Records of Workplace Discrimination Complaints

Executive Committee of the Legislative Council. In the 2023 legislative session, the general assembly enacted 2 bills related to complaints and findings of discriminatory or unfair practices in the workplace, including complaints and findings of sexual harassment committed by an elected official, and access to records of such complaints and findings. The bills resulted in a conflict in the law with regard to public access to records of sexual harassment complaints against an elected official. Specifically, Senate Bill 23-172:

• Requires employers to designate a repository of written and oral complaints of discriminatory or unfair employment practices, including sexual harassment complaints; and
• Specifies that records in an employer's designated repository are not public records and are not open to public inspection except in very limited circumstances specified in the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA).

Senate Bill 23-286 amended CORA to specifically require the custodian of any record of a sexual harassment complaint against an elected official to make the record available for public inspection, after redacting the identity of or any information that would identify any accuser, accused who is not an elected official, victim, or witness, if the investigation concludes that the elected official is culpable of sexual harassment.

The bill resolves the conflict between Senate Bill 23-172 and Senate Bill 23-286 by allowing public inspection of records in an employer's designated repository that pertain to a sexual harassment complaint or investigation against an elected official found culpable of sexual harassment.

Additionally, the bill designates the office of legislative workplace relations as the repository of complaint records for the employers in the legislative department.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)