New hiring laws in Colorado for 2027: the AI law, ID rules and pay changes for recruiters

As of October 2026, the Colorado change that matters most for hiring in 2027 is SB 26-189. It repealed the 2024 Colorado AI Act and replaced it with a narrower law on automated decision-making technology that applies to hiring decisions made on or after January 1, 2027: notice before a tool materially influences a decision, an explanation within 30 days after a rejection, and correction and human review on request. Since June 3, 2026, HB 26-1283 limits how long an employer may hold a new hire's ID during I-9 verification and requires a written notice. From July 1, 2027, larger employers report EEO-1 data to the state, and Denver's minimum wage rises to $19.84 on January 1.

This page lists enacted laws and adopted rules with confirmed dates, linked to the bill on the General Assembly's site or the agency's page, plus the proposals still open. The standing Colorado hiring checklist is in hiring employees in Colorado, and the AI law is covered in depth in the Colorado AI law for employers.

Which Colorado hiring laws take effect in 2026 and 2027?

What does SB 26-189 require when AI is used in hiring?

SB 26-189 was signed on May 14, 2026 and applies to consequential decisions, including employment decisions, made on or after January 1, 2027. It covers technology that materially influences a decision about a Colorado resident, including a job applicant. A tool a person uses "solely to summarize, organize, translate, draft, route, or present information for human review" is excluded. For an employer using a covered tool, the duties are:

• Before use: a clear and conspicuous notice that the technology is used.
• Within 30 days of an adverse outcome, such as a rejection: a plain-language description of the decision and the tool's role, how to ask for more detail including the tool's name, version and developer, and an explanation of the person's rights.
• On request: a way to correct inaccurate personal data and meaningful human review and reconsideration, to the extent commercially reasonable.
• Records: kept for at least three years.

The Attorney General enforces the law; it creates no new private right of action. The statute requires rules "on or before January 1, 2027." The Attorney General's AI rulemaking page shows an interim draft on October 6, a regulatory analysis on October 21 and a formal hearing on October 26, 2026, with final rules still to come. Notice wording you can adapt is in the AI disclosure template for candidates.

Why enforcement may start later than January 1

In x.AI LLC v. Weiser, No. 1:26-cv-01515 (D. Colo.), the court's April 27, 2026 minute order granted a stipulation that the Attorney General will not start enforcement, including an investigation, for alleged violations of SB 24-205 or legislation replacing it that occur on or before 14 days after the court rules on xAI's preliminary injunction motion. xAI must file that motion within 28 days after the final rules are adopted. The duties still begin on January 1, 2027; what is paused is the Attorney General's ability to enforce them for that period. Build the notices anyway.

What does HB 26-1283 change at onboarding?

The act took effect when the Governor signed it on June 3, 2026. An employer or its agent may not demand, confiscate, retain or require an employee or applicant, including a migrant or seasonal worker, to surrender a government-issued ID. It may request and temporarily hold one to complete Form I-9, "and in no case for more than ten hours," and may keep a copy. When it verifies employment eligibility, it must notify the person of the rule in writing, in English and in the person's primary language if the employer knows it is not English. A knowing violation is a class 2 misdemeanor. For staffing agencies that run onboarding at a branch or a client site, the practical change is a one-page notice added to the I-9 step and a rule that no one keeps original IDs; I-9 and E-Verify duties themselves are covered in E-Verify in Colorado.

What should staffing agencies change?

• ID handling: HB 26-1283 applies to "an employer or an employer's agent," so branch onboarding and on-site I-9 events need the ten-hour limit and the written notice in the agency's own process.
• AI screening for clients: if the agency scores or ranks Colorado candidates with a covered tool, agree with each client in writing who gives the pre-use notice and who answers the 30-day explanation and review requests, because the candidate will not know which company's tool was used.
• EEO-1 data: an agency with 100 or more workers that files EEO-1 is itself an employer under HB 26-1207 and reports from July 1, 2027.
• Pay in postings: unchanged, but every posting the agency publishes for a Colorado job still needs the pay range and benefits under the state's posting rules.

Which Colorado changes are proposed but not final?

• 2027 minimum wage and exempt salary: the Department of Labor and Employment's proposed 2027 PAY CALC Order, "as proposed September 30, 2026; if adopted, effective January 1, 2027," sets $15.71 an hour and an exempt salary of $1,151.23 a week ($59,864 a year). Treat these as the planning numbers for 2027 offers until the final order is posted on the CDLE rules page.
• Attorney General rules under SB 26-189: drafted and heard on October 26, 2026, not yet adopted.

What did not change?

We found no 2026 or 2027 change taking effect to Colorado's pay transparency and job posting rules, the Job Application Fairness Act's limits on age questions, the ban-the-box law or the non-compete statute; the last non-compete amendment, SB 25-083, took effect August 6, 2025. Those rules are explained in Colorado pay transparency and Colorado non-compete law.

What changed in the last 90 days?

• August 6: Denver announced the $19.84 minimum wage for 2027.
• September 30: CDLE proposed the 2027 PAY CALC Order.
• October 6 to 26: the Attorney General released an interim draft of the SB 26-189 rules, a regulatory analysis, and held the rulemaking hearing.

What to do before January 1, 2027

1. List every tool that scores, ranks or recommends Colorado applicants, and separate them from tools that only transcribe or summarize for a person who decides.
2. For covered tools, publish the pre-use notice near the application and prepare the 30-day adverse outcome explanation and the request process for correction and human review.
3. Ask each vendor for the information SB 26-189 makes developers provide, and check contracts for indemnity clauses the act voids.
4. Add the HB 26-1283 written notice to the I-9 step and stop keeping original IDs.
5. Set 2027 pay ranges and exempt salaries against the proposed state figures and Denver's $19.84.
6. If you file EEO-1, keep collecting voluntary self-identification at onboarding; Colorado will want the data from July 1, 2027.

For the other states with 2027 changes, see new hiring laws for 2027.