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Separate the worker’s covenant from the operator’s agreement
The reviewed 2026 section 8-2-113 addresses restrictions on an individual’s compensation for labour. The employer, worker, work location and actual restriction matter; an entity-level brand agreement is a different question.
Exceptions have conditions involving compensation, trade secrets, extent of restriction and other defined categories. Separate confidentiality, customer restrictions and noncompetition by their actual conduct, duration, area and protected interest. A confidentiality heading does not establish a noncompete exception.
The 2026 PAY CALC Order, effective February 1, 2026, lists $130,014 annually for highly compensated employees. Section 8-2-113 defines the covenant threshold as the greater of the Division’s August 10, 2022 amount or the amount when the covenant is executed; do not use a later year’s number automatically for an older agreement. For the stated noncompete exception, annualized cash compensation must meet the applicable threshold both when entered and enforced, the covenant must protect trade secrets and be no broader than reasonably necessary. The customer-nonsolicitation branch uses sixty percent of that threshold and its own trade-secret/narrowness conditions. Both branches exclude the stated restrictions on medicine, advanced-practice registered nursing and dentistry. Compensation alone is not eligibility.
Notice is required only for an otherwise permissible covered covenant
A prospective worker must receive the required notice and terms before accepting employment. A current worker must receive them at least fourteen days before the earlier of the covenant’s effective date or the effective date of additional compensation or employment-term changes providing consideration for it.
The notice must be clear and conspicuous, signed and in a separate document with the required language. Correct notice does not validate an otherwise impermissible restriction.
The notice must accompany a copy of the agreement, identify it by name and warn that it contains a restriction on later employment, and point to the specific sections. Its language must be the language used about the worker’s performance. These form requirements do not validate an otherwise void restriction.
Scope
- The published 2026 amount and statutory conditions do not determine the actual covenant’s enforceability. Apply the correct execution/enforcement dates and exception; entity-level covenants and other categories remain separate.
Next step
Identify the actual worker restriction and permissible exception before preparing the separate notice and hiring timetable.
Sources & review notes
Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services
Passage, dates and research notes
primary · 8-2-113(2)–(4)
covenant not to compete that restricts the right of an individual to receive compensation for performance of labor is void.
The 2026 section 8-2-113 was read, including annualized cash compensation and the greater-of threshold definition, entry/enforcement conditions, trade-secret purpose and narrowness, specified healthcare exclusions, and exact subsection (4)(a)–(d) notice requirements. The current CCR amount is separately sourced. No title-wide substantive review is claimed.
Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services
Passage, dates and research notes
official-guidance · Title 8 HTML/PDF links
2026
Authority chain for olls.info 2026 Title 8 was checked from this official legislature page. Publication-date field left null rather than inferred from fetch.
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment / Secretary of State
Passage, dates and research notes
primary · Rule1.2.1(G),1.3 and effective statement
$130,014 annually, and the EAP salary (row E) weekly
The official CCR result labels this rule current, effective February 1, 2026. The publisher index covers rules effective on or before September 30, 2026. All five pages were read. The highly compensated employee row supplies a published amount, not a complete noncompete test; its separate COMPS wage-exemption conditions are not automatically imported into section 8-2-113. No 2027 amount is inferred.
Detailed rule records (1)
Colorado 2026 section 8-2-113 generally voids worker noncompetes restricting compensation for labor unless a stated exception applies. Trade-secret/compensation conditions, scope and separate notice requirements matter. This worker analysis is distinct from an entity-level franchise covenant.
Colorado Revised Statutes 2026 Title 8 Colorado official 2026 statutes download index 2026 PAY CALC Order, 7 CCR 1103-14Keep this reading in your learning library.
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