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- within Employment and HR topic(s)
Colorado's annual salary threshold adjustments for non-compete agreements took effect in January 2026. As we've covered in previous blog posts, Colorado law ties the enforceability of these agreements directly to employee compensation and those thresholds rise each year.
Non-Compete Agreements
For 2026, non-competition agreements are enforceable only against employees earning at least $130,014 annually (up from $127,091 in 2025). But meeting the salary threshold alone isn't enough. To hold up, a non-compete must also be designed to protect legitimate trade secrets and be no broader in scope than necessary to serve that purpose.
Non-Solicitation of Customer Agreements
Customer non-solicitation restrictions carry a lower salary threshold, set at 60% of the highly compensated worker threshold. For 2026, that means these agreements apply only to employees earning at least $78,008.40 per year (up from $76,254 in 2025). As with non-competes, the agreement must be narrowly tailored to protect the employer's legitimate trade secret interests.
The Takeaway
Employers should audit existing agreements and ensure any new non-compete or non-solicitation provisions reflect the 2026 thresholds. Agreements that fall short of these salary requirements or that are drafted too broadly risk being unenforceable under Colorado law. With thresholds continuing to rise annually, this is an area that warrants regular review.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
