Why NFIB wants the "Sue Your Boss" bill repealed

A new effort to repeal the most anti-small business sections of the so-called “Sue Your Boss Bill” is afoot, a potential win for Colorado small business owners. 

In 2013, the Colorado Legislature passed HB 13-1136, a bill concerning discrimination in the workplace. 

At the time of passage, spectators properly tagged the legislation as the “Sue Your Boss Bill.” 

The bill earned that nickname because it allowed punitive damages for cases filed against the smallest of the small employers. Prior to its passage, cases involving these offenses were filed in Federal Court if one was an employer of more than 15 employees. However HB 1136 changed all that and now includes all employers with 1 or more employees and litigants can now file in state court.

Now, repeal efforts are underway with SB 15-069 which repeals the adverse effects of HB 1136. 

Sponsored by Senator Laura Woods, the billed cleared its first hurdle passing the Senate Business Affairs committee on a vote of 6/3. Senator Cheri Jahn, D-Wheatridge, was the only democrat to vote for the passage.  Sharing that as a small business owner herself a frivolous discrimination suit could easily put her out business due to the legal fees she would have to pay an attorney to defend her. 

NFIB member Merrily Archer, herself a former EEOC Attorney, testified on behalf of NFIB and was instrumental in providing the hard facts about the misuse of these types of lawsuits.