Colorado § 24-34-802 - Violations - penalties - immunity.

§ 24-34-802. Violations - penalties - immunity.

(1) (a) It is a discriminatory practice and unlawful for any person, as defined in section 24-34-301, to discriminate against an individual or group of individuals because the person has opposed any practice, made a discriminatory practice based on disability pursuant to part 5, 6, or 8 of this article 34, or because the person has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing conducted pursuant to part 5, 6, or 8 of this article 34.

(b) An individual with a disability, as defined in section 24-34-301, must not, by reason of the individual's disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities provided by a place of public accommodation, as defined in section 24-34-600.3 (1); a public entity, as defined in section 24-34-301; or a state agency, as defined in section 24-37.5-102, or be subjected to discrimination by any such place of public accommodation, public entity, or state agency.

(c) (I) Except as provided in subsection (1)(c)(II) of this section, discrimination pursuant to this section includes the failure of a public entity or state agency, as those terms are defined in section 24-34-301, to fully comply, on or before July 1, 2024, with the accessibility standards for individuals with a disability established by the office of information technology pursuant to section 24-85-103. Liability for noncompliance as to content lies with the public entity or state agency that manages the content. Liability for noncompliance of the platform hosting the content lies with the public entity or state agency that manages the platform.

(II) Repealed.

(2) (a) An individual with a disability, as defined in section 24-34-301, who is subject to a violation of subsection (1)(c) of this section or of section 24-34-502 or 24-34-502.2 based on the individual's disability may bring a civil suit in a court of competent jurisdiction and is entitled to a court order requiring compliance with the provisions of the applicable section and either of the following remedies:

(I) Repealed.

(II) The recovery of actual monetary damages; or

(III) A statutory fine of three thousand five hundred dollars, payable to each plaintiff for each violation.

(b) For a claim brought pursuant to section 24-85-103 for a violation of accessibility standards, the violation must be considered a single incident and not as separate violations if the violation occurred on a single digital product, including a website or an application.

(c) and (d) Repealed.

(3) An award of attorney fees and costs pursuant to section 24-34-505.6 (6)(b) applies to claims brought pursuant to this section.

(4) Repealed.

(5) An agency in the state with the authority to promulgate rules related to protections for persons with disabilities shall not promulgate a rule that provides less protection than that provided by the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., as amended.

Source: L. 79: Entire part R&RE, p. 940, § 3, effective July 1. L. 95: Entire section amended, p. 321, § 2, effective August 7. L. 2014: Entire section R&RE, (SB 14-118), ch. 250, p. 980, § 11, effective August 6. L. 2021: (1), IP(2)(a), and (2)(a)(III) amended and (5) added, (HB 21-1110), ch. 402, p. 2675, § 2, effective June 30. L. 2023: (1)(c) and (2) amended, (SB 23-244), ch. 100, p. 370, § 3, effective April 20; (1)(b) and IP(2)(a) amended and (2)(a)(I) repealed, (HB 23-1032), ch. 271, p. 1613, § 2, effective May 25; (1)(b) and IP(2)(a) amended, (HB 23-1296), ch. 269, p. 1600, § 6, effective May 25. L. 2024: (1)(c) amended, (HB 24-1454), ch. 255, p. 1676, § 2, effective May 24. L. 2025: (1)(b) amended, (SB 25-275), ch. 377, p. 2064, § 157, effective August 6; IP(2)(a) amended and (2)(c), (2)(d), and (4) repealed, (HB 25-1239), ch. 232, p. 1101, § 5, effective August 6.

Editor's note: (1) Amendments to subsection (1)(b) by HB 23-1032 and HB 23-1296 were harmonized.

(2) Amendments to subsection IP(2)(a) by HB 23-1032, HB 23-1296, and SB 23-244 were harmonized.

(3) Amendments to subsection (2)(a)(I) by HB 23-1032 and SB 23-244 were harmonized.

(4) Subsection (1)(c)(II)(C) provided for the repeal of subsection (1)(c)(II), effective July 1, 2025. (See L. 2024, p. 1676.)

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1454, see section 1 of chapter 255, Session Laws of Colorado 2024. For the legislative declaration in HB 25-1239, see section 1 of chapter 232, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under this section as it existed prior to its 2014 repeal and reenactment.

The Colorado anti-discrimination act is substantially equivalent to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and should be interpreted consistently with that act. Thus, federal case law and regulations pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act are applicable when interpreting the Colorado anti-discrimination act. Stalder v. Colo. Mesa Univ., 2024 COA 29, 551 P.3d 679.

Legislative intent in enacting this section and § 24-34-801 was to provide penalties for those employers who exclude handicapped persons from employment solely because of their disability. Silverstein v. Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Servs. Corp., 43 Colo. App. 446, 614 P.2d 891 (1979).

Portions of § 24-34-801 confer new rights and duties, unknown at common law, and this section provides criminal penalties for violations thereof. Silverstein v. Sisters of Charity, 38 Colo. App. 286, 559 P.2d 716 (1976).

There is no civil action for damages for a violation of § 24-34-801. Silverstein v. Sisters of Charity, 38 Colo. App. 286, 559 P.2d 716 (1976).

Section 24-34-801 (1)(b) requires an individual consideration of each employment application to determine whether a particular person is prevented from performing the work by his particular disability. Silverstein v. Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Servs. Corp., 43 Colo. App. 446, 614 P.2d 891 (1979).

A group hiring exclusion based on nature of handicap is prohibited. A hiring policy is prohibited which excludes from consideration a group whose members are determined by the nature of their handicap. Silverstein v. Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Servs. Corp., 43 Colo. App. 446, 614 P.2d 891 (1979).

Exclusion of epileptics from positions in hospitals deemed violation. A hospital's policy of excluding persons with a history of epilepsy from positions involving direct patient care is violative of section 24-34-801. Silverstein v. Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Servs. Corp., 43 Colo. App. 446, 614 P.2d 891 (1979).