Owed equity, bonuses or severance in Colorado?
Equity, severance and employment-contract disputes in Colorado generally turn on the agreement itself. Deadlines, forums and available remedies depend on the documents and what happened.
You can request a review before you sign anything, even if you are not sure what the agreement allows.
Updated August 2026
- Unpaid commissions, bonuses, equity, or deferred compensation
- A disputed severance agreement or release
- Noncompete, nonsolicit, confidentiality, or clawback terms
- Retaliation or termination affecting vested or earned compensation
Colorado equity, severance, and executive-pay disputes usually proceed in court or arbitration under the governing contract, and Colorado's restrictive-covenant statute makes most noncompetes void unless a statutory exception applies, with earnings thresholds adjusted annually by the CDLE and extra 2025 restrictions for healthcare providers. Whether a particular covenant is enforceable is fact-specific, and the agreement's date controls which version of the law governs.
The firm represents employees statewide across Colorado in equity compensation and severance matters. The state-level rules on this page apply wherever in Colorado you worked. Compare deadlines across all states →
Colorado at a glance.
- Governing law
- Colorado restrictive-covenant statute and wage and contract law, C.R.S. § 8-2-113 (as amended through SB25-083)
More detail
C.R.S. § 13-80-101 - Coverage
- No employee-count threshold.
More detail
Contract rights depend on the documents; restrictive-covenant enforceability is governed separately by C.R.S. § 8-2-113. - Written-contract deadline
- Colorado contract claims are generally subject to a 3-year period (C.R.S. § 13-80-101)
More detail
some claims for a liquidated, determinable amount can carry a 6-year period. A severance offer's response date is usually far shorter than any statute of limitations. - Administrative filing
- None, equity, severance, and employment-contract disputes generally proceed in court or contractually required arbitration.
- Forum
- Contract or restrictive-covenant proceeding
- Damages
- Contract remedies are not governed by Title VII's employee-count damages-cap schedule.
What may be available under Colorado contract and compensation law.
- Contractual compensation or the value of equity proven due.
- Earned bonuses and commissions may qualify as wages under the Colorado Wage Act, with statutory penalties for nonpayment after a proper demand.
- Contract damages and declaratory or injunctive relief where available.
- Negotiated severance and contract terms.
- Colorado noncompetes are void unless a statutory exception applies, chiefly highly compensated workers above an inflation-adjusted earnings threshold published annually by the CDLE, with nonsolicitation covenants using a lower threshold (60% of the highly-compensated amount).
- Colorado requires separate advance notice of a covenant's terms before an offer is accepted (or 14 days before an existing worker's covenant takes effect); a covenant without proper notice is void.
- SB25-083 (2025) further restricted covenants for licensed healthcare providers and changed how minority-ownership repayment provisions are treated, for agreements entered into on or after its effective date.
- The agreement date matters: Colorado's rules changed materially in 2022 (HB22-1317) and again in 2025 (SB25-083), and the version in force when the agreement was signed generally governs.
Where Colorado contract disputes are resolved.
Contract or restrictive-covenant proceeding
These disputes do not require a CCRD or EEOC charge. A contract may require arbitration, and Colorado's restrictive-covenant statute governs whether a noncompete or nonsolicit is enforceable at all.
A severance response date may be short even when the lawsuit deadline is longer. A private review identifies the governing documents, forum, and leverage before you sign.
Guides for Colorado equity compensation and severance.
The same conduct can break more than one law.
What happened to you in Colorado may also amount to a separate claim, with its own protections and its own deadlines. Each of these is worth checking before anything lapses.