Were you sexually harassed at work in Denver?
Unwanted sexual comments, messages, touching, advances, or pressure involving your job 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 this looks like in real life, and what the law calls it.
Sexual harassment is usually smaller, repeated, and easier to doubt than people expect. The legal test is whether unwelcome conduct tied to sex made your job hostile, it does not have to be physical or loud.
He says the comments are jokes. They're about my body, and they happen every shift.
The law calls it → sexual harassment (hostile work environment)
- My manager hinted my hours depend on how 'friendly' I am after work. The law calls it → quid pro quo sexual harassment
- The comments stopped being about work a long time ago. Now it's my body, my clothes, my dating life. The law calls it → hostile work environment based on sex
- After I turned him down, my good shifts disappeared and my reviews got worse. The law calls it → retaliation, illegal even if the original complaint isn't proven
- They didn't fire me. They just made every day bad enough that I'd quit. The law calls it → constructive discharge
- My manager at a LoDo restaurant keeps commenting on my body and schedules me alone with him for closing shifts. The law calls it → hostile work environment based on sex
These cover unwelcome sexual advances or comments, quid pro quo (job tied to sexual conduct), hostile work environment based on sex, pregnancy and gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, retaliation for reporting, in any industry. If something here is familiar, you don't have to be sure before you ask.
Illustrative situations, not client accounts.
Denver workers are protected by the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, and under the 2023 POWR Act, conduct no longer needs to meet the former 'severe or pervasive' test to qualify as harassment under state law. The Colorado Civil Rights Division and the EEOC's Denver Field Office are both downtown, the state filing window is 300 days, and CADA covers employers of all sizes. Whether particular conduct qualifies depends on the facts, and a private review can tell you where you stand.
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.
$23.5 million
150 women · Sexual harassment (multi-plaintiff)
$1 million
a group of women · Sexual harassment (multi-plaintiff)
$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)
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 Denver.
- The CCRD window is 300 days, not the six months you may see on older Colorado pages (HB22-1367 extended it in 2022).
- After a right-to-sue notice, the 90-day window to file suit is one of the shortest deadlines in Colorado employment law.
- Denver's federal workforce is large, and civilian federal employees have 45 DAYS to contact an agency EEO counselor, a completely different track.
- CADA generally requires exhausting the CCRD process first; skipping the agency and waiting to 'sue later' can forfeit the state claim.
- Colorado's POWR Act limits new NDAs that would keep you from discussing discriminatory conduct, but older agreements may read differently. Have any agreement reviewed before assuming it silences you.
Local filing and enforcement information for Denver 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.
- Auto sales, metro Denver EEOC v. Chris The Crazy Trader, Inc. d/b/a Christopher's Dodge Ram (D. Colo.): $480,000 consent decree (2025) resolving federal claims of sex, race, and national-origin harassment and retaliation at a Golden dealership, with required training, written discipline for harassers, and ongoing EEOC reporting. official source ↗
These are public government enforcement actions by the EEOC, not this firm's cases. Agency and state filing routes for Denver follow below.
Where do you file a sexual harassment claim in Denver?
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 Colorado, and it shares work with the Colorado Civil Rights Division, whose Denver office is a few blocks away. Most workers start online.
950 17th Street, Suite 300Denver, CO 80202
1-800-669-4000 EEOC Public Portal →
Denver District Court (2nd Judicial District)
City & County Building (civil matters)1437 Bannock Street
Denver, CO 80202
The filing path, step by step
- 1Document everything: messages, schedules, complaints, witnesses, and every job action that followed.
- 2File with the Colorado Civil Rights Division within 300 days (1560 Broadway, Suite 825, a few blocks from the Capitol; intake starts online), or with the EEOC Denver Field Office at 950 17th Street within 300 days. The two agencies share work, so one filing can preserve both routes.
- 3CADA generally requires finishing the CCRD process before a state-law lawsuit; after a right-to-sue notice you generally have 90 days to file in Denver District Court (1437 Bannock Street).
- 4Federal employees in Denver follow a different track: 45 days to contact your agency's EEO counselor.
- 5A Colorado-admitted attorney can review the timeline before any window closes; the initial review has no cost or obligation.
Sexual-harassment information in other Colorado cities
- BoulderWorkplace sexual-harassment information
- Colorado SpringsWorkplace sexual-harassment information
- Fort CollinsWorkplace sexual-harassment information
Asked by Denver workers.
Did Colorado really change what counts as sexual harassment?
Yes. The 2023 POWR Act removed the former 'severe or pervasive' formulation for state-law claims and defined harassment in the statute itself. That does not make every offensive comment illegal, whether conduct qualifies still depends on the facts, but conduct that once fell short of the old federal test may now support a Colorado claim.
Where do I actually file in Denver?
Both agencies are downtown: the Colorado Civil Rights Division at 1560 Broadway (Suite 825) and the EEOC Denver Field Office at 950 17th Street (Suite 300). Both prefer online intake, and they share work, so a properly cross-filed charge preserves both the state and federal routes.
My employer is small, under 15 people. Do I still have a claim?
Under Colorado law, generally yes. CADA covers employers of all sizes, unlike federal Title VII's 15-employee minimum. Small-employer cases proceed under CADA through the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
The harasser is a customer or client, not a coworker. Does that matter?
An employer can be responsible for harassment by customers, clients, or vendors when it knew or should have known and failed to act. In Denver's hospitality and healthcare settings this pattern is common, and it is still the employer's legal problem.
I reported it to HR and my hours got cut. Is that retaliation?
Possibly. Cutting hours, worse assignments, exclusion, or discipline after you report harassment can be unlawful retaliation under CADA, a separate violation even if the underlying harassment claim is never proven. Document the timeline: report date, then each change that followed.
How long do I have to act in Denver?
Three clocks: 300 days to file with the CCRD, 300 days for the EEOC, and generally 90 days to sue after a right-to-sue notice. The safest move is talking to an attorney well before the first one runs.