HB26-1236 Arbitration Reform Restricts Fees Class Waivers
Summary
Colorado HB26-1236 proposes comprehensive arbitration reform that would prohibit class action waivers in employer-employee and merchant-consumer contracts except as preempted by federal law. The bill would cap arbitration fees at the cost of filing in state or federal court, ban arbitrators with discriminatory practices, require compliance with award records within 30 days, and repeal the prohibition on exemplary damages in arbitration proceedings. If enacted, employers and merchants using standard arbitration agreements would need to revise their contract templates and fee provisions to comply.
“Prohibits a provision in an arbitration agreement that waives a party's ability to participate in a representative action except as preempted by federal law and disallows the waiver of this prohibition;”
Employers and merchants using arbitration agreements in Colorado should track HB26-1236's progress — the bill's fee-cap and class-waiver restrictions would require immediate revision of standard contract templates if enacted, particularly for agreements with arbitration providers whose fee structures exceed state or federal court filing costs.
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What changed
HB26-1236 would prohibit arbitration agreements waiving the ability to participate in representative actions and would prohibit requiring employees or consumers to pay arbitration fees substantially exceeding state or federal court filing costs. The bill would also ban arbitrators who discriminate against certain parties or prevent them from asserting rights, and would require employers and merchants to comply with award records within 30 days or face additional damages. Additionally, the bill repeals the prohibition on exemplary damages in arbitration. Employers, merchants, and arbitration providers should monitor this bill as it progresses through the Colorado legislature and prepare to revise arbitration agreement templates if enacted.
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
HB26-1236
Arbitration Reform
| Type | Bill |
|---|---|
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Courts & Judicial |
Concerning arbitration reform.
Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:
The bill:
- Prohibits a provision in an arbitration agreement that waives a party's ability to participate in a representative action except as preempted by federal law and disallows the waiver of this prohibition;
- Prohibits a provision in an arbitration agreement that requires an employee to an employer and employee contract or a consumer to a merchant and consumer contract to pay fees that substantially exceed the costs required to file a claim in state or federal court, except as preempted by federal law, and disallows the waiver of this prohibition;
- Prohibits an individual from serving as an arbitrator if the individual has a rule, policy, procedure, or demonstrated pattern of conduct that discriminates or prevents, or has the effect of discriminating or preventing, a certain party or type of party from asserting their rights or prevailing in arbitration or that discriminates against an attorney; and
- Requires an employer or merchant to fully comply with requirements of a record of an award, within 30 days after the date of the record of an award, or be liable for additional damages caused by their failure to comply. Under current law, exemplary damages are prohibited in arbitration proceedings. The bill repeals this prohibition.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Prime Sponsors
Yara Zokaie
Representative
Javier Mabrey
Senator
Matt Ball
Senator
Nick Hinrichsen
Committees
House
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Status
Under Consideration
Introduced
Under Consideration
Related Documents & Information
| Date | Version | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 02/18/2026 | Introduced |
| Date | Version | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 03/18/2026 | Initial Fiscal Note |
| Activity | Vote | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Refer House Bill 26-1236, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 6-5. | Vote summary |
| Activity | Vote | Documents |
|---|
Hearing Summary
| Date | Amendment Number | Committee/ Floor Hearing | Status | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 04/22/2026 | L.007 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/22/2026 | L.006 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/22/2026 | L.005 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/22/2026 | L.003 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/22/2026 | L.002 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [*] | PDF |
* Amendments passed in committee are not incorporated into the measure unless adopted by the full House or Senate.
** The status of Second Reading amendments may be subsequently affected by the adoption of an amendment to the Committee of the Whole Report. Refer to the House or Senate Journal for additional information.
| Date | Location | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 04/22/2026 | House | House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole |
| 04/07/2026 | House | House Committee on Judiciary Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only |
| 02/18/2026 | House | Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary |
Prime Sponsor
Rep. J. Mabrey | Rep. Y. Zokaie
Sen. M. Ball | Sen. N. Hinrichsen
Sponsor
(None) Co-Sponsor
(None)
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