§ 8-70-103 — Definitions

Colorado § 8-70-103

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 08: Labor and
• Art.: Definitions - General Provisions

Text

As used in articles 70 to 82 of this title 8, unless the
context otherwise requires:

(1) Agricultural labor has the meaning set forth in section 8-70-109.

(1.5) Alternative base period means the last four completed calendar
quarters immediately preceding the benefit year.

(2) Base period means the first four of the last five completed calendar
quarters immediately preceding the first day of the individual's benefit year.

(2.7) Benefit recovery fund means the benefit recovery fund created in
section 8-73-116 (2).

(3) Benefits means the money payments payable to an individual with
respect to his unemployment. The different classifications of benefits are set forth
in section 8-70-110.

(4) Benefit year has the meaning set forth in section 8-70-111.

(5) Calendar day means a full day beginning and ending at 12 midnight. As
used in connection with appeal or protest periods, calendar days begin to be
counted on the day after the date appearing on a notice issued by the division and
continue consecutively for the number of days in the appeal or protest period. If the
last day of any period set forth in articles 70 to 82 of this title is a Saturday,
Sunday, or legal holiday, the period is extended to include the next day that is not a
Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

(6) Calendar quarter means the period of three consecutive calendar
months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31.

(6.3) Chargeable payroll means the sum of chargeable wages.

(6.5) (a) Chargeable wages means those wages paid to an individual
employee during a calendar year on which the employer of that employee is
required to pay premiums as provided by article 76 of this title 8, including all
wages subject to a tax under federal law, which imposes a tax against which credit
may be taken for premiums required to be paid into the unemployment
compensation fund. For each calendar year, chargeable wages is as follows:

(I) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2021, the first thirteen
thousand six hundred dollars paid to an individual;

(II) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2022, the first seventeen
thousand dollars paid to an individual;

(III) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2023, the first twenty
thousand four hundred dollars paid to an individual;

(IV) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2024, the first twenty-three
thousand eight hundred dollars paid to an individual;

(V) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2025, the first twenty-seven
thousand two hundred dollars paid to an individual; and

(VI) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2026, and each calendar year
thereafter, the first thirty thousand six hundred dollars paid to an individual,
adjusted by the change in the average weekly earnings prescribed in section 8-73-102, rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars.

(b) As used in articles 70 to 82 of this title 8, chargeable wages paid
includes chargeable wages constructively paid as well as chargeable wages
actually paid.

(7) Claims includes any of the divisions of the classifications set forth in
section 8-70-112.

(8) Division means the division of unemployment insurance.

(8.5) Electronic has the meaning set forth in section 24-71.3-102 (5), C.R.S.;
except that electronic shall not include use of the telephone to transmit audio or
voice communication.

(9) Employer has the meaning set forth in section 8-70-113.

(10) Employing unit has the meaning set forth in section 8-70-114.

(11) Employment has the meaning set forth in sections 8-70-115 to 8-70-125, exclusive of the exceptions set forth in sections 8-70-126 to 8-70-140.7.

(11.5) Repealed.

(12) Employment office means a free public employment office or branch
thereof operated by this state or maintained as a part of a state-controlled system
of public employment offices.

(12.3) Employment support fund means the employment support fund
created in section 8-77-109 (1)(b).

(12.5) Fully employed means any employee who is employed thirty-two
hours or more for any week and is not included in the definition of partially
employed as set forth in subsection (19) of this section.

(13) Fund or unemployment compensation fund means the
unemployment compensation fund, established in section 8-77-101 (1), to which all
premiums required and from which all benefits under articles 70 to 82 of this title 8
and bonds issued under section 8-71-103 (2)(d) are paid, and from which payments
may be made to the Colorado housing and finance authority under section 29-4-710.7.

(14) Hospital means an institution which has been licensed, certified, or
approved by the department of public health and environment as a hospital.

(14.5) Immediate family means an individual's spouse, partner in a civil
union, parent, or minor child under eighteen years of age; a sibling of the individual
who is under eighteen years of age and for whom the individual stands in loco
parentis; or a sibling of the individual who is incapable of self-care due to a mental
or physical disability or a long-term illness.

