By Marissa Ventrelli | COLORADO POLITICS
A bill that would require Colorado employers to display posters and provide suicide prevention information in the workplace passed through the House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor this week.
HB 1015 would require workplaces to display posters created by the Division of Labor and Statistics that would provide information on suicide prevention training programs and educational materials. The posters will also include a QR code that links to a website to be created by the Office of Suicide Prevention.
Employees will also be required to sign a handbook or manual that includes a notice about suicide prevention. All of these resources will be provided to employers for free.
Ronald Dietz, a Littleton resident and survivor of suicide loss, testified against the bill. He believes that antidepressant drugs were a major contributor to the increase in suicide rates, drawing from his personal experience with his son Conrad, who committed suicide.