Colorado is one of only a handful of states with real daily overtime, and it goes further than California in one respect: 12 consecutive hours triggers a premium even when the shift crosses midnight.
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These claims are time-sensitive. Legal deadlines (statutes of limitations) vary by state and can permanently bar a claim once they pass — so don't wait for a callback. You are free to choose any attorney you wish, and if you are considering a claim you should speak with a qualified attorney of your choosing as soon as possible. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page explains how Colorado wage rules generally work. It is not advice about your situation, and only a lawyer who knows your facts can tell you what you are owed or what to do next.
Colorado at a Glance
Colorado sits at the protective end of the range and gets there differently from most states. Its overtime rule has three separate triggers rather than one, its break rules are mandatory and specific, a fired worker has to be paid immediately, and an employer that ignores a written demand for wages faces a penalty of double or triple the amount owed.Most of this lives in the COMPS Order — the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order — which is a regulation reissued periodically rather than a statute, so its numbering changes from year to year even when the substance does not.
Three Ways to Earn Overtime
The COMPS Order requires overtime at one and a half times the regular rate for whichever of these produces the greatest payment:- More than 40 hours in a workweek. The familiar federal standard.
- More than 12 hours in a workday. Daily overtime, which only a handful of states have.
- More than 12 consecutive hours of work, regardless of when the workday started or ended.
The third trigger is the distinctive one. A purely calendar-day rule misses a shift that begins at 8 p.m. and runs to 9 a.m., because the hours split across two days. Colorado's consecutive-hours measure captures it. That matters most in healthcare, security, oil and gas field work, hospitality and anything else that runs long overnight shifts.
Because the employee gets whichever calculation pays most rather than all three stacked, the arithmetic is not simply additive — but an employer that only checks the weekly total will underpay anyone working long individual shifts inside a short week.
The regular rate includes non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials and most commissions. Exemption depends on actual duties measured against the COMPS Order's own definitions, which do not perfectly track the federal ones, plus a Colorado salary threshold that is set separately from the federal figure.
Minimum Wage, State and Local
Colorado's minimum wage sits in the state constitution and is adjusted annually for inflation, which has kept it above the federal floor without legislative action. A lower direct cash wage applies to tipped employees, with a tip credit limited to a fixed amount per hour and the employer required to make up any shortfall.Colorado also permits local governments to set higher local minimum wages, and several have — Denver, Edgewater and Boulder County among them, each with its own annual adjustment. Where a local rate is higher, that rate generally governs work performed there.
Because both the state figure and each local figure move every January, confirm the rate for your worksite with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Labor Standards and Statistics before calculating anything.
Paid Rest Breaks and Meal Periods
The COMPS Order requires a paid rest period of 10 minutes for every four hours worked, or major fraction of four hours. Rest periods are compensable working time and cannot be deducted. Where the nature of the work makes an uninterrupted rest period impractical, the employer must instead permit the employee to take intermittent rest periods totalling 10 minutes per four hours.A 30-minute meal period is required for shifts exceeding five consecutive hours. It may be unpaid only where the employee is completely relieved of duty and free to pursue personal activities. An on-duty meal period is permitted only where the nature of the business prevents relief from duty, and it must be paid.
The failure patterns are consistent across states: automatic meal deductions applied whether or not a break happened, rest breaks that exist in the handbook but are unavailable to a solo worker covering a station, and interrupted meals where the employee stays responsible for a phone, a customer or a patient. Time worked through a break is compensable regardless of what the timekeeping system recorded.
Immediate Final Pay, and the Written Demand
Colorado requires final wages at the time of discharge when an employer terminates the employment. The only permitted extension is administrative: where the employer's accounting unit responsible for payroll is offsite or not scheduled to be operational, payment is due within six hours of the start of the next workday, or within 24 hours where the unit is offsite. An employee who resigns is due on the next regular payday.The enforcement mechanism is the written demand. Where an employee makes a written demand for earned wages and the employer fails to pay within 14 days, the employee may recover a penalty of the greater of twice the amount owed or $1,000. Where the failure to pay was willful, that rises to the greater of three times the amount owed or $3,000. Those penalties are on top of the wages themselves, and attorney's fees are available in wage actions.
