Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has signed the Job Application Fairness Act into law. Passed by the Colorado Legislature during the 2023 legislative session, this short law takes effect on July 1, 2024, and will significantly affect common questions contained on initial job applications.

The law prohibits employers from seeking information on an initial employment application about an applicant’s age, date of birth and dates of attendance/graduation from an educational institution. Third-party materials, such as certifications and transcripts, can be requested at the initial application stage, but the employer must notify the applicant that they are free to redact any information on those materials related to age, date of birth and dates of attendance and graduation.

For positions that have age requirements imposed by federal, state or local law or which have bona fide occupational qualifications pertaining to public or occupational safety, employers are permitted to verify age compliance. However, the verification request cannot seek information on specific age, date of birth or dates of school attendance and graduation. For example, employees serving alcohol in Colorado must be at least 18 years old. For a bartender position, an employer can ask the applicant to verify that they are at least 18 years old, but cannot ask for their specific age or birthdate.

Most employers do not collect age or date of birth information on applications given that they may be subject to the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), both of which prohibit age discrimination in hiring decisions. But attendance and graduation dates from high school and college are common questions on job applications. Colorado employers should review their job application forms now to ensure these types of prohibited questions are removed by July 1, 2024.

The new prohibitions will be enforced solely by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE). For a first violation, an employer will get a warning and an opportunity to come into compliance. After that, penalties can be up to $1,000 for a second violation and up to $2,500 for subsequent violations. The employer can avoid these penalties by complying with a violation order issued by the CDLE within 15 days.

The CDLE will issue rules providing further clarification on the new law and procedures for complaint filing and investigation.

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