Colorado § 24-34-301 - Definitions.

§ 24-34-301. Definitions.

As used in parts 3 to 10 of this article 34, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Age" means a chronological age of at least forty years.

(2) "Agency" or "state agency" means any board, bureau, commission, department, institution, division, section, or officer of the state.

(2.5) "Assistance animal" means an animal that does work, performs tasks, assists, or provides therapeutic emotional support to an individual with a disability. "Assistance animal" includes an emotional support animal and a service animal.

(3) "Basic access" or "basic accessibility" constitute public safety issues and mean the general practice of making information, activities, and environments sensible, meaningful, usable, and safe for as many people as possible.

(3.5) "Chosen name" means a name that an individual requests to be known as in connection to the individual's disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, national origin, or ancestry, so long as the name does not contain offensive language and the individual is not requesting the name for frivolous purposes.

(4) "Commission" means the Colorado civil rights commission created in section 24-34-303.

(5) "Commissioner" means a member of the Colorado civil rights commission.

(6) "Director" means the director of the Colorado civil rights division created in section 24-34-302.

(7) "Disability" has the same meaning as set forth in the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., and its related amendments and implementing regulations.

(8) "Division" means the Colorado civil rights division, created in section 24-34-302.

(8.5) "Emotional support animal" means an animal that provides solely emotional support to an individual to alleviate a symptom or an effect of a disability.

(9) "Gender expression" means an individual's way of reflecting and expressing the individual's gender to the outside world, typically demonstrated through appearance, dress, behavior, chosen name, and how the individual chooses to be addressed.

(10) "Gender identity" means an individual's innate sense of the individual's own gender, which may or may not correspond with the individual's sex assigned at birth.

(11) "Housing" means a building, structure, vacant land, or part thereof offered for sale, lease, rent, or transfer of ownership; except that "housing" does not include any room offered for rent or lease in a single-family dwelling maintained and occupied in part by the owner or lessee of the dwelling as the owner's or lessee's household.

(12) "Housing accommodations" means any real property or portion thereof that is used or occupied, or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more persons but does not include any single family residence, the occupants of which rent, lease, or furnish for compensation not more than one room in that residence.

(13) "Individual with a disability" means an individual with a disability or disabilities.

(14) "Marital status" means a relationship or a spousal status of an individual, including, but not limited to, being single, cohabitating, engaged, widowed, married, in a civil union, or legally separated, or a relationship or a spousal status of an individual who has had or is in the process of having a marriage or civil union dissolved or declared invalid.

(15) (a) "Person" means one or more individuals, limited liability companies, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, receivers, or the state of Colorado and all of its political subdivisions and agencies.

(b) For the purposes of part 5 of this article 34, "person" does not include any private club not open to the public that, as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes, provides lodgings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, unless the club has the purpose of promoting discrimination in the matter of housing against any person because of disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, national origin, or ancestry.

(16) "Place of public accommodation" or "public accommodation" has the same meaning as set forth in Title III of the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12181 (7), and its related amendments and implementing regulations.

(17) "Protective hairstyle" includes such hairstyles as braids, locs, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, Bantu knots, Afros, and headwraps.

(18) "Public entity" means:

(a) Any state or local government; or

(b) Any department, agency, special district, or other instrumentality of a state or local government.

(19) "Public transportation service" means a common carrier of passengers or any other means of public conveyance or modes of transportation, including, but not limited to, airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats, or taxis.

(20) "Qualified individual with a disability" or "individual with a disability" has the same meaning as set forth in the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12131, and its related amendments and implementing regulations.

(21) "Race" includes hair texture, hair type, hair length, or a protective hairstyle that is commonly or historically associated with race.

(22) "Respondent" means any person, agency, organization, or other entity against whom a charge is filed pursuant to any of the provisions of parts 3 to 8 of this article 34.

(23) "Service animal" has the same meaning as set forth in the implementing regulations of Title II and Title III of the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq.

(24) "Sexual orientation" means an individual's identity, or another individual's perception thereof, in relation to the gender or genders to which the individual is sexually or emotionally attracted and the behavior or social affiliation that may result from the attraction.

(25) "Trainer of a service animal" means a person who individually trains a service animal.

