Payment of Wages: Colorado

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Authors: Tareen Zafrullah, Stuart R. Buttrick, Mary L. Will and Taylor L. Haran Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Summary

• The term wages is specifically defined in the Colorado wage payment law. See Definition of Wages.
• In Colorado, an employer may pay wages in cash, by check, by direct deposit into an employee's checking or savings account or by electronic paycard. See Wage Payment Methods.
• Colorado employees must be paid on regular paydays occurring not more than one calendar month or 30 days apart. An employer must generally pay employees no later than 10 days following the close of each pay period. Penalties may be imposed for violations. A notice of paydays poster must be conspicuously posted in the workplace. See Pay Frequency.
• In Colorado, certain deductions from employees' pay are permitted and others are prohibited. Penalties may be imposed for violations. Covered employers are required to withhold and remit employee contributions to the Colorado SecureSavings Retirement Savings Program. Covered employers and employees are required to make premium contributions for paid family and medical leave benefits. See Permitted and Prohibited Wage Deductions.
• An employer must provide employees with written, itemized pay statements every payday. Each pay statement must contain specific information. See Pay Statement Requirements.
• In Colorado, the timing of when final wages must be paid to a terminated employee depends on whether the employee is fired or quit. Under Colorado law, employers are not required to provide vacation pay benefits. However, if an employer does provide them, it must pay a terminated employee all accrued but unused vacation pay that is earned and determinable according to the terms of any agreement or policy. Any term of such an agreement or policy that provides for the forfeiture of earned vacation pay on termination is void. Extensive noncompliance penalties apply. See Final Pay.
• The Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) requires employers to provide eligible employees with paid sick and safe leave. Employers must comply with pay frequency, pay statement and final pay requirements under the HFWA. See Paid Sick Leave.
• After the death of an employee, an employer must follow a specific set of rules in order to properly turn over any compensation owed to the deceased employee's estate, surviving spouse or heirs. See Deceased Employee Wages.
• Wages that are unclaimed for one year are considered abandoned property. An employer must file an annual report of unclaimed wages and remit the amounts held to the Colorado Treasury Department. An employer must give affected employees advance notice within a certain time period before remitting the amounts held to the state. Penalties may be assessed for noncompliance. See Unclaimed Wages.
• Under the Colorado Wage Theft Transparency Act, an employer commits wage theft if it willfully refuses to pay wages or other forms of compensation due to an employee, or falsely denies the amount or validity of a wage claim, with the intent not to pay or to underpay the amount due or to defraud the person to whom the wages or compensation are due. Wage theft is a felony if the "theft" amount is $2,000 or more. Violations (e.g., nonpayment of wages or overtime pay) are publicly released by the Department of Labor (DOL)and may be used in a court proceeding. See Colorado Wage Theft Transparency Act.
• Denver has requirements pertaining to the payment of wages. See Local Requirements.