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Labor & Employment

Performance Plans

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Vision

A working economy that elevates all of Colorado.

Mission

Working together to promote a thriving employment environment with opportunity for every Coloradan to prosper.

Summary

CDLE is a 1300-person state agency which houses six divisions serving Colorado through resources for workers and employers, as well as public safety and regulatory functions. We provide Colorado employers with recruitment, workforce training, labor law interpretation, layoff transition assistance and labor market information. We also assist Colorado workers through job training and job search, unemployment benefits during periods of job loss, workers’ compensation benefits when they are injured on the job and recovering unpaid wages.

CDLE serves Colorado by:

  • building Colorado’s talent pipeline
  • ensuring fair labor practices
  • helping businesses recruit employees
  • presenting an up-to-date and accurate picture of the economy
  • protecting our communities with a variety of consumer protection and safety programs
  • ensuring benefits to injured workers
  • contributing to a stable economy by providing temporary wage replacement
  • helping individuals with disabilities obtain, maintain or regain employment

CDLE Divisions: 

The Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI) provides unemployment insurance benefits in a fair, timely, accurate, and efficient manner to the employers and citizens of Colorado to stabilize the workforce and to minimize the impact of unemployment on the state’s economy.

 

The Division of Employment & Training (E&T) consists of two distinct program areas: Workforce Development Programs (WDP) and the Colorado Rural Workforce Consortium (CRWC). Employment and Training provides a wide range of services for businesses and job seekers. These services are delivered by state and county-run workforce centers that support strong regional economies. Programs are funded by federal grants, and state general and cash funds.

 

The Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (LSS) ​is comprised of two units: Labor Standards, which administers Colorado labor laws; and Labor Market Information, which produces, analyzes, and disseminates Colorado labor market statistics.

 

The Division of Oil & Public Safety (OPS) is responsible for a variety of regulatory functions related to environmental and consumer protection and public safety, including establishing and enforcing rules, regulations and statutes which govern amusement rides and devices, explosives use and storage, boilers, conveyances, fuel products, underground and aboveground petroleum storage tanks, cleanup of petroleum spills, reimbursement of cleanup costs to qualifying storage tank owners/operators and administration of the oversight committee for underground facilities. Recent legislation created the Underground Damage Prevention Safety Commission and Fund which will provide enforcement oversight for Colorado 811. The Division is funded by cash funds with a small amount of federal funding.

 

The Division of Workers' Compensation (DOWC) administers and enforces the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act. The Division assures the quick and efficient delivery of disability and medical benefits to injured workers at a reasonable cost to employers, with a minimum of litigation. The operations of the DOWC generally fall into the categories of working with claims, insurance, or medical issues and mediating disputes that relate to these items. With some exceptions, the DOWC’s role is primarily one of oversight and it does not pay benefits. One exception is the Special Funds Unit which operates like an insurance company and pays benefits to injured workers. New injuries are closed to the Special Funds Unit but benefits continue to be paid to individuals who met the statutory criteria when their claims were open. Recent legislation has also created the Colorado Uninsured Employer Fund which provides some financial relief to workers who were injured while working for employers who failed to carry workers’ compensation insurance. This fund will begin paying benefits to workers on January 1, 2020. The Premium Cost Containment Program offers employers a discount on premiums for demonstrating workplace safety above and beyond the stated requirements. The Self Insured Program assists qualifying employers in self-insuring their own workers’ compensation liability. The Division is funded by cash funds.

 

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) provides a range of individualized vocational services to help applicants and eligible individuals with disabilities obtain, maintain or regain employment that is consistent with their strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests and informed choice. Services include education, vocational training, physical or mental restoration, job placement and on-the-job support.These services are supplemented by a statewide employer outreach program focused on developing relationships with businesses to increase employment opportunities for its clients. The U.S. Department of Education, through a grant administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) provides reimbursement for 78.7 percent of eligible rehabilitation expenditures up to the total annual federal grant. The matching funds for federal dollars are either General Fund dollars or local government funds, primarily from school districts in the School to Work Alliance Program (SWAP). DVR also administers state and federal grants for the Office of Employment First (OEF), the Centers for Independent Living (CIL), the Business Enterprise Program (BEP) and Older Individuals who are Blind (OIB). The Division participates in one fully federally funded demonstration project - ASPIRE (Achieving Success by Promoting Readiness for Education and Employment), which will close out by September 2019.

More details on our programs may be found in our FY 2019-20 Performance Plan.