The 2026 Colorado briefing for contractors.
Five rules that reach a contractor's benefits budget and hiring this year, in plain English, with the source for each one. Bring questions to the walkthrough; we build every renewal around them.
January 1, 2026
Small group is now 1 to 50 employees.
SB24-073 moved Colorado's small-employer line from 100 down to 50. A contractor with 51 to 100 employees now buys in the large-group market at renewal, unless it keeps an existing small-group plan under the five-year transition.
Source: Colorado General Assembly, SB24-073
2026 premiums
FAMLI costs 0.88 percent of wages.
Colorado's paid family and medical leave premium is 0.88 percent for 2026, split evenly. Employers with 10 or more employees pay the 0.44 percent employer share, on wages up to $176,100 per employee.
Source: Colorado FAMLI Division
2026 enforcement
SecureSavings fines start this year.
Employers with five or more employees, two or more years in business and no retirement plan must run Colorado SecureSavings. The penalty is $100 per eligible employee per year, capped at $5,000, and the state has said enforcement begins in 2026.
Source: Colorado SecureSavings program
Ongoing
Paid sick leave accrues on every hour.
Under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, employees earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours a year, and can use it as it accrues. Seasonal and part-time crews included.
Source: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
Ongoing
Job posts must describe your benefits.
Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act requires a pay range and a general description of benefits in every job posting. A thin benefits line next to a competitor's full one is visible to every applicant.
Source: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
What it means for a 40-person shop.
You are still a small group, so your rates are set by age and area, not by your claims. FAMLI is a line on every paycheck. If you do not offer a retirement plan, SecureSavings is mandatory and fines are now real. And every job post you run this year has to say what your benefits are. A clean, competitive package is the cheapest recruiting tool you own, and the platform makes it look like one.