By Liz Hartsel

Under Colorado law, the salary threshold for highly compensated workers will increase in January, directly impacting whether non-compete agreements are enforceable. In our previous blog post regarding changes to the enforceability of non-compete agreements, we explained that an employer’s ability to use or enforce non-compete agreements (including the non-solicitation of customers) is directly tied to certain salary thresholds for employees. Those thresholds will increase in 2025 and will continue to increase annually.

The minimum salary threshold for highly compensated workers will increase to $127,091in 2025. This means that non-competition agreements will be valid only if they are (1) entered into with a working earning at least $127,091 in 2025, (2) designed to protect trade secrets, and (3) no broader than necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interest in protecting trade secrets.

Non-solicitation of customers restrictions are only enforceable against workers who earn at least 60% of the threshold for “highly compensated workers,” which for 2025 is $76,254.  Agreements not to solicit an employer’s customers will, therefore, be valid only if they are (1) entered into with workers making at least $76,254 in 2025 and (2) no broader than necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interest in protecting trade secrets.

If you have questions about the validity of your business’s restrictive covenants agreements or want to update your non-competes, please contact a member of Fortis Law Partners employment team or your principal contact at Fortis.