# Colorado — Final paycheck deadlines by US state — how long an employer has to pay a departing employee's last wages, quoted from the state's own labor law

For Colorado, deadline after firing/layoff is due and payable immediately; deadline after quitting is due and payable upon the next regular payday; penalty for late payment is for non-willful violations, the penalty is double the wages owed or $1,000 (whichever is greater); statute or source is 8-4-109, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** Colorado _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Deadline after firing/layoff:** due and payable immediately _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Deadline after quitting:** due and payable upon the next regular payday _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Penalty for late payment:** for non-willful violations, the penalty is double the wages owed or $1,000 (whichever is greater) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute or source:** 8-4-109 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> When an interruption in the employer-employee relationship by volition of the employer occurs, the wages or compensation for labor or service earned, vested, determinable, and unpaid at the time of such discharge is due and payable immediately.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Deadline after quitting

> When an employee quits or resigns such employee’s employment, the wages or compensation shall become due and payable upon the next regular payday.

### Penalty for late payment

> In or after 2023, the penalties depend on two considerations. (1) Whether the violation is “willful” (defined on p.2): (a) for non-willful violations, the penalty is double the wages owed or $1,000 (whichever is greater)

### Statute or source

> 8-4-109. Termination of employment — payments required — civil penalties — payments to surviving spouse or heir.

## Source

- https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/colorado_wage_act_revised_august_6,_2025_for_posting.pdf
- https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/INFO%20%233A%20Timing%20of%20Wage%20Payments,%20&%20Required%20Record-Keeping%2007.11.2023%20accessible.pdf
- https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/INFO%20%232B%20Orders%20of%20Wages,%20Penalties,%20Fines,%20and%20Consequences%20for%20Non-Compliance%2008.01.2023%20accessible.pdf

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2027-08-31.
Part of [Final paycheck deadlines by US state — how long an employer has to pay a departing employee's last wages, quoted from the state's own labor law](https://referencesource.org/final-paycheck-deadlines-by-state/).