Colorado Supreme Court Narrows Statute of Limitations
for Wage Claims

For several years, there has been a debate about which statute of limitations applies to wage claims in Colorado: the presumptive two-year limitations period found in the Colorado Wage Claim Act (“CWCA”) or the six-year catch-all limitations period for liquidated debts. Following a years-long appeal process, we now have an answer. Wage claims must be generally brought within two years of a violation, three years for willful violations.

Clarity came this week from a new Supreme Court decision in By the Rockies, LLC and Duane Layton v. Samuel Perez, 2025 CO 56. In Perez, the Plaintiff urged the Supreme Court to apply a six-year limitations period, arguing that the minimum wage act’s failure to specify a limitations period meant that the statute defaulted to the catch-all limitations period for liquidated debts, not the limitations period in the CWCA. After considering arguments on both sides, the Court determined that the two- or three-year statute of limitations period in the Wage Claim Act applies all claims for unpaid wages (minimum wage and beyond) not the six-year limitations period in the catch-all limitations section for unpaid debts. This puts an end to the ambiguity employers previously faced when considering exposure on wage claims, particularly in class settings. In addition to limiting potential exposure for wage claims, the new ruling in Perez also brings the recordkeeping requirements in-line with the limitations period, so that employers are not left with a claim for which they do not maintain back-up records.

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Adrienne Scheffey is a partner with the Colorado office of JKW who provides strategic counsel for employers and business executives in Colorado who are navigating routine and complex employment related issues. She assists them with finding business-forward solutions to litigation and providing preventive guidance on employment policies, training programs and compliance strategies for businesses of all sizes. If you have questions about this or any other employment related legal issue, please contact her at: acs@jkwlawyers.com.

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