Colorado workers just picked up a significant legal win around talking about pay. On July 23, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the state's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act does not require an employee to allege sex- or gender-based pay discrimination to bring a retaliation claim. A unanimous three-judge panel held that the law's anti-retaliation provision protects employees who ask about or discuss wages even when no gender-based pay gap is part of the complaint. The decision, issued in Verheggen v. Adams County Department of Human Services, was authored by Judge Katharine E. Lum.
What the court said
Judge Lum wrote that "open discussion among employees about wage rates... promotes wage transparency," language the opinion used to spell out the statute's reach. As reported by the Denver Gazette, the panel rejected a narrower view that would have forced workers to show sex-based discrimination before they could even get a retaliation claim in the courthouse door. The published opinions list on the state courts' website identifies the case as 25CA1663 and names Judges Katharine E. Lum, Craig R. Welling and Karl L. Schock on the panel, according to the Colorado Judicial Branch.
Why this matters
The ruling strengthens the 2019 statute's protections against employer retaliation when workers discuss or inquire about pay, a cornerstone intended to encourage transparency and surface discriminatory wage practices. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's guidance on the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act explains that the law forbids retaliation for wage inquiries and also limits employers' ability to seek applicants' wage history. Legal analysts writing in the Colorado Lawyer summaries say the decision could prompt employers to tighten documentation of legitimate, nonretaliatory reasons for discipline and could make it easier for workers to challenge discipline tied to wage conversations.
Case background and next steps
Emily Camp Verheggen sued Adams County in 2023, alleging she was underpaid in a series of positions and that she was required to work as many as 76 hours a week while being paid for 40. Her attorney sought more than $745,000 in back pay, according to Colorado Politics. She also alleges that after filing suit, she was reprimanded and suspended without pay, claims a trial judge dismissed last year before the appeal. With the Court of Appeals allowing her retaliation claim to move forward, the case is now set for further proceedings in the trial court and could be reviewed by the Colorado Supreme Court under the state's certiorari process, according to the Colorado Judicial Branch.
Employment attorneys and labor advocates say the ruling clarifies a key enforcement tool in Colorado's equal-pay framework and may change how employers handle internal wage complaints. For now, the appeals court's opinion preserves a worker's ability to pursue a retaliation claim tied to wage talk even if the underlying conversation does not allege sex-based discrimination.
