Colorado Affirmation Form must be completed within 20 calendar days after hiring each employee.  The previous version of the Form specified that it must be completed within 20 days, but did not stipulate whether it was calendar days or business days.  For more information on the requirements associated with the Colorado Affirmation Form or Immigration Employer Compliance, please contact your attorney at Greenberg Traurig.