--- title: "Colorado Final Paycheck Law: Due Same Day If Fired | MCC" description: "Colorado final paycheck: due same day after a firing, next payday after a quit. Unused vacation payout rules and dated examples from Colorado's own pages." url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/bookkeeping/final-paycheck-laws-colorado" --- Final pay · Colorado # Colorado final paycheck law When Colorado says a departing employee must be paid, what changes between a firing and a quit, and what Colorado's official pages say about unused vacation, commissions, getting the check to the employee and late pay. [![Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier badge](/img/credentials/intuit-proadvisor-gold.png)](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. [See my Intuit listing](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77) Want this tracked every month? Wrenfold keeps your budget on your own device. [See Wrenfold](/personal-finance) **Short answer.** Fired or laid off: Immediately when the employer ends the employment. If the payroll unit isn't open, within 6 hours of the start of its next regular workday; if payroll is off-site, within 24 hours. Quit: On the next regular payday. ## Colorado final pay at a glance Fired or laid off Immediately when the employer ends the employment. If the payroll unit isn't open, within 6 hours of the start of its next regular workday; if payroll is off-site, within 24 hours. Quit On the next regular payday. Law C.R.S. 8-4-109 Agency Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Labor Standards and Statistics ## In Colorado's words **Fired or laid off** Hiring in another state? [Employer registration in Colorado, done for you](/bookkeeping/out-of-state-employer-registration), or [a free bookkeeping health check](/bookkeeping/health-check). "is due and payable immediately" **Quitting** "upon the next regular payday" ## Example with dates Suppose a Colorado employee's last day is Wednesday, November 4, 2026 and the weekly payroll's next payday is Tuesday, November 10, 2026. The final check would be due: - **Fired or laid off:** Wednesday, November 4, 2026 - **Quit:** Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Your own dates: [open the calculator set to Colorado](/bookkeeping/final-paycheck-due-date-calculator?state=co). ## Unused vacation in Colorado If the employer provides paid vacation, all earned and determinable vacation pay must be paid at separation. ## Colorado commissions at separation Commissions earned under an agreement are wages once they are earned, vested and determinable; separation doesn't require paying compensation not yet fully earned under the compensation agreement. ## Getting the check to a former Colorado employee The check is made available at the work site, the employer's local office or the employee's last-known mailing address. A check left uncollected for 60 days must be mailed. After a written demand, payment goes by check to the address in the demand or by direct deposit the employee authorized. ## If a Colorado final paycheck is late If wages aren't paid within 14 days after a written demand or claim, the employer owes them plus the greater of 2 times the unpaid amount or $1,000; for a willful failure, the greater of 3 times or $3,000. ## Worth knowing in Colorado Colorado ties its penalty to a written demand, so an employee owed final pay usually sends one before the 14-day clock runs. CDLE publishes a demand form. ## Official Colorado sources - [CDLE: Colorado Wage Act, revised January 1, 2025 (for posting)](https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/colorado_wage_act_revised_january_1,_2025_for_posting_accessible.pdf) (checked November 2026) Colorado rules as published on the pages above, checked November 2026. General information, not legal advice; we are not lawyers. A union contract or written agreement can change the timing. ## Colorado final paycheck questions **How soon is a final paycheck due after a firing in Colorado?** Immediately when the employer ends the employment. If the payroll unit isn't open, within 6 hours of the start of its next regular workday; if payroll is off-site, within 24 hours. Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Labor Standards and Statistics puts it as "is due and payable immediately." **When does an employee who quits in Colorado get the last check?** On the next regular payday. Notice doesn't change it on the page we checked. **Is unused vacation paid out at the end of a job in Colorado?** If the employer provides paid vacation, all earned and determinable vacation pay must be paid at separation. **What about commissions in a Colorado final paycheck?** Commissions earned under an agreement are wages once they are earned, vested and determinable; separation doesn't require paying compensation not yet fully earned under the compensation agreement. **Can a Colorado final paycheck be mailed or direct deposited?** The check is made available at the work site, the employer's local office or the employee's last-known mailing address. A check left uncollected for 60 days must be mailed. After a written demand, payment goes by check to the address in the demand or by direct deposit the employee authorized. **What does Colorado law say about a late final paycheck?** If wages aren't paid within 14 days after a written demand or claim, the employer owes them plus the greater of 2 times the unpaid amount or $1,000; for a willful failure, the greater of 3 times or $3,000. All states: [final paycheck laws by state](/bookkeeping/final-paycheck-laws-by-state) · [California](/bookkeeping/final-paycheck-laws-california) · [Connecticut](/bookkeeping/final-paycheck-laws-connecticut) Letting someone go in Colorado? ## Employee Separation Checklist Kit A state picker workbook that puts Colorado's deadline on a date, a separation checklist, a final pay worksheet and an exit paperwork log, as Word files and PDFs. 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