Colorado will permanently protect people who report public health concerns in their workplace after Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Tuesday expanding COVID-19 whistleblower protections established two years ago.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 97 prohibits retaliation against workers for reporting any workplace health and safety concern or violation of health and safety rules – rather than only protecting reports related to a declared public health emergency, as is the case under House Bill 1415 from 2020.

“Extending whistleblower protections for essential workers is the right move to keep our workers and the public safe,” said Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, who sponsored the bill. “All Coloradans should feel safe speaking out about workplace conditions that could harm them or the people around them.”

The bill passed the state legislature almost entirely along party lines, with all Democrats voting in support except for Sen. Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada, and all Republicans voting in opposition save for Sen. Kevin Priola of Henderson.

Critics called the bill unnecessary, adding that it would raise annual state costs by around $700,000 and cause an increase of about 150 complaints filed annually.

“Yes, there’s isolated incidents but … are we trying to fix something that we don’t see much evidence of?” Sen. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs said, while voting against the bill in the Senate. “Once you get a program in place, the budget continues to grow and so does the number of full-time employees.”

Liston insisted Colorado already has enough worker protections in place.

Supporters of the bill disagreed. Herod said 169 complaints have been filed to date under the 2020 bill, arguing that shows a need for the legislation to continue allowing workers to speak up without fear of retaliation.

Linda Rodriguez, who spoke in support of the bill, said she was fired from her job as an Amazon warehouse worker after speaking out against what she felt were inadequate COVID-19 protections.

“No one should be punished for trying to keep their workplace safe,” Rodriguez said. “I am grateful that Colorado law protects workers like me from that kind of retaliation and that it will now protect more workers’ voices.”

The nonprofit law firm Towards Justice also testified in support of the bill, saying the current protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration only provide a 30-day window for individuals to file a claim, which can take more than two years to process. In 2021, OSHA dismissed 54% of reported claims and found less than 1% of claims to have merit.