(15) (a) Institution of higher education means an educational institution
which:

(I) Admits as regular students only individuals having a certificate of
graduation from a high school or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate;
and

(II) Is legally authorized in this state to provide a program of education
beyond high school; and

(III) Provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's or
higher degree or a program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a
degree, a program of postgraduate or postdoctoral studies, or a program of training
to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation; and

(IV) Is a public or other nonprofit institution.

(b) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection
(15), all colleges and universities in this state are institutions of higher education for
purposes of this section.

(16) Insured work means employment for employers.

(17) (a) Interested party to any benefit decision means the individual who is
claiming benefits, the division, and any employer who has complied with the
reporting requirements of the division with respect to wages or other information
regarding such individual.

(b) Interested party to a premium liability determination means the division
and the employer whose business has been issued a liability determination by the
division.

(18) Inverse chronological order, when applied to the charging of
employers' accounts, means that the most recent base period employer is the first
employer charged and all other employers shall follow in reverse order of dates of
employment.

(18.7) Nonseasonal period or periods means the time within a calendar year
other than the seasonal period or periods.

(19) Partially employed refers to an individual whose wages payable to him
by his regular employer for any week of less than full-time work are less than the
weekly benefit amount he would be entitled to receive if totally unemployed and
eligible or, in any established payroll period not longer than one month, are less
than full-time work in which wages payable to him by his regular employer are less
than an amount determined in accordance with the general rule proportionately
equivalent for such pay period to the individual's weekly benefit amount. Any
employee who is employed thirty-two hours or more for any week is deemed to be
employed full time for such week and is not included in the definition of partially
employed under this subsection (19).

(20) Payments in lieu of premiums means the money payments made into
the fund by an employer pursuant to the provisions of sections 8-76-108 to 8-76-110.

(21) Payroll period means a period of not more than thirty-one consecutive
days for which a payment of remuneration is ordinarily made to the employee by
the employing unit employing him. If the services performed during one-half or
more of any payroll period by an employee for the employing unit employing him
constitute employment, all the services of the employee for such period shall be
deemed to be employment; but, if the services performed during more than one-half of any such payroll period by an employee for the employing unit employing
him do not constitute employment, none of the services of the employee for such
period shall be deemed to be employment.

(22) Period of unemployment commences only after registration by the
individual at an employment office, except as the division, by regulation, otherwise
may prescribe.

(23) Political subdivision means a county, municipality, school district, local
college district, special district formed pursuant to title 32, C.R.S., cooperative
agency formed pursuant to part 2 of article 1 of title 29, C.R.S., or regional
commission formed pursuant to section 30-28-105, C.R.S.

(23.3) Premiums means the money payments to the unemployment
compensation fund, and the payment amount included in the calculation of an
employer's experience rating, required by articles 70 to 82 of this title 8.

(23.5) Seasonal industry means an industry or functionally distinct
occupation within an industry that, because of climatic conditions or the seasonal
nature of the employment, customarily employs workers only during a regularly
recurring period or periods of less than twenty-six weeks in a calendar year.

(23.6) Seasonal worker means an individual who has been paid seasonal
wages by a seasonal employer for seasonal work only during the designated
seasonal period.

(23.7) (a) Severance allowance means any payment that is:

(I) Designated by an employer as a severance allowance;

(II) Paid to an individual because the individual is separated from
employment; and

(III) Paid to compensate the separated individual for a period of time
following the separation during which period the individual does not work.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (23.7)(a) of this section, a payment made by
an employer to an individual is not a severance allowance if the purpose of the
payment is to induce the individual to waive rights or claims against the employer.

(24) State includes the states of the United States of America, the District
of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

(24.5) Support surcharge rate means an employer's rate that is used to
calculate the money payments owed to the employment support fund, the benefit
recovery fund, and the unemployment insurance program support fund, calculated
in accordance with section 8-76-102.5 (3)(a)(IV) using the same methodology as is
used to calculate an employer's percent of excess in accordance with section 8-76-102.5 (3)(a)(II)(A).

