Were you discriminated against at work in Fort Collins?
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
- After I mentioned my pregnancy, the Harmony-corridor plant moved me off my line 'for safety' and my hours fell by a third. The law calls it → pregnancy 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 Fort Collins 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. Unfairness alone is not enough: the treatment must connect to a protected trait, an accommodation right, or a protected complaint. The CCRD window is 300 days, and university and state workers carry additional internal deadlines.
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 Fort Collins.
- The CCRD window is 300 days, not six months; the extension came in 2022 and older pages have not caught up.
- State-employee internal deadlines are shorter than the CADA window and using one route does not preserve the other.
- The 90-day post-notice suit window is short and unforgiving.
- Equal-pay complaints through the CDLE run on their own track, separate from a CCRD charge.
- Each discrete act generally has its own clock; the earliest acts expire first while a situation 'develops.'
Local filing and enforcement information for Fort Collins 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, northern Front Range 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 RV-awning manufacturer refused to hire a deaf applicant and retaliated after she and her 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 Fort Collins follow below.
Where do you file a workplace discrimination claim in Fort Collins?
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 Larimer County; there is no EEOC office in Fort Collins. Most workers file online.
950 17th Street, Suite 300Denver, CO 80202
1-800-669-4000 EEOC Public Portal →
Larimer County District Court (8th Judicial District)
Larimer County Justice Center201 LaPorte Avenue, Suite 100
Fort Collins, CO 80521
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.
- 2File 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.
- 3CSU and state employees: check the internal grievance and State Personnel Board deadlines immediately, they are shorter and run separately.
- 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 Larimer County Justice Center. A Colorado-admitted attorney can map the routes; the initial review has no cost or obligation.
Employment discrimination information in other Colorado cities
- BoulderEmployment-discrimination information
- Colorado SpringsEmployment-discrimination information
- DenverEmployment-discrimination information
Asked by Fort Collins workers.
My employer is a small shop, well under 15 people. Do I have any claim?
Under Colorado law, generally yes. CADA covers employers of all sizes, so small Fort Collins employers that federal Title VII and the ADA cannot reach are still covered by state law through the CCRD.
What counts as illegal discrimination, as opposed to just unfair management?
The treatment has to connect to a protected trait (race, sex, age 40+, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy), an accommodation right, or a protected complaint. A manager who is hard on everyone is usually lawful; one whose decisions track a protected trait may not be.
I disclosed a disability and my accommodation request went nowhere. What now?
Put the request in writing and keep the responses. Colorado employers must engage with reasonable accommodation requests, and a refusal to engage is often itself the violation. A Broomfield manufacturer paid $100,000 in a federal case after refusing to consider a deaf applicant.
The job posting had no pay range. Is that actually illegal in Colorado?
Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act requires compensation ranges in job postings, and violations can be reported to the state labor department. The same law prohibits sex-based pay differences for substantially similar work.
Where would my case be heard?
State-law claims are filed in the 8th Judicial District at the Larimer County Justice Center after the CCRD process concludes; federal claims go to the District of Colorado in Denver.
How long do I have to act in Fort Collins?
Generally 300 days to file with the CCRD or EEOC, then 90 days to sue after a notice, with shorter internal deadlines for university and state employees. An attorney can tell you which clock controls.