Paid Sick Leave Policy

As part of The Healthy Families and Workplaces Act of Colorado that went into effect January 1, 2022, all full-time and part-time Colorado employees are entitled to paid sick leave.

Beginning January 1, 2022, all HPE employees paid on an hourly basis will begin to accrue paid sick leave. Paid sick leave is accrued at a rate of 0.34 per hour worked up to 48 hours total per calendar year. Any paid sick leave accrued is eligible for distribution under the following usage rules set by the State of Colorado Department of Labor:

A mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition that prevents work;

Obtaining preventive medical care, or a medical diagnosis, care, or treatment, of any mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;

Being a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or criminal harassment who needs leave for medical attention, mental health care or other counseling, victim services (including legal), or relocation; or

Care for a family member who has a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or who needs the sort of care listed in category (2) or (3);

Due to a public health emergency, a public official closed the employee’s (A) place of business, or (B) child’s school or place of care, requiring the employee to care for the child.

Accrued paid sick leave that is not used will rollover into subsequent years. However, employees may not use more than 48 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year without written permission from High Performance Earthworks. Unused accrued paid sick leave is not paid out upon termination of employment and can only be used for the purposes listed above, or in conjunction with a Public Health Emergency (see below). Employees who terminate employment and are rehired within six months or less can have their unused accrued paid sick leave reinstated.

Employees must notify High Performance Earthworks at office@highperformanceearthworks.com within reasonable timeframe if they require use of paid sick leave and must communicate a reasonable estimate of return to work date so as to cause the least amount of disruption to work place activities.

Public Health Emergency Declarations

As part of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and during a federal or state declared public health emergency (PHE), full-time and part-time employees are allowed supplemental PHE sick leave, as necessary, in addition to their accrued sick leave, based on the following:

The amount of supplemental PHE sick leave granted is determined by the number of days the employee must take time away from work for a COVID-related event in order to prevent the spread of communicable disease, up to the greater of either (a) the amount of time the employee is scheduled to work in a fourteen-day period of absence, or (b) the amount of time the employee has actually worked within the prior fourteen-day period from initial absence.

High Performance Earthworks employees are first required to use their accumulated paid sick leave. If accumulated sick leave hours are less than 48, HPE will "lend" the employee their future accumulated paid sick leave to meet the PHE requirements above (1).

Supplemental PHE sick leave is not renewable and is a one-time offering. If you received "COVID sick pay" between 2020 and present from High Performance Earthworks, you are ineligible for additional supplemental PHE sick leave.

If your employment is terminated, you are not liable for paying back the loaned paid sick leave.

Employees must notify High Performance Earthworks at office@highperformanceearthworks.com within reasonable timeframe if they require use of supplemental PHE sick leave and must communicate a reasonable estimate of return to work date so as to cause the least amount of disruption to work place activities.