Colorado - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

“Agricultural labor” for purposes of unemployment benefits is defined at C.R.S. § 8-70-109(1).

“‘Migratory laborer” is defined as any person from within or without the limits of the state of Colorado who offers his or her services to a field labor contractor, whether from within or from without the limits of the state of Colorado, so that said field labor contractor may enter into a contract with any employer to furnish the services of said migratory laborers in seasonal employment”. (C.R.S. § 8-4-101(9))
“Field labor contractor” is defined at C.R.S. § 8-4-101(7)

Colorado minimum wage applies to all employees (including agricultural workers) covered under the FLSA minimum wage provision. See COLO. REV. STAT. § 8-6-101; COLO. CONST. ART. XVIII; 7 COLO. CODE REGS. § 1103-1:3 (effective Mar. 16, 2020).
Minimum wage is currently $13.65 effective Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023.
Agricultural workers principally engaged in the range production of livestock must paid at least $559.29 per week in 2023. In 2022, the minimum weekly payment was $515. Any housing, food, transport, and equipment required for H-2A visa range workers must not be deducted from such amounts..
The minimum wage is adjusted annually for cost of living increases as measured by the CPI used for Colorado.
*Note: Following months of public comment, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment adopted a revised Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order, which went into effect in March 2020.

New overtime regulations became effective January 1, 2022 (Colo Rev. Stat. § 8-2-206).
Agricultural workers will not receive overtime pay until after November 1, 2022. Agricultural workers will only be paid overtime after 60 hours, while most workers in Colorado are entitled to overtime pay after 40 hours in a workweek.
This first phase will remain in place until January 1, 2024.
The overtime protections contain multiple exceptions including for seasonal agricultural employers and small farms.
The rule establishes a lengthy phase-in period. Most workers will not see the full increase in pay until 2025.

CO Department of Labor & Employment

Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law. Employers are required to cover agricultural workers to same extent as all other workers. See C.R.S. §§ 8-40-202; 8-40-301

State Enforcement Agency:
CO Department of Labor and Employment

Colorado has state regulations governing Sanitary Standards for Labor Camps. See 6 COLO. CODE REGS. §§ 1010-11:4, 5, 6, and 13

State Enforcement Agency:
CO Department of Public Health and Environment

The Colorado Pesticide Act regulates the use and application of pesticides. Colorado’s state regulatory protections do not currently go beyond what is provided at the federal level. See C.R.S. §§ 35-9-101 et seq.
There is no mandatory reporting requirement for pesticide poisonings.

State Enforcement Agency:
CO Department of Agriculture

There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
There is no state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to engage in concerted activity, join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining. The state labor relations act (Labor Peace Act) that provides employees the right to engage in collective bargaining and the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation specifically excludes employees who work on farms and ranches from those covered by the act. See C.R.S. § 8-3-104(11)(a).

Colorado Legal Services, Migrant Farmworker Division
http://www.coloradofarmworkers.org