Termination Laws in Colorado

Colorado is one of the few states that is recognized to fully follow the “employment-at-will” doctrine. This means, if you are an employee or an employer in Colorado, you are not required to provide a notice or an advanced notice to an end of an employment relationship. This doctrine may be exercised by both parties if there is no company contract or policy that states otherwise. If such a contract is established within a workplace, a termination must be in ordinance with the requirements implied or expressed in the contract. Although, the reason to the resignation or termination does not have to be provided by the employer, courts and the state legislature have created several potential exceptions to help prevent and settle legal disputes for possible unlawful discharges.  

Exceptions to Employment-At-Will  

 Public  Policy 

If an employer decides to discharge an employee as a counter-action against the employee exercising certain rights he/she has under public policy, it is considered unlawful. Examples of protected employee actions include, the refusal to act on and produce fraudulent tasks (making misleading financial accounting information); jury duty, whistle-blower situations; open consideration of a lawsuit, etc.. 

Discrimination       

An employer may not terminate an employee based on religion, race, national origin, ancestry color, sex, age, sexual orientation, and disability. If an employer decides to terminate an employee based on any of the said personal characteristics, the termination would be considered discriminatory.  Cases of discrimination in the workplace should be brought up to the attention of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission [Tel: (303) 894-2997] or to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [Tel: (303) 866-1300].  

Company Contract Laws  

If a company has a policy in place for termination in a manner that approaches the constitution of a contract, the policy must always be fairly practiced on any employee being terminated. If the employer discharges an employee in a way that does not comply with the established agreement, the employee should consult an attorney to help enforce the policy or for advice.