Demands, Complaints, Responses, & Settlements

Demand for Payment of Wages / Solicitud Formal Para El Pago Del Sueldo

If your employer owes you wages, it may benefit you to send your employer a demand for payment of wages for two reasons: 

1. In many cases, employers respond to demands for wages by paying you, the employee, what you claim, allowing you to recover your wages immediately. Getting a decision on a complaint to the Division can take several months, depending on how complex the investigation needs to be. For more information about the Division’s investigation process, see INFO #2, available at cdle.colorado.gov/infos. 
2. If your employer does not pay your wages within 14 days after you’ve sent your written demand, you may be able to recover extra penalties from your employer in addition to the wages you are owed, through the Division’s complaint process or by filing in court. You may recover the greater of 200% of your wages owed at the time you sent your demand or $1,000.00. 

You can send a demand for payment of wages by mail, email, text message, or other electronic means. The only requirements are that the demand must be written (which includes sending it electronically) and must be sent to the employer’s correct address (whether street address, phone number, email, or other electronic address or account). The Division provides an optional form for your use called, “Demand for Payment of Wages.” You can fill out this form or you can draft your own demand, and send it to your employer either by registered or unregistered USPS mail, email or text message. 

This form does not start an investigation by our Division, so please do not send the "Demand for Payment of Wages" form to the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics unless prompted by your assigned investigator. To file a formal complaint to start an investigation, please complete the “Labor Standards Complaint Form” below.  

You can send a written demand and file a complaint simultaneously. You do not need to wait 14 days after sending a written demand to then file a complaint with our Division.  

• Demand for Payment of Wages
• Solicitud Formal Para El Pago Del Sueldo

Labor Standards Complaints

Attention: The online Labor Standards Complaint Form will be unavailable December 1, 2023 from 3:00 a.m. MST until 7:00 a.m. MST.

Atención: El Formulario de Quejas de Normas Laborales en línea no estará disponible el 1 de Diciembre de 2023 desede las 3:00 a.m. MST hasta las 7:00 a.m. MST.

The Division investigates complaints for unpaid wages (including any pay agreed to, Colorado or local minimum wages, overtime pay, etc.); paid sick leave or paid rest periods not provided or not paid; meal periods not provided, or (if they included work) not paid; agricultural labor rights violations; and retaliation for exercising certain labor rights. If you wish to file a complaint with the Division, you must fully complete and submit a Labor Standards Complaint Form. For more information about the types of complaints the Division can investigate and the investigation process, visit the Division Authority and Coverage page.

• Labor Standards Complaint Form - (Submit Online): The online Labor Standards Complaint Form will be unavailable Diciembre 1, 2023 from 3:00 a.m. MST until 7:00 a.m. MST.
• Labor Standards Complaint Form - (Printable)  
• Formulario de Queja de Normas Laborales - (Enviar en línea): El Formulario de Quejas de Normas Laborales en línea no estará disponible el 1 de Diciembre de 2023 desede las 3:00 a.m. MST hasta las 7:00 a.m. MST.
• Formulario de Queja de Normas Laborales - (versión imprimible) 

Instructions for Printable Form:

• Answer all questions on the Labor Standards Complaint Form that relate to your issue.  You do not need to complete, or print, any pages that do not relate to your issue. 
  • For example, if you have a claim for unpaid wages only, you do not need to print or complete pages 12-23.
• Mail, fax, or email your complaint form, and all supporting documents, to the Division. The supporting documentation you submit should be copies of the original materials. Do NOT send originals.  Please include your name and the name of the employer on all of the pages of your supporting documents.  Please respond promptly to any communications from the Division, and contact the Division immediately if your contact information changes.

Authorized Representative Form / Forma de Representante Autorizado

Workers and Employers may designate representatives to assist in any aspect of the Division's complaint process. The Division’s complaint process includes the investigation conducted by a Compliance Investigator, and any subsequent appeal to one of the Division’s Administrative Law Judges. Representatives may be attorneys, non-attorneys, relatives, non-relatives, organizations.

• Authorized Representative Form
• Forma de Representante Autorizado

Wage Claim Settlement Agreements

Whether to consider a settlement of a wage claim is up to the claim parties. The Division takes no position on whether any party should settle. Settlements must be informed and voluntary, not coerced or induced by fraud. Below is an optional wage claim settlement agreement form, with instructions and guidance for both employers and employees on how and why parties may reach compromise settlements of their claims. If the claim parties choose to settle their dispute rather than continue with the Division's investigation, they can use the Division's form, or choose to create their own separate settlement agreement.

• Settlement and Voluntary Dismissal of Wage Claim Agreement- Adobe PDF
• Settlement and Voluntary Dismissal of Wage Claim Agreement- Editable Microsoft Word

If you have questions about when to use these forms, please contact us at 303-318-8441 or cdle_labor_standards@state.co.us.

Employer Response Form

If you are an employer and have received a Notice of Complaint from the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, the Employer Response Form must be completed and returned to the Division. Do not complete the "Employer Response Form" and send it to the Division unless the Division has sent you a "Notice of Complaint" requesting a response.

• Employer Response Form

Authorized Representative Form / Forma de Representante Autorizado

Workers and Employers may designate representatives to assist in any aspect of the Division's complaint process. The Division’s complaint process includes the investigation conducted by a Compliance Investigator, and any subsequent appeal to one of the Division’s Administrative Law Judges. Representatives may be attorneys, non-attorneys, relatives, non-relatives, organizations.

• Authorized Representative Form
• Forma de Representante Autorizado

Wage Claim Settlement Agreements

Whether to consider a settlement of a wage claim is up to the claim parties. The Division takes no position on whether any party should settle. Settlements must be informed and voluntary, not coerced or induced by fraud. Below is an optional wage claim settlement agreement form, with instructions and guidance for both employers and employees on how and why parties may reach compromise settlements of their claims. If the claim parties choose to settle their dispute rather than continue with the Division's investigation, they can use the Division's form, or choose to create their own separate settlement agreement.

• Settlement and Voluntary Dismissal of Wage Claim Agreement- Adobe PDF
• Settlement and Voluntary Dismissal of Wage Claim Agreement- Editable Microsoft Word

If you have questions about when to use these forms, please contact us at 303-318-8441 or cdle_labor_standards@state.co.us.

If, instead of filing your own complaint, you would like to share a tip, lead, or informal complaint on a violation of labor law — whether laws the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics handles (wages, paid sick, whistleblowing, etc.), or laws handled by other CDLE Divisions (unemployment insurance or workers’ compensation) — please use the form below, and it will be reviewed by the appropriate division.

• CDLE Tip and Lead Form