Non-Competes in Colorado: New Restrictions and What They Mean

Colorado significantly overhauled its non-compete law in 2022. The changes created one of the more employee-protective non-compete regimes in the country — narrowing when non-competes are allowed, requiring advance notice, and shifting attorney fees to employees who successfully challenge invalid restrictions. If you're working in Denver, Boulder, or anywhere in Colorado, here's what the current law means for your employment agreement.

Colorado's 2022 Overhaul

House Bill 22-1317, effective August 10, 2022, replaced Colorado's prior law with a new framework. The prior law allowed non-competes in certain circumstances; the new law substantially restricted them.

Under the new framework, post-employment non-compete agreements in Colorado are void unless they satisfy all of the following: they must be for the protection of trade secrets, the employee must earn above the applicable income threshold, the agreement must include a specific description of the trade secrets being protected, and the agreement must be provided to the employee at least 14 days before the start of employment (or before a change in employment terms, if applicable to existing employees).

Agreements that don't check all these boxes are void. And importantly, unlike under some older statutes, Colorado courts are generally not supposed to blue-pencil an overbroad agreement into something enforceable — if it's void, it's void.

Income Thresholds: Two-Tier System

Colorado's 2022 law created two separate income thresholds:

• Non-compete agreements: Enforceable only for employees earning above approximately $123,000 annually (adjusted for inflation based on the Colorado Consumer Price Index for Denver-Boulder-Greeley).
• Non-solicitation of employees agreements: Enforceable only for employees earning above approximately $60,000 annually.

These thresholds apply at the time the agreement is signed and at the time enforcement is sought. An employee who earned above the threshold when hired but whose situation has changed, or whose employer seeks to enforce the restriction years later when compensation structures have shifted, may have arguments based on the threshold at the time of enforcement.

If your compensation is below the applicable threshold, the non-compete or non-solicitation provision is void. The employer cannot enforce it.

The 14-Day Advance Notice Requirement

Colorado's 14-day advance notice requirement is one of the more specific and consequential procedural requirements in the statute. The non-compete agreement must be provided to the employee at least 14 days before:

• The first day of employment (for new employees), or
• Any change in the terms and conditions of employment for existing employees.

This requirement means an employer cannot ambush an employee with a non-compete on their first day of work. The document must be in the employee's hands — and clearly identified as a condition of employment — 14 days before work begins.

If you received a non-compete on or after your first day of work, without the 14-day advance period, the enforceability of that clause in Colorado is questionable under the 2022 statute.

Non-Solicitation of Employees

The 2022 law also covered non-solicitation of employees (also called "no-poach" provisions) separately from non-competes. Provisions restricting an employee from recruiting or soliciting their former colleagues are only enforceable if the affected employee earns above the non-solicitation threshold (approximately $60,000 annually, adjusted for inflation).

The same advance notice requirements apply. And similarly, non-solicitation agreements that don't comply with the statute are void.

For Denver and Boulder tech workers, the non-solicitation threshold may be more relevant than the non-compete threshold — particularly for employees who are below the $123,000 non-compete threshold but above the $60,000 non-solicitation threshold.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Colorado's statute includes meaningful teeth for non-compliance. If an employer includes a void non-compete in an employment agreement, or attempts to enforce one, the employee may recover:

• Attorney fees: The employee is entitled to recover attorney fees if they prevail in a challenge to an invalid non-compete.
• Actual damages: Including costs associated with compliance with the void restriction or defending against enforcement.

This attorney fee provision creates real risk for employers who include invalid restrictions or threaten enforcement. It also makes it economically viable for an employee to challenge a non-compete they believe is void — because if they win, the employer pays.

Denver/Boulder Tech Workers

The Denver and Boulder tech communities have grown significantly, attracting both established tech company offices and a vibrant startup ecosystem. The 2022 law changes the employment agreement landscape for these workers in meaningful ways.

For most tech workers — particularly engineers and individual contributors below the $123,000 threshold — non-compete clauses in Colorado are now generally void. For senior employees and executives above the threshold, the analysis involves checking the specific trade secret description, the advance notice timeline, and the reasonableness of the scope.

The Bottom Line

Colorado's 2022 overhaul created clear, checkable requirements for non-compete validity — income threshold, trade secret protection, and 14-day advance notice. If you're a Colorado employee wondering whether your non-compete holds up under the new law, paste your employment agreement into dott.legal for a free AI risk analysis. For situations involving threatened enforcement or a career move to a competitor, attorney-validated review is $349 with 24-hour turnaround.