Human Resource Blog

Termination/ Required to pay out vacation time in CO?

	Benefits
Total Compensation Summary Performance Improvement Plan Performance Appraisal and Review Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Employee Change Form

	Compensation
Employee Payroll Action Form W-4 Employee Withholding Allowance Cert. Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Direct Deposit Form Total Compensation Summary

	Termination
Employee Warning Notice Employee Final Warning Notice Employee Resignation Form Exit Interview Questionnaire Separation Checklist

If I am fired from a position for missing work, but still had almost 2 weeks of vacation time unused, is the employer required to pay me for this?

Yes, in Colorado employers must pay a terminated worker for any earned but unused vacation time.

Under the Colorado Wage Law, when an employee is terminated for any reason, the employer must pay the worker all wages immediately. If the termination takes place on a day when the accounting department is “not in operation” – meaning off – then the worker must be paid within 6 hours after the start of the accounting department’s next scheduled work day.

Wages can be delivered to the work site, to the employer’s local office, or to the employee’s last known mailing address. If the accounting department is located offsite, then wages are due within 24 hours after the start of the accounting department’s next regular workday.

This is true when the employer ends the working relationship, for any reason.

An employee who quits in Colorado must be paid for all “wages” on the next regularly scheduled payday. This includes payment for earned vacation.

The Colorado Wage Law defines “wages” as all earned, vested and determinable amounts for labor or service performed by employees. In addition, bonuses or commissions and earned vacation pay are considered “wages” and payable upon termination. However, severance pay is not considered “wages.”

Here’s a link to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Fact Sheet on the Colorado Wage Law.