Do job postings need a salary range in Colorado? (2026)
Yes. If you employ at least one person in Colorado, every covered posting must state the compensation offered, a general description of all benefits, and how and when to apply. There is no employee-count threshold. The requirement comes from Part 2 of the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and has applied since January 1, 2021, longer than any other rule in these guides.
Who it applies to
Every employer, public or private, that employs at least one person in Colorado. Unlike the other rules in these guides, Colorado sets no minimum headcount. The one carve-out runs the other way: an employer with no Colorado employees at the time of its hiring or promotion decision is not covered for that decision, even if it considers Colorado applicants or ultimately hires someone who would work in Colorado. (CDLE INFO #9A, p.2)
What has to be in the posting
Three things: the compensation to be offered, the benefits to be offered, and how and when to apply. The third item catches people out, because most other states ask only about pay. (CDLE INFO #9A, p.2; C.R.S. § 8-5-201(2))
A range has to be genuine and it has to be closed at both ends. CDLE's guidance states that ranges cannot lack a top or a bottom, giving "$30,000 and up" and "up to $60,000" as examples that do not comply, and cites a citation issued against an employer partly for postings that did not indicate any maximum. Benefits need only a general description rather than dollar values, but an employer cannot substitute "etc." or "and more" for describing all of them. If pay varies by state, the figure posted must be the one for Colorado hires.
Can you link instead of listing
Yes, and this is one of the more practical allowances in any state's rule. An electronic posting can link to the required disclosures rather than list them, as long as it says clearly that the link carries the information, the employer keeps the link working and the information current, and the information is specific to that job rather than one pay or benefits statement covering several jobs with different terms. (CDLE INFO #9A, p.5)
Do remote jobs count
Yes, if the work could be performed remotely from Colorado. CDLE's guidance addresses this directly and leaves no room: a remote posting is covered "even if it says Coloradans won't be considered," because the Act covers all jobs and work performable from anywhere does not fit the narrow exception for out-of-state worksites. That exception is genuinely narrow, covering jobs to be performed entirely outside Colorado, or with only modest travel to Colorado, such as on-site roles at an out-of-state location. Printed notices posted or distributed entirely outside Colorado are also excluded, but an online advertisement is not. (CDLE INFO #9A, p.5)
What happens if a posting is missing the information
The Division of Labor Standards and Statistics can order an employer to come into compliance and can impose fines of $500 to $10,000 for each violation. How violations are counted matters as much as the range: each job posted is a separate violation, but multiple postings of the same job count as one. Failing to keep wage or job-description records is a separate violation for each employee. Either party may appeal, and the Division must receive the appeal within 35 calendar days. (C.R.S. §§ 8-5-203(1),(4); CDLE INFO #9A, p.11)
How much Colorado actually fines
Colorado is unusual in publishing its own enforcement record, which makes this answerable rather than speculative. As of its table dated September 4, 2026, CDLE reported 2,984 pay-transparency complaints since January 1, 2021, 646 voluntary compliance letters sent before formal investigation, a 78.74% cure rate after one of those letters, 201 formal investigations, and 24 citations, of which 10 carried fines. Total fines came to $841,500, reduced to $482,450 after settlements and waivers.
The named citations show the range. DaVita was fined $552,000 in January 2025, reduced to $298,000. Lockheed Martin was fined $151,000 in November 2022, reduced to $79,500, for postings that omitted compensation after the employer had promised to correct them. Twitter was fined $43,000 in December 2022. Salesforce was fined $11,000 in March 2025. Several early citations were waived entirely before assessment. The pattern is that a cooperative first response usually ends the matter, and repeated assurances that are not acted on do not. (CDLE Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, claim data tables)
How this shows up across job boards
Colorado draws the line at whose posting it is. Compliance is not required from a site that simply publishes another employer's jobs, or from a party that just connects job-seekers to jobs. An employer that publishes a compliant posting is not liable if a third party independently re-posts it without the pay information. What the Act covers is the posting an employer itself makes, or has another party make on its behalf. That is a meaningfully different allocation from Illinois, where the third party can be liable, so an employer operating in both states cannot rely on one mental model. The practical question in Colorado stays close to home: of the postings you published or paid to have published, which ones currently carry pay, all benefits, and how and when to apply.
Sources: Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (SB19-085) · SB23-105 amendments · CDLE INFO #9A (May 29, 2024) · CDLE claim data and citation tables
Last verified: September 10, 2026. Enforcement figures are CDLE's own, from its table dated September 4, 2026. Written by Kate Rose, Relio.