Colorado Supreme Court Rejects 6-Year Statute of Limitations for Wage Claims, Holds 2- or 3-Year Period Applies

Colorado employers finally have clarity that all wage claims in Colorado are subject to a two-year statute of limitations, or three years for a willful violation. On September 15, 2025, in a highly anticipated decision in By the Rockies v. Perez,¹ the Colorado Supreme Court rejected arguments that claims under the Colorado Minimum Wage Act, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-6-101, et. seq., are subject to a six-year limitations period. Rather, just as under the Colorado Wage Claim Act, C.R.S. § 8-4-101, et. seq., and consistent with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, all wage claims in Colorado are subject to the two- or three-year limitations period. This ruling resolves conflicting decisions in Colorado state and federal courts, providing much-needed clarity for employers operating in Colorado.

How the Case Unfolded

In 2022, a plaintiff filed a lawsuit against their former employer, By the Rockies, LLC (“BTR”), alleging violations of the Minimum Wage Act. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that BTR failed to provide plaintiff required meal and rest breaks while plaintiff was employed by BTR. However, the plaintiff last worked for BTR in 2017 – almost five years before the lawsuit was filed.

BTR filed a motion to dismiss, arguing the Wage Claim Act’s statutes of limitation also apply to the Minimum Wage Act, which does not separately set forth its own limitations periods, and, therefore, plaintiff’s claim was time-barred. The Denver District Court agreed, dismissing the case and holding the Minimum Wage Act has a two-year statute of limitations for non-willful violations. 

Plaintiff appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals, arguing that Colorado’s six-year default limitations period found in C.R.S. § 13-80-103.5(1)(a)—which applies to, among other things, actions seeking a “liquidated debt or an unliquidated, determinable amount of money”—should govern claims under the Minimum Wage Act. The plaintiff argued that because the Minimum Wage Act does not contain its own designated statute of limitations, the default six-year statute of limitations should apply. 

A split panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals sided with the plaintiff, reversing the lower court’s dismissal and holding claims under the Minimum Wage Act apply the six-year statute of limitations found in Colorado’s default limitation period. On BTR’s petition, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to take up the issue. 

The Colorado Supreme Court’s Decision

The Colorado Supreme Court reversed the appellate court, agreeing with BTR’s argument that the statute of limitations for wage claims under the Minimum Wage Act is two years for non-willful violations, and three years for willful violations. In reaching its holding, the Court emphasized that both the Wage Claim Act and Minimum Wage Act are part of a unified statutory scheme aimed at recovering unpaid wages. Thus, applying the Wage Claim Act’s limitations period ensures consistency across wage-related claims. The court rejected the argument that the Wage Claim Act’s limitations apply only to claims brought directly under that Act, noting that such a reading ignores the broader legislative intent and statutory harmony. Thus, the court held, “it is more appropriate to apply the limitations period in the Wage Claims Act to claims brought under the Minimum Wage Act than to apply a default limitations period from a different title.”²

The court also emphasized that Colorado wage laws only require recordkeeping of wage records going back three years. The court specifically noted that “[t]he fact that this record-keeping period matches the maximum period of liability under the Wage Claim Act statute of limitations suggest that the General Assembly intended that an employee could reach back no further than three years to recover wages that were previously unpaid.”³ The court also noted the FLSA has the same recordkeeping requirements. 

Similarly, the court recognized that employees have two years to file administrative claims alleging non-willful violations under the state regulations implementing Colorado’s wage statutes, which further bolstered its conclusion concerning claims under the Minimum Wage Act. 

Ultimately, the court held that allowing “a plaintiff to reach back only two years for wage claims under the Wage Claim Act but six years for minimum wage claims under the Minimum Wage Act,”⁴ would be illogical. 

What This Means for Employers

Going forward, employees must file all wage claims in Colorado within two years (or three for willful violations)—the same timeline required under federal law. Moreover, employees can only seek to hold employers liable for two or three years prior to the date of filing any lawsuit seeking to recover back wages under Colorado law. Employers with pending wage litigation in Colorado should seek to have opposing counsel amend any complaints alleging a six-year limitations period, evaluate whether they can  seek dismissal of the untimely claims, and consider amending their answers to raise the two- or three-year statute of limitations if not previously asserted.