Colorado pay transparency law: the job posting and salary range rules
Colorado has the broadest pay transparency law in the country. It applies to any employer with even one employee in the state, it requires five separate disclosures in every job posting rather than just a salary range, and it is the only state that makes you tell your existing team who got the job after you fill it. You cannot opt out of it by saying you will not hire Coloradans.
This page covers who is covered, exactly what a compliant Colorado posting contains, the remote-work rule, the post-selection notice, and the penalties. Build a defensible range on the right in about a minute.
Last updated July 2026 / General information, not legal advice
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Colorado pay transparency, in one table
| Obligation | Who it covers | What you must do | Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job posting disclosures | Any employer with at least one employee in Colorado | Include compensation, other compensation, benefits, the anticipated close date, and how to apply. | $500 to $10,000 per violation |
| Job opportunity notice | Same | Make each job opportunity known to all employees on the same calendar day, before the selection decision. | $500 to $10,000 per violation |
| Post-selection notice | Same | Within 30 days of the hire starting, tell the people they will work with regularly who was selected. | $500 to $10,000 per violation |
| Career progression notice | Employers with career progression tracks | Tell eligible employees the requirements to advance, plus each position's pay, benefits and duties. | $500 to $10,000 per violation |
| Records retention | Colorado employees only | Keep job descriptions and wage rate history for employment plus two years. | Rebuttable presumption against you in a wage claim |
Sources: Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, C.R.S. section 8-5-101 et seq., and the CDLE Posting, Screening, and Transparency Rules (7 CCR 1103-18), effective July 1, 2024, which replaced the earlier Equal Pay Transparency Rules. Summarized for planning, not as legal advice.
The five things every Colorado posting needs
This is where Colorado differs most from every other state. California and Washington want a range. Colorado wants a range plus four other things, and a posting that carries only a salary range is not compliant.
01
Compensation, or a range
The hourly rate or salary, or a range. The range may run from the lowest to the highest figure you genuinely believe you might pay. You may end up paying outside it if the posted range was a reasonable, good faith estimate at the time.
02
Other compensation
A general description of bonuses, commissions and anything else beyond base pay. General is the operative word: you are describing what exists, not projecting a number.
03
All employment benefits
Health care, retirement, any paid days off including sick, parental and vacation, and anything reportable for federal tax purposes. Minor perks are excluded, so the snack budget stays off the posting.
04
The anticipated close date
The date you expect the application window to close. If applications are genuinely ongoing, say that in the posting and no date is required. A stated date can be extended if the original was made in good faith and you update the posting promptly.
05
How to apply
Instructions for applying. Simple, and the one most often missing from postings that a third-party recruiter published on your behalf.
Note
You can link out
For electronic postings, the benefits and other compensation details can sit behind a link, provided the posting clearly says so, the link stays live and current, and the information is specific to that job.
You cannot exclude Colorado from a remote posting
A lot of employers tried the same workaround when Colorado's law landed: add a line saying the role is open to applicants in any state except Colorado, and skip the disclosures. Colorado closed that door explicitly. State guidance says a remote job posting is covered even if it states that Coloradans will not be considered.
The exception is narrow and it is about the worksite, not the applicant. The disclosures do not apply to postings for jobs performed entirely outside Colorado, or tied to a worksite physically located entirely outside Colorado. The example the state uses is waitstaff at restaurants in another state. Work that can be performed remotely from anywhere does not fit, because it can be performed from Colorado.
One narrow break exists for out-of-state employers. If you are physically located only outside Colorado and have fewer than fifteen employees in the state who all work remotely, then through July 1, 2029 you only have to give notice of remote job opportunities. Read that carefully: it limits the internal notice duty. It does not excuse the posting disclosures.
The practical read
If you post a remote US role online, assume Colorado applies. The disclosures cost you nothing but a compliant posting template. The fine for guessing wrong starts at $500 per violation and Colorado has issued six-figure penalties to employers who fixed their postings only after being caught.
The post-selection notice nobody else requires
This is the requirement most out-of-state employers have never heard of, and it lands after the job is filled, which is exactly when everyone stops thinking about the posting rules.
When
Within 30 calendar days after the selected candidate begins working in the position. Not 30 days after you picked them. You can batch several selections into one notice as long as it goes out within 30 days of any selection it covers.
Who
Reasonable efforts to notify, at minimum, the employees the new hire will work with regularly. That means anyone who collaborates or communicates with them about work at least monthly, or who has a reporting relationship with them. Over-notifying is allowed.
What
Four items: the selected candidate's name, their former job title if they already worked for you, their new job title, and how employees can express interest in similar future opportunities, including who to talk to.
The exception
Withhold the name and prior title if law requires it, or if the candidate states in writing, on their own initiative, that disclosure would risk their health or safety. They do not have to explain the risk. Everything else still goes out.
