Colorado labor law posters are the state and federal workplace notices every Colorado employer must display where employees can read them during the workday. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) publishes the state notices as free downloads, and federal agencies do the same for their posters. Six state notices form the baseline, several federal notices sit on top of that, and a handful of the wage-related posters change every January, so last year’s copy on the breakroom wall is not enough.
Required Colorado State Posters
COMPS Order
The Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order, codified at 7 CCR 1103-1, is the cornerstone poster. It sets out the state minimum wage, overtime rules, and meal and rest break requirements. For 2026, Colorado’s standard minimum wage is $15.16 per hour and the tipped minimum wage is $12.14 per hour.1Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Labor Standards and Statistics The current version is COMPS Order #40, effective February 1, 2026, replacing COMPS Order #39.2Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Labor Rules, Proposed and Adopted Because the dollar figures change annually, download a fresh copy each year. Every employer subject to the order must display the poster in an area frequented by employees where it can be easily read during the workday.3Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Labor Standards Posters
Workplace Public Health Rights Poster
This notice covers the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) and public health emergency whistleblower protections. It tells employees they earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours per year, starting on their first day.4Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. INFO 6B – Employer and Employee Rights and Obligations Under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act Employers must provide notice to new hires alongside other onboarding documents and display updated posters by year-end when changes occur.5Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Colorado Workplace Public Health Rights Poster
FAMLI Program Notice
The Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program provides paid leave for bonding with a new child, caring for a seriously ill family member, or recovering from your own health condition. Employers must notify employees about the program, and the required notice must be hung in a prominent, visible workplace location.6Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Required Program Notice The notice explains cost sharing between employer and employee and how workers file a claim.7Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Employers
Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act Notice
The Colorado Civil Rights Commission requires every employer to post a notice summarizing the discriminatory practices prohibited by state law. It must be displayed in a conspicuous, easily accessible, and well-lit place.8Colorado Civil Rights Division. Anti-Discrimination Notices Colorado’s protected classes in employment are broader than the federal list, so the official state notice is not interchangeable with the federal EEOC poster.9Colorado Civil Rights Division. Discrimination
Workers’ Compensation Notice (Form WC50)
Employers must post the Notice to Employer of Injury poster, Form WC50. The required version is the black-and-white English copy on page 2 of the form; Spanish and color versions are available as optional supplements.10Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Workers’ Compensation Forms The CDLE provides instructions for printing on standard office paper if you do not need a full-size version.
Unemployment Insurance Notice and Payday Notice
The Colorado Employment Security Act requires a notice about unemployment insurance benefits, available on the CDLE posters page under the authority of C.R.S. 8-70-101.11Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Posters Colorado law also requires every employer to post a notice specifying regular paydays and the time and place of payment.12Justia Law. Colorado Code 8-4-107 – Notice of Pay The payday notice is not a standardized CDLE form. You create it yourself using your company’s pay schedule details.
Federal Posters You Also Need
Colorado employers must display federal notices in addition to the state set. This is one of the most common compliance gaps for small businesses that assume the state posters cover everything.
- EEOC “Know Your Rights” poster. Covers federal anti-discrimination laws including race, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, and genetic information. The penalty for failing to post is $680 per violation.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal Poster
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage poster. Required of every employer subject to the FLSA, which covers virtually all private employers.14U.S. Department of Labor. Workplace Posters
- OSHA Job Safety and Health poster. Informs workers of their rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Must be displayed where workers can easily see it.15Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Cares Job Safety and Health Workplace Poster
- FMLA poster. Required of all covered employers, even at locations where no employee is currently eligible, and displayed where employees and applicants can see it.16U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Poster
Depending on your business, you may also need the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) poster and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) notice.
Where to Display Posters
Colorado regulations are specific about placement. Posters must go in a conspicuous location frequented by employees where they can be easily read during the workday. The CDLE identifies break rooms, employee bulletin boards, areas near time clocks, department entrances, and facility entrances as appropriate spots.3Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Labor Standards Posters A worker should be able to read the information without asking a supervisor for access.
For remote workers, the rules adapt. When a physical posting is impractical because of remote work, a private residence employing only one worker, or an outdoor site with no indoor area, the employer must provide a copy to each worker within their first month of employment. Delivery can happen through electronic communication or a web-based platform, as long as those are methods the employer normally uses to communicate with staff.3Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Labor Standards Posters Burying a PDF in a shared drive nobody checks does not count. The electronic version must be easy to find, easy to read, and something the employee can save.
Where to Download Official Copies
Every required Colorado poster is a free download from the CDLE website. You can print them on standard office paper or send them to a print shop for a larger, more durable version. The CDLE posters page organizes all current notices with their effective dates, in both English and Spanish.11Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Posters Federal posters are similarly free from each agency: the EEOC poster from eeoc.gov, the OSHA poster from osha.gov, and the FLSA and FMLA posters from dol.gov.
Third-party vendors sell all-in-one poster packages, typically for $50 to $70 per year on a subscription basis. These combine state and federal notices on a single laminated sheet, which some employers find convenient. Private versions sometimes lag behind official updates, and no vendor’s poster is a substitute for downloading the current version from the issuing agency. If a vendor poster and the official CDLE version conflict, the official version controls.
What Happens If You Do Not Post
Colorado does not impose a single blanket fine for missing posters. The consequences vary by notice.
For the COMPS Order, an employer that fails to properly post loses eligibility for employee-specific credits, deductions, and exemptions under the order, though employer-wide and industry-wide exemptions still apply. In practice, that can mean losing the ability to claim a tip credit or certain overtime exemptions for individual employees, and the financial exposure often exceeds what a flat fine would cost.
For the Workplace Public Health Rights poster, failure to post may constitute a violation of the HFWA itself, which can lead to enforcement orders and civil penalties under that statute.5Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Colorado Workplace Public Health Rights Poster
On the federal side, the EEOC can assess a $680 penalty for each failure to post its “Know Your Rights” notice, and that amount is adjusted annually for inflation.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal Poster
Beyond direct penalties, missing posters create problems in wage-and-hour disputes and discrimination claims. If an employee says they did not know about their overtime rights or paid leave entitlements, the absence of a required poster makes it harder for the employer to argue the worker should have known. Courts and administrative agencies tend to view missing notices as a sign the employer was not taking compliance seriously, which can tip close cases against you. Hanging a few sheets of paper is the cheapest insurance available.