(25) to (27) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (HB 09-1363), ch. 363, p. 1877,
� 2, effective July 1, 2009.)

(28) Totally unemployed means an individual who performs no services in
any week with respect to which no wages are payable to him. Should such week
occur within an established payroll period in which the individual is not totally
separated from his regular employer, he shall be deemed not totally unemployed
but partially employed, as defined in subsection (19) of this section, and subject to
the conditions pertaining to partial employment.

(28.5) Unemployment insurance program support fund means the
unemployment insurance program support fund created in section 8-77-109
(2)(a.9)(II)(A).

(29) Wages has the meaning set forth in section 8-70-141.

(30) Week means such period of seven consecutive days as the director of
the division may prescribe by regulations.

(31) Weekly benefit amount means the amount of benefits an individual is
entitled to receive for one week of total unemployment.

Legislative History

Source: L. 36, 3rd Ex. Sess.: p. 49, � 19. L. 37: p. 1270, � 12. CSA: C. 167A, � 19. L. 39: pp. 581, 586, �� 13, 1. L. 41: pp. 802, 814, 818, �� 19, 1, 1. L. 43: pp. 610, 612, �� 11, 13. L. 45: p. 715, � 8. L. 47: pp. 888, 891, �� 4, 1, 2. L. 49: p. 730, � 11. L. 51: pp. 822, 823, �� 15-18. L. 53: p. 627, � 7. CRS 53: � 82-1-3. L. 55: pp. 528, 529, �� 1, 1. L. 57: p. 516, � 1. L. 58, 1st Ex. Sess.: p. 24, � 1. L. 59: p. 559, � 1. L. 60: p. 155, � 1. L. 63: p. 664, �� 1, 2. C.R.S. 1963: � 82-1-3. L. 65: pp. 830, 831, �� 1, 2. L. 71: pp. 924-931, �� 1-5. L. 73: p. 957, � 1. L. 75: (10)(f.1) added and IP(10)(g) and (11)(f) amended, p. 321, �� 1, 2, effective June 20. L. 76: (10)(f.1) amended and (19.5) added, p. 360, � 1, effective April 20; (22)(b)(II) amended, p. 299, � 19, effective May 20; (3)(a), (7), (8)(a), IP(10)(g), (10)(g)(I), and (11)(f) amended and (10)(a)(II) and (10)(f.1) repealed, pp. 335, 352, �� 2, 22, effective October 1. L. 77: (11)(d) amended, p. 472, � 1, effective July 1; (8)(b), (8)(c), (10)(g), and (11)(a)(I) R&RE, (8)(c.3), (8)(c.7), (10)(f.3), (10)(k), and (22)(c) added, and (10)(a), (10)(f), IP(10)(h)(I), (10)(h)(II), (11)(a)(I)(G), (20), and (22)(a) amended, pp. 457, 458, 460, 461, 462, �� 1-12, effective July 7; (11)(f) repealed, p. 471, � 27, effective January 1, 1978. L. 79: (4) and (10)(k) R&RE, (4.3) added, and (10)(g)(I), IP(10)(g)(III), and (10)(g)(III)(E) amended, pp. 344, 345, �� 1-3, effective September 30. L. 80: (10)(g)(I) and (10)(k) amended, p. 462, � 1, effective July 1. L. 81: (4.5) added, p. 482, � 1, effective July 1; (8)(e), (10)(j), (11)(e), (13), and (22)(a) amended, (20.5) added, and (6) repealed, pp. 489, 507, �� 1, 29, effective July 1; (11)(b) amended, p. 2023, � 4, effective July 14; (11)(o) added, p. 508, � 1, effective July 1, 1983. L. 82: (10)(g)(I) amended, p. 234, � 1, effective July 1. L. 83: (10)(f.3)(I)(A), (10)(f.3)(I)(B), (11)(h), and (11)(l) amended, p. 434, � 1, effective April 12; (8)(d), (9), IP(10)(a), and (10)(a)(III) amended, (10)(a)(IV) and (18.5) added, and (11)(m) and (11)(o)(I) repealed, pp. 428, 429, 433, �� 1, 2, 14, effective June 3; (2)(e), (20.3), and (20.4) added and (22)(a) R&RE, pp. 2041, 2042, �� 1-3, effective October 1. L. 84: IP(10)(a), (10)(a)(III), and (18) amended, (22)(a.5) added, (22)(b) R&RE, and (10)(a)(IV) repealed, pp. 313, 314, 320, �� 1, 2, 3, 14, effective July 1. L. 85: (22)(a.5)(II) amended, p. 363, � 1, effective March 1; (3)(b), (10)(f.3)(I)(B), (22)(b)(IV)(C), (22)(b)(IV)(D), (22)(b)(V), and (22)(b)(VIII) amended, (22)(a.5)(I)(D), (22)(a.5)(I.5), (22)(b)(IV)(G), (22)(b)(XV), and (2)(b)(XVI) added, and (22)(b)(II), (22)(b)(VI), (22)(b)(XIII), and (22)(b)(XIV) repealed, pp. 359, 360, 361, �� 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, effective April 4; (11)(p) added, p. 362, � 1, effective April 5; (1) and (3)(a) amended, p. 365, � 1, effective July 1; (8)(a) and (11)(c) amended, p. 372, � 1, effective July 1. L. 86: IP(11)(l) amended and (11)(q) added, p. 541, � 1, effective May 28; (19) and (23) amended and (5) repealed, pp. 487, 502, �� 81, 125, effective July 1; (20.4) amended, p. 541, � 2, effective July 1. L. 87: (10)(f.3)(I) amended, p. 403, � 1, effective April 16; (19.5) amended, p. 405, � 1, effective June 1. L. 89: (10)(f.3)(II)(A) and (22)(b)(IV)(G) amended and (22)(b)(IV)(H) added, p. 424, � 1, effective July 1. L. 90: Entire section R&RE, p. 585, � 1, effective April 3; (11)(p) repealed, p. 609, � 8, effective April 16; (12.5) added and (17) amended, p. 606, � 1, effective April 16; (20.4) amended, p. 1763, � 2, effective June 8; (22)(b)(I)(A) amended, p. 557, � 9, effective July 1. L. 94: (14) amended, p. 2723, � 317, effective July 1. L. 96: (11) amended, p. 380, � 1, effective April 17. L. 97: (23) amended, p. 119, � 1, effective July 1. L. 98: (5) amended, p. 88, � 2, effective March 23. L. 2002: (8.5) added, p. 340, � 15, effective April 19. L. 2003: (8.5) amended, p. 1982, � 4, effective May 22. L. 2009: (1.5) added, (SB 09-247), ch. 405, p. 2228, � 1, effective July 1; (6.3), (6.5), and (23.5) added and (13), (17)(b), (20), and (25) to (27) amended, (HB 09-1363), ch. 363, p. 1877, � 2, effective July 1. L. 2011: (6.5) amended, (HB 11-1288), ch. 212, p. 914, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2012: (8) amended, (HB 12-1120), ch. 27, p. 77, � 2, effective June 1. L. 2012, 1st Ex. Sess.: (6.5) and (13) amended, (HB 12S-1002), ch. 2, p. 2424, � 2, effective June 1. L. 2015: (6.5) amended, (SB 15-264), ch. 259, p. 942, � 9, effective August 5. L. 2020: IP and (6.5) amended, (SB 20-207), ch. 296, p. 1469, � 1, effective January 1, 2021; IP amended and (14.5) and (23.7) added, (SB 20-170), ch. 297, p. 1478, � 3, effective January 1, 2021. L. 2023: (2.7), (11.5), (12.3), and (24.5) added and (13) and (23.5) amended, (SB 23-232), ch. 141, p. 593, � 1, effective May 1. L. 2025: (11.5) repealed, (24.5) amended, and (28.5) added, (SB 25-242), ch. 145, p. 545, � 1, effective April 28; (18.7) and (23.3) added, (23.5) amended, and (23.6) added with relocations (SB 25-275), ch. 377, p. 2034, � 30, effective August 6.