There is a companion duty on the front end. Under the job opportunity notice rule, you must make reasonable efforts to tell all employees about each job opportunity on the same calendar day, and before you make the selection decision. You have to notify everyone, not only the people you think are qualified. Career development and automatic promotions within a year of hire are carved out, as are acting or interim assignments up to nine months.
What it costs, and how violations are counted
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment enforces this through its Division of Labor Standards and Statistics. The director may order a fine of no less than $500 and no more than $10,000 per violation. A complaint has to be filed within one year after the person learned of the violation, and you get 14 days to respond to a notice of complaint.
There is no cure period. Washington gives you five business days to fix a bad posting before anyone can recover. Colorado does not. Fixing the posting after the fact does not erase the violation, and the state has issued penalties well into six figures against employers who corrected their postings once an investigation started.
There is also no private right of action for posting violations. Only the director enforces them. But the rule bites in a different way: if an employee brings a wage discrimination claim and proves a posting or records violation, the court may apply a rebuttable presumption that your missing records contained information favorable to the employee, and instruct the jury that the failure to keep records is evidence you did not act in good faith.
How violations are counted
- One job opening = one violation, regardless of how many job boards carried the noncompliant posting.
- One promotional opportunity = one violation for a missed job opportunity notice.
- Each distinct violative posting is its own violation, even if several point at the same external listing.
- Each person who responds is not a separate violation. This is the important one, and it is where Colorado is meaningfully less dangerous than Washington.
That last point is worth sitting with, because "Colorado is the strictest state" is only half true. Colorado is the strictest on the breadth of what you owe: one-employee coverage, five disclosures, a close date, notices before and after the hire. On damages exposure it is more contained than Washington, where a single bad posting can generate statutory damages for every applicant who applied to it. Colorado caps the count per posting. Washington multiplies it per person.
How to build a Colorado posting you can defend
Step 01
Build the band from market data
Start from wage percentiles for the occupation and market, not from what the last person negotiated. Record the source and the date. That record is the whole defense.
Step 02
Narrow it to the good faith range
Post what you would actually pay this hire, not the full width of the band across every level. A range you would not honor is not a good faith estimate.
Step 03
Add the other four disclosures
Bonus structure, benefits, anticipated close date, how to apply. Build it into your posting template once so nobody has to remember it per role.
Step 04
Check your recruiters
A posting a third party published for you is still your posting. Audit what your agencies and job boards actually put up, because that is where the missing disclosures live.
The band is the part that takes real work, and it is the part a template cannot give you. The salary bands guide covers the structure, and job posting salary ranges covers turning a band into the number you publish. If you hire across state lines, the ranges also have to survive geographic pay differentials, which is where most multi-state postings go wide and stop being defensible.
Colorado pay transparency questions
Does Colorado require salary ranges in job postings?
Yes, and four other things with it. Every posting needs the hourly or salary compensation or a range, a general description of bonuses and other compensation, a general description of all benefits, the anticipated application close date, and how to apply. A posting with only a salary range is not compliant in Colorado.
How many employees do you need for Colorado pay transparency to apply?
One. Colorado sets no numeric threshold. The Act defines an employer as every person employing a person in the state, so a single Colorado employee brings you in. This is the broadest coverage of any US pay transparency law, and it catches out-of-state companies with one remote hire in Denver.
Can you exclude Colorado from a remote job posting?
No. State guidance says a remote posting is covered even if it states that Coloradans will not be considered. The exception covers jobs tied to a worksite physically located entirely outside Colorado, and work performable remotely from anywhere does not qualify, because it could be performed from Colorado.
What is the penalty for not posting a salary range in Colorado?
No less than $500 and no more than $10,000 per violation, ordered by the CDLE director. One job opening is one violation no matter how many boards carried it, and each applicant who responded is not a separate violation. There is no cure period, so correcting the posting later does not undo it.
Does Colorado require an application deadline in job postings?
The posting must state the date the application window is anticipated to close. If applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, the posting must say so and no date is needed. A stated date can be extended if it was a good faith estimate and you promptly update the posting.
How long do you have to keep pay records in Colorado?
Keep job descriptions and wage rate history for each employee for the duration of employment plus two years after it ends. Multi-state employers only have to keep these for Colorado employees. Missing records create a rebuttable presumption against you in a wage discrimination claim.
Keep going
Pay transparency software
The pillar: US and EU obligations, what defensible means, and the compliance math.
California pay transparency law
The 15-employee threshold, the good faith estimate standard, and pay data reporting.
Washington pay transparency law
The five business day cure period and per-applicant damages, the mirror image of Colorado.
Pay transparency laws by state
Every US state disclosure rule in one comparison table.
How to create salary bands
The seven-step process behind every range you post.
Pricing
Early-access pricing for teams doing this without a comp analyst.