Vacation pay earned under an agreement or policy is treated as wages in Colorado and must be paid out at separation. Colorado courts have held that an employer cannot enforce a policy that forfeits vacation an employee has already earned, though a policy capping further accrual is a different matter.
Pay Transparency and Promotional Opportunities
Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, in force since 2021 and amended since, requires employers to disclose compensation and benefits information in job postings and to notify employees of promotional opportunities. Colorado was the first state to impose posting-level pay disclosure, and the requirement has generated its own enforcement activity through the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.The Act also prohibits pay discrimination based on sex and restricts the use of wage history in setting pay. Claims under it run on their own timeline and remedies, separate from the wage claims described above.
Deadlines and Where to File
Colorado wage claims carry a two-year limitations period, extended to three where the violation was willful — the same structure as the federal FLSA. Both clocks run separately against each paycheck, so the oldest weeks fall outside the window first.The Colorado Division of Labor Standards and Statistics accepts wage complaints and adjudicates them at no cost, with authority to order payment plus penalties and fines. A private lawsuit is the route that reaches the full penalty structure and fee-shifting, and it is the shape that fits a scheduling or break practice applied across a workforce. The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division handles the federal claim.
Retaliation for asserting a wage right is prohibited under Colorado law and the federal FLSA. Retaliation claims run on their own deadlines, which are shorter than the wage limitations periods above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Colorado have daily overtime?
Yes, and it is broader than most people expect. Under the COMPS Order, a covered employee earns overtime at one and a half times the regular rate for whichever of three measures produces the greatest payment: hours over 40 in a workweek, hours over 12 in a workday, or 12 consecutive hours of work regardless of when the workday started. The third measure catches shifts that straddle midnight, which a purely calendar-day rule would miss.
When is my final paycheck due in Colorado?
If you are fired, immediately. Colorado requires final wages at the time of discharge, and only allows a short extension when the employer's payroll function is offsite or unavailable, in which case payment is due within six hours of the start of the next workday, or within 24 hours if the payroll unit is offsite. If you resign, final wages are due on the next regular payday.
What breaks am I entitled to in Colorado?
The COMPS Order requires a paid rest period of 10 minutes for every four hours worked, or major fraction of four hours, and a 30-minute unpaid meal period for shifts exceeding five consecutive hours. A meal period may be unpaid only where the employee is completely relieved of duty; an on-duty meal period has to be paid, and it is only permitted where the nature of the work prevents a break from duty.
What happens if my Colorado employer does not pay after I demand it?
Colorado escalates the penalty after a written demand. Where an employer fails to pay within 14 days of a written demand for earned wages, the employee may recover a penalty of the greater of twice the amount owed or $1,000, and where the failure was willful the penalty rises to the greater of three times the amount owed or $3,000. Those amounts are on top of the wages themselves.
How long do I have to file a wage claim in Colorado?
Two years, extended to three where the violation was willful. That matches the federal Fair Labor Standards Act structure. Both clocks run separately against each paycheck, so the oldest weeks fall outside the window first.
Does Denver have a higher minimum wage than Colorado?
Yes. Colorado's constitution sets a statewide minimum wage adjusted annually for inflation, and Colorado law permits local governments to adopt higher local minimum wages. Denver, Edgewater and Boulder County are among the jurisdictions that have done so, each with its own annual adjustment. Where a local rate is higher, that rate generally applies to work performed there.
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Sources
• Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order (COMPS Order), 7 CCR 1103-1 — the three overtime triggers, the paid 10-minute rest period per four hours, the 30-minute meal period, and the state exemption definitions and salary threshold.• Colorado Wage Act, C.R.S. section 8-4-101 and following, including section 8-4-109 (final pay at discharge and the written-demand penalty of 2× or $1,000, rising to 3× or $3,000 where willful) and section 8-4-122 (the two- and three-year limitations periods).
• Colorado Constitution Article XVIII, Section 15 (state minimum wage and annual inflation adjustment); Denver, Edgewater and Boulder County local minimum wage ordinances.
• Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, C.R.S. section 8-5-101 and following (job posting compensation disclosure and promotional opportunity notice).
• Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.
• U.S. Department of Labor — Fair Labor Standards Act.
