StaffScapes, Inc

10/13/2026

Colorado Compliance Watch, October edition.

If you have employees in Denver and employees in Broomfield, you are managing two different minimum wages. Add Boulder County or Edgewater and you are managing three or four.

Colorado allows local governments to set a minimum wage above the state rate. Several have. Each adjusts on its own schedule, announced in the fall for January 1.

What this means practically:
- Your payroll rules need to be location-aware, not company-wide
- A remote employee's rate follows where they work, not where you are headquartered
- Tipped credit amounts differ too, which catches restaurants and hospitality every year
- Posting requirements are jurisdiction-specific

If your payroll is set up with one minimum wage floor and you have grown past one city, that is worth checking this month rather than in January.

10/08/2026

Heads up, Colorado business owners!
Colorado's state unemployment insurance (SUI) wage base is going up again in 2027:
➡️ 2026: $30,600 per employee
➡️ 2027: $32,100 per employee
That's $1,500 more in taxable wages for each employee. At the 2026 standard rate of 3.05% (2027 rates aren't out yet), it comes to about $45.75 more per employee, per year.
With 10 employees, that's about $458 more. With 25, it's about $1,144.
It's not a budget-breaker, but it's worth planning for now so it doesn't surprise you in January.
Want someone else to keep track of payroll tax changes like this? That's what we do at StaffScapes. Send us a message and we'll walk you through how a PEO can help.

10/06/2026

2027 FMLI Rate Change!

For the second year in a row the rate we pay for FMLI is changing. Colorado Department of labor recently announced that it is moving the FMLI rate that employee's and employers pay is going down. Not a big change but you get to keep a few more of the dollars you earned.

Effective January 1, 2027, FAMLI premiums are reducing from 0.88% to 0.86% of gross wages.

10/01/2026

There is a moment when HR stops being a to-do list and becomes a function.

Most companies miss it by about a year.

Reactive HR looks like: handling the issue in front of you, well, every time. Nothing is written down. The answer depends on who is asked. It works, until two managers give two different answers to the same question and one of them is in writing.

Proactive HR looks like: policies that exist before the situation does. Managers trained on how to handle a complaint. Documentation that happens as a matter of course, not as a scramble.

The signals that you have already crossed the line:
- You have more than one manager making people decisions
- Two employees have asked the same question and gotten different answers
- You are hiring in a second state
- Someone said ""I think we have a policy on that""
- Turnover is happening and nobody can tell you why

None of those mean you need to hire an HR director. They mean the informal version has run out of room.

09/22/2026

Colorado Compliance Watch, September edition.

Four things landing between now and January 1 that Colorado employers should have on the calendar:

1. State minimum wage for 2027. Colorado adjusts annually for inflation, and the new figure is announced in the fall to take effect January 1. Denver, Boulder County, and Edgewater set their own higher local rates. If you have employees in more than one of those jurisdictions, you are managing more than one number.

2. Exempt salary threshold. Colorado's threshold for exempt employees also rises January 1. Anyone sitting just above the current line needs a look before December.

3. FAMLI premiums and notice requirements. Confirm your rate, your withholding setup, and that the required notice is still posted where employees can see it.

4. Required poster updates. Colorado refreshes required postings most years. Remote employees need them delivered electronically, not just pinned to a breakroom wall.

09/17/2026

The compliance risk that keeps Colorado owners up at night is almost never the one they are worried about.

Owners worry about a lawsuit. What actually shows up is quieter:

- An employee classified as exempt who does not meet the salary threshold
- A contractor who has been doing employee work for two years
- An I-9 that was filled out wrong in 2023 and never corrected
- Overtime calculated on base pay instead of the regular rate
- A handbook policy that contradicts current Colorado law

Every one of those is fixable in an afternoon if you catch it. Every one of those compounds quietly if you do not, because the exposure is retroactive.

The businesses that get burned are rarely careless. They are busy, and nobody owns the review.

That is the job we take off your desk.

Want a second set of eyes on your current setup? Message us.

Employment Compliance and Mitigation - Legal requirements related to employee relations and rights continue to grow more complicated.

09/15/2026

Colorado Compliance Watch, September edition.

Four things landing between now and January 1 that Colorado employers should have on the calendar:

1. State minimum wage for 2027. Colorado adjusts annually for inflation, and the new figure is announced in the fall to take effect January 1. Denver, Boulder County, and Edgewater set their own higher local rates. If you have employees in more than one of those jurisdictions, you are managing more than one number.

2. Exempt salary threshold. Colorado's threshold for exempt employees also rises January 1. Anyone sitting just above the current line needs a look before December.

3. FAMLI premiums and notice requirements. Confirm your rate, your withholding setup, and that the required notice is still posted where employees can see it.

4. Required poster updates. Colorado refreshes required postings most years. Remote employees need them delivered electronically, not just pinned to a breakroom wall.

We will post the confirmed 2027 numbers here as soon as CDLE publishes them.
https://na2.hubs.ly/H07wvSc0

09/09/2026

Considering Gusto or BambooHR for your business? HR software can be a great tool—but when an employee termination leads to an unemployment claim, who is helping you navigate the process? At StaffScapes, we don't just provide technology. We partner with business owners before, during, and after employee separations, helping with documentation, termination decisions, and unemployment claims from start to finish.

Software provides information.

An HR partner provides guidance.

That's the difference.

09/08/2026

Heads up, Colorado business owners — two tax measures on this November's ballot could change your state income tax rate.

One (Initiative 195) creates a graduated tax — higher earners pay more, lower earners pay less. The other (Initiative 232) keeps the flat 4.4% rate for everyone. If both pass, the one with more "yes" votes wins.

Either way, it could affect your bottom line if you run a pass-through business. We'll keep you posted as November gets closer!