Date: 04/16/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1342

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment F). The motion p
Refer House Bill 15-1342, as amended, to the Commi
Refer House Bill 15-1342, as amended, to the Commi		Pass Without Objection
FAIL
PASS



05:06 PM -- HB15-1342

The committee recessed.


05:16 PM

The committee returned to order. Representative Salazar, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1342, concerning the right of private-sector employees to inspect their personnel files. Representative Salazar explained the effect of the bill, and discussed its need. Representative Salazar also explained the effect of prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment F).

15HouseJud0416AttachF.pdf15HouseJud0416AttachF.pdf

05:21 PM

The following persons testified regarding HB 15-1342:

05:21 PM -- Mr. Chris Otele, representing the Colorado Civil Justice League, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Otele registered concerns with the bill, including the ability of employees to submit rebuttal information into a personnel file, and the preclusion by the bill of using information that is not in the personnel file in a court of law. Mr. Otele responded to questions regarding this provision. Representative Salazar rebutted the contention. Discussion ensued on the point.


05:37 PM

Discussion continued regarding a provision in the bill that disallows evidence not found in a personnel file from being used in an employment lawsuit pertaining to the subject employee.

05:41 PM -- Ms. Loren Furman, representing the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, testified in opposition to the bill. Ms. Furman questioned what problem the bill seeks to solve, and noted several potential problems with the bill. Ms. Furman also noted ways in which an employee or former employee may access his or her employee file under current law. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for placing a limit on the amount of time an employer is required to keep employment files for the bill's purposes.

05:48 PM -- Mr. Barry Roseman, representing the Plaintiffs' Employment Lawyers Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Roseman discussed the equalization between public and private employers with respect to the ability of employees to access personnel files, and recapped the effect of the bill. Mr. Roseman addressed earlier testimony on the bill. Mr. Roseman responded to questions regarding the ability of an employer to put information in a personnel file well after the applicable employment time frame under the bill. Mr. Roseman responded to questions regarding the potential for creating a rebuttable presumption in the bill for litigation purposes.

06:00 PM -- Ms. Colleen Calandra, representing the Plaintiffs' Employment Lawyers Association, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Calandra discussed a law in Michigan that allows employees to inspect their personnel files, and the impact of the prohibition on requiring public-sector employers to share personnel files with employees on litigation. Ms. Calandra discussed certain exclusions contained in the Michigan law, and the operative effect of the law compared to Colorado's law. She responded to questions regarding Michigan's law in the area of the length of time that an employer must hold onto a personnel file.

06:05 PM -- Mr. Arash Jahanain, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Jahanian discussed the bill's intent, and the difficulties private-sector employees face in obtaining information about their employment performance for litigation purposes. Mr. Jahanian recapped the intent of the bill.

06:09 PM -- Ms. Linda Merek, representing 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Merek discussed situations her organization has encountered where workers are unable to access information about employee performance in personnel files, and the benefits of allowing employees to access their personnel files.


06:13 PM

Representative Salazar recapped the effect of amendment L.001. Discussion ensued regarding the applicability of the Colorado Open Records Act to employment files. Representative Salazar responded to questions regarding record retention requirements for employers under state law, and the availability of certain employee information, such as pay information, to private-sector employees under the bill.
BILL:HB15-1342
TIME: 06:13:35 PM
MOVED:Salazar
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Buckner
Carver
Court
Dore
Foote
Lawrence
Lundeen
Pettersen
Salazar
Van Winkle
Willett
Lee
Kagan
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


06:24 PM
BILL:HB15-1342
TIME: 06:24:16 PM
MOVED:Van Winkle
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1342, as amended, to the Committee on Business Affairs and Labor. The motion failed on a vote of 6-7.
SECONDED:Dore
VOTE
Buckner
No
Carver
Yes
Court
No
Dore
Yes
Foote
No
Lawrence
Yes
Lundeen
Yes
Pettersen
No
Salazar
No
Van Winkle
Yes
Willett
Yes
Lee
No
Kagan
No
YES: 6 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


06:25 PM

Various committee members provided their positions on HB 15-1342.
BILL:HB15-1342
TIME: 06:26:28 PM
MOVED:Salazar
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1342, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED:Foote
VOTE
Buckner
Yes
Carver
No
Court
Yes
Dore
No
Foote
Yes
Lawrence
No
Lundeen
No
Pettersen
Yes
Salazar
Yes
Van Winkle
No
Willett
No
Lee
Yes
Kagan
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS