Were you discriminated against at work in Boulder?
Being treated worse because of who you are, in pay, promotion, discipline, scheduling or termination, may be unlawful. Retaliation after you objected or reported it may be unlawful too.
If your workplace rights were violated, you may be able to pursue compensation for lost pay or emotional harm, and hold your employer accountable.
Not sure whether it was "serious enough"? You can request a review even if you never reported it to HR or are still employed.
What discrimination actually looks like, and what the law calls it.
Discrimination is rarely a single dramatic act. It's the pattern, the 'jokes,' the passed-over promotion, the accommodation that never comes, the sudden performance problem after you spoke up. The legal test is whether a protected trait drove how you were treated.
The 'nicknames' are slurs. Everyone laughs, so I'm supposed to laugh too.
The law calls it → racial or national-origin harassment
- Since I started wearing a hijab, I'm suddenly 'not a culture fit' for client meetings. The law calls it → religious discrimination
- They call me 'grandpa' in standups and gave the project I built to someone half my age. The law calls it → age-based harassment and discrimination (40+)
- I asked for a simple schedule change for my disability. Months later, still nothing, and now I'm 'unreliable.' The law calls it → failure to accommodate a disability
- I reported the slurs to HR. Two weeks later my performance was suddenly a problem. The law calls it → retaliation, illegal even if the original complaint isn't proven, as long as it was made in good faith
- I'm 58, the oldest engineer on the team, and after the reorg every 'growth opportunity' went to people twenty years younger. The law calls it → age discrimination under CADA
These cover race and national origin, disability (and accommodations), age (40 and over), religion (and accommodations), sex and pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity, in any industry. If something here is familiar, you don't have to be sure before you ask.
Illustrative situations, not client accounts.
The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act protects Boulder workers from discrimination because of race, national origin, disability, age (40+), religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status, at employers of all sizes, including the small startups federal law cannot reach. Unfairness alone is not enough: the treatment must connect to a protected trait, an accommodation right, or a protected complaint. Private-sector workers have 300 days to file with the CCRD; federal-lab employees follow a separate 45-day track.
What could taking action help you pursue?
Depending on the facts, legal action may help recover financial losses, address emotional harm, restore employment opportunities, or require workplace changes. Available remedies depend on the facts and applicable law; no outcome is guaranteed.
Recover what you lost
Lost pay, benefits, hours, and employment opportunities tied to the unlawful conduct.
Address the harm
Compensation for emotional distress may be available where the law provides for it.
Restore an opportunity
Some cases may involve reinstatement, promotion, corrected records, or another job-related remedy.
Create accountability
A resolution may include policy changes, training, or other corrective workplace action.
You do not need a perfect record, or even to know whether what happened was illegal, before asking what your options are.
Common concerns we hear from employees
I never reported it to HR.
You may still have legal options. Not reporting immediately does not automatically end your rights, although the specific facts can affect a claim.
I don't have screenshots or witnesses.
You do not need a complete evidence file before contacting us. We can help identify texts, emails, schedules, witnesses, and other evidence that may matter.
I still work there.
You can ask questions while still employed. Retaliating against a worker for opposing unlawful conduct or asserting protected rights may itself be unlawful.
It was a customer or client, not a coworker.
In some circumstances, an employer may be responsible for the conduct of supervisors, coworkers, customers, clients, or other third parties.
Brian Denlinger
Shareholder · Admitted in Colorado
Brian Denlinger is licensed in Colorado and Washington. He represents employees in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage-and-hour matters.
Read Brian's full bio →Real verdicts and recoveries in harassment and discrimination cases.
$15 million
1 plaintiff · Gender pay & promotion discrimination, jury verdict (punitive damages under federal + Oregon law)
Jury verdict, subject to post-trial proceedings. Not a settlement or a collected recovery.
$1.3 million
19 Black construction workers · Racial harassment (hostile work environment)
$1 million
27 Black construction workers · Racial harassment (hostile work environment)
$725,000
14 individuals · Racial harassment (14 individual arbitrations)
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What happens after you reach out?
You don't need documents, a lawyer-ready story, or even certainty that what happened was illegal.
- 01
Talk with us
A short initial conversation about what happened and when.
- 02
We assess the record
We identify possible claims, deadlines and evidence that may matter.
- 03
If we take the case
We handle the filing strategy, negotiations and litigation.
Deadlines can depend on where and how you file
Colorado and federal claims may follow different filing routes. These are general time limits, not sequential steps.
Generally, to file a discrimination or harassment charge with the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
CCRD, Complaint Process ↗Often, to file an EEOC charge when the claim is also covered by state or local anti-discrimination law.
EEOC, How to File a Charge ↗Generally, to file a lawsuit after receiving a CCRD right-to-sue notice.
CCRD, Complaint Process ↗Other claims and exceptions may have different or shorter deadlines. Contact counsel promptly so the applicable dates can be reviewed.
Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA)
C.R.S. § 24-34-401 et seq.
Primary source, C.R.S. § 24-34-401 et seq. ↗Share what happened in about two minutes. The firm will review your submission and contact you about possible options and next steps. There is no cost or obligation to request a review.
Deadlines and filing issues for workers in Boulder.
- Boulder's federal-lab workforce follows the 45-day EEO-counselor track, not CADA's 300 days.
- The CCRD window is 300 days, not six months; the extension came in 2022.
- The 90-day post-notice suit window is short and unforgiving.
- University internal deadlines run separately from, and shorter than, the CADA window.
- Each discrete act generally has its own clock; the earliest acts expire first while a situation 'develops.'
Local filing and enforcement information for Boulder workers.
The sources below are public agency actions and filing information, not this firm's cases. They illustrate how claims have been handled and do not predict the outcome of another matter.
- Manufacturing, Broomfield EEOC v. Carefree/Scott Fetzer Company d/b/a Carefree of Colorado (D. Colo.): $100,000 consent decree (2021) resolving federal claims that a Broomfield manufacturer refused to hire a deaf applicant as an assembler and retaliated after she and her job-placement advocate raised discrimination and accommodation concerns. official source ↗
These are public government enforcement actions by the EEOC, not this firm's cases. Agency and state filing routes for Boulder follow below.
Where do you file a workplace discrimination claim in Boulder?
Colorado Civil Rights Division
Denver (statewide)1560 Broadway, Suite 825
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 894-2997
The CCRD is part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies in Denver. An intake packet can be started online; the division serves the whole state from Denver.
File online →EEOC Denver Field Office
The Denver Field Office covers all of Colorado including Boulder County; there is no EEOC office in Boulder. Most workers file online.
950 17th Street, Suite 300Denver, CO 80202
1-800-669-4000 EEOC Public Portal →
Boulder County District Court (20th Judicial District)
Boulder County Combined Court1777 6th Street
Boulder, CO 80302
The filing path, step by step
- 1Write down the decision that hurt you (firing, demotion, pay, promotion, discipline, scheduling), who made it, and what was said, with dates.
- 2Confirm your track: federal employees follow the 45-day EEO-counselor route; CU employees have campus and state-personnel procedures; private-sector workers follow CADA and Title VII.
- 3File with the Colorado Civil Rights Division within 300 days (online intake), or with the EEOC Denver Field Office; a cross-filed charge preserves both routes.
- 4Pay discrimination and job-posting transparency violations have their own route through the state labor department under the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.
- 5After a right-to-sue notice, a CADA suit is generally filed within 90 days at the Boulder County Combined Court. A Colorado-admitted attorney can map the routes; the initial review has no cost or obligation.
Employment discrimination information in other Colorado cities
- Colorado SpringsEmployment-discrimination information
- DenverEmployment-discrimination information
- Fort CollinsEmployment-discrimination information
Asked by Boulder workers.
My company has 12 people. Federal law needs 15. Am I covered?
Under Colorado law, yes. CADA covers employers of all sizes, which matters enormously in Boulder's startup economy, a 12-person company that Title VII and the ADA cannot reach is still fully covered by state law through the CCRD.
What does Colorado protect that federal law doesn't?
All-size employer coverage, express statutory protection for sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and marital status, and the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act's pay-transparency rights, including required pay ranges in job postings.
I asked for a disability accommodation and the company stopped responding. Is that a violation?
It can be. Colorado employers must engage with reasonable accommodation requests, and going silent is often itself the violation. Put the request in writing, keep the non-responses, and get the timeline reviewed. A Broomfield manufacturer paid $100,000 in a federal case after refusing to consider a deaf applicant.
I discovered a coworker with my title earns substantially more. What are my options?
Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act prohibits sex-based pay differences for substantially similar work, requires pay ranges in postings, and restricts pay-secrecy policies. Complaints run through the state labor department, and pay discrimination can also proceed under CADA.
Where would my case actually be filed?
State-law claims are filed in the 20th Judicial District at the Boulder County Combined Court, 1777 6th Street, after the CCRD process concludes. Federal claims go to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in Denver.
How long do I have to act in Boulder?
Private-sector: 300 days to file with the CCRD or EEOC, then generally 90 days to sue after a notice. Federal employees: 45 days to contact an EEO counselor. An attorney can tell you which clock controls your facts.