Colorado agricultural heat and the April 20 deadline
7 CCR 1103-15 starts at 80 F, with annual training due on a calendar date and a four-workday acclimatization period.
Colorado agricultural heat rules apply to outdoor field work at 80 F, including when the site is only forecast to reach it. Annual training has a calendar deadline of April 20 rather than a rolling one, which is before most harvest planning starts. The 2026 amendments set the agricultural acclimatization period at an employee first four workdays above 80 F, and broadened how you are allowed to monitor conditions.
Takeaways
- Get training completed by the April 20 date rather than during the season.
- Apply the four-workday acclimatization period Colorado actually requires.
- Choose a monitoring method the amended rule allows.
- Say what changes at 95 F on an agricultural site.
What 80 F turns on
The April 20 training deadline
Four workdays, not fourteen days
How you are allowed to monitor
Increased-risk precautions at 95 F
Frequently asked questions
- Does this apply to non-agricultural work in Colorado? Not this rule. 7 CCR 1103-15 is the agricultural standard. Colorado extended temperature coverage to all industries through HB 26-1272, but that law set no numeric thresholds. There is a separate guide on what HB 26-1272 does and does not require.
- Is the acclimatization period four days or fourteen? Colorado agriculture requires the first four workdays above 80 F. Fourteen days is the broader standard used elsewhere and is more protective, so tracking fourteen satisfies four.
- Can employees take their own readings? Yes, the amended rule allows employees to measure and report conditions as one of the permitted monitoring methods. Make sure they have a working instrument and know how to use it.
- What if the day is forecast to hit 80 F but does not? The obligations attach to the forecast as well as the actual reading, so the water, shade, and rest have to be in place. Logging the forecast and the actual reading shows why the preparation happened.