Source: L. 79: Entire part R&RE, p. 923, § 3, effective July 1. L. 86: (1) R&RE and (1.5) and (1.6) added, p. 930, §§ 1, 2, effective May 8. L. 89: (4) amended, p. 1037, § 1, effective July 1. L. 90: (5) amended, p. 447, § 13, effective April 18. L. 92: (4)(b)(I) amended, p. 1121, § 1, effective July 1. L. 93: (2.5) added and (4) amended, p. 1655, § 59, effective July 1. L. 2008: (7) added, p. 1593, § 2, effective May 29. L. 2013: (4.5) added, (SB 13-011), ch. 49, p. 168, § 26, effective May 1; (1) amended, (HB 13-1136), ch. 168, p. 554, § 3, effective August 7. L. 2014: Entire section amended, (SB 14-118), ch. 250, p. 974, § 1, effective August 6. L. 2020: IP and (5.3) amended and (5.1) and (5.8) added, (HB 20-1048), ch. 8, p. 19, § 10, effective September 14. L. 2021: (5.4) amended, (HB 21-1110), ch. 402, p. 2675, § 1, effective June 30; (3.3) and (3.5) added and (5)(b) and (7) amended, (HB 21-1108), ch. 156, p. 883, § 2, effective September 7. L. 2023: Entire section amended, (HB 23-1296), ch. 269, p. 1597, § 2, effective May 25. L. 2024: (21) amended, (HB 24-1451), ch. 354, p. 2413, § 8, effective June 3. L. 2025: (3.5) added and (9) amended, (HB 25-1312), ch. 205, p. 929, § 8, effective May 16. L. 2026: (2.5) and (8.5) added, (HB 26-1045), ch. 202, p. 1151, § 2, effective August 12.

Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration contained in the 2008 act enacting subsection (7), see section 1 of chapter 341, Session Laws of Colorado 2008.

(2) For the short title ("Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2020" or "CROWN Act of 2020") and the legislative declaration in HB 20-1048, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 8, Session Laws of Colorado 2020.

(3) For the legislative declaration in HB 21-1108, see section 1 of chapter 156, Session Laws of Colorado 2021. For the legislative declaration in HB 26-1045, see section 1 of chapter 202, Session Laws of Colorado 2026.

(4) For the short title ("Kelly Loving Act") in HB 25-1312, see section 1 of chapter 205, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Colorado Civil Union Act", see 42 Colo. Law. 91 (July 2013). For article, "Transgender Discrimination Law: Developments Under Colorado and Federal Law", see 45 Colo. Law. 51 (Sept. 2016).

The object to be obtained by subsection (4) and § 24-34-402 (1) is to eliminate discrimination in employment on account of physical handicaps. Gamble v. Levitz Furniture Co., 759 P.2d 761 (Colo. App. 1988) (decided prior to 1993 amendment to subsection (4)).

Definition of "handicap", as it appears in subsection (4), creates an ambiguity which requires consideration of extrinsic sources to interpret the term properly. Gamble v. Levitz Furniture Co., 759 P.2d 761 (Colo. App. 1988) (decided prior to 1993 amendment to subsection (4)).

In defining "handicap", the general assembly meant to protect three types of handicapped individuals: Those with present impairments; those with past impairments, and those perceived as having impairments. Gamble v. Levitz Furniture Co., 759 P.2d 761 (Colo. App. 1988) (decided prior to 1993 amendment to subsection (4)).

For an impairment to be considered a substantial limitation, it must prevent or severely restrict an individual from performing a major life activity and must be of a permanent or long-term nature. Plaintiff's attention deficit disorder does not constitute a substantial limitation. Tesmer v. Colo. High Sch. Activities Ass'n, 140 P.3d 249 (Colo. App. 2006).

Applicant for employment was handicapped within the meaning of this section where he was treated as being substantially limited in one or more major life activities, even though he possessed no such substantial limitation. Civil Rights Comm'n v. Fire Prot. Dist., 772 P.2d 70 (Colo. 1989) (decided prior to 1993 amendment to subsection (4)).

In order to demonstrate status as a handicapped person, it is necessary for a plaintiff to establish only one of the disjunctive propositions in subsection (4). Gamble v. Levitz Furniture Co., 759 P.2d 761 (Colo. App. 1988) (decided prior to 1993 amendment to subsection (4)).

However, not all persons with physical impairments are entitled to relief; the impairment must be substantial and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Civil Rights Comm'n v. Fire Prot. Dist., 772 P.2d 70 (Colo. 1989) (decided prior to 1993 amendment to subsection (4)).

Having AIDS or being HIV-positive is a handicap within the definition of this section. Phelps v. Field Real Estate Co., 793 F. Supp. 1535 (D. Colo. 1991).