How to File an EEOC or CCRD Charge in Colorado

The Filing Deadline: 300 Days

You generally have 300 days from the discriminatory or retaliatory act to file, C.R.S. § 24-34-403,^[3] to file a charge with the CCRD. Colorado extended this deadline from 180 to 300 days in 2022,^[4] aligning it with the federal deadline that already applied to EEOC charges in states like Colorado that have their own civil rights agency.

This deadline is strict, and the CCRD does not have general authority to extend it merely for good cause or hardship. Missing it can bar your claim. That said, Colorado courts have recognized equitable tolling in limited circumstances, including where an employer failed to post the notice of civil rights protections required by Colorado Civil Rights Commission regulations, so someone who believes the deadline has passed should not automatically assume no claim remains without checking the specific facts. Some secondary sources online still describe Colorado’s deadline as 180 days, reflecting the law before the 2022 change, so confirming the current deadline directly rather than relying on an older source matters here.

How to File a CCRD Charge

What Happens After You File

Once a charge is filed, the agency notifies your employer and opens an investigation, which can include document requests, witness interviews, and sometimes an offer of mediation. Colorado law generally gives the Division and Commission a 450-day jurisdictional period after the charge is filed, C.R.S. § 24-34-306(11)(a)(I),^[7] extended from 270 days by the same 2022 legislation that lengthened the filing deadline; if the statutory conditions are not met within that period, Commission jurisdiction can end, and you may be able to proceed toward court. The EEOC’s timeline varies by office and caseload.

The path from an administrative charge to court differs under federal and Colorado law. For Title VII and ADA claims, an EEOC Notice of Right to Sue is generally required before filing suit. Colorado law recognizes several ways administrative remedies can be exhausted, including a requested right-to-sue notice, a Division finding of no probable cause, or the expiration of the Commission’s statutory deadlines. The right-to-sue request option specifically closes once the Commission serves notice that the matter will proceed to a formal hearing, C.R.S. § 24-34-306(15),^[8] a hard cutoff the Colorado Supreme Court applied directly in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. v. Scardina, 2024 CO 67,^[9] holding that once the Commission has taken up a charge by serving notice of a hearing, a charging party can no longer request, and the agency can no longer issue, a right-to-sue letter.

Filing a Lawsuit After a Right-to-Sue Letter

For Title VII and ADA claims, once you receive a Notice of Right to Sue, you generally have 90 days to file a lawsuit,^[10] a deadline that is calculated from the date you receive the notice, not the date it was issued. This is a strict deadline in most cases, and missing it can end your ability to pursue the claim in court even if your underlying charge was timely filed.

ADEA claims work differently. After filing the required charge, you generally may file suit once 60 days have passed, without waiting for a Notice of Right to Sue, though you must still sue within 90 days of receiving notice that the EEOC’s investigation has concluded if that notice comes first. Equal Pay Act claims generally do not require an EEOC charge or a right-to-sue notice at all before going to court.

Getting the Filing Process Right

Filing a charge is a procedural step, not the whole case on its own. Getting the deadline, the agency, and the framing right early protects options you may need later, even before you decide what comes next.

For most discrete acts, the clock starts right away. A termination or similar discrete act generally starts the deadline immediately, though hostile-work-environment claims and limited tolling situations can differ, so confirming your specific deadline early on still matters most.

Cross-filing saves a step, not a deadline. The work-sharing agreement means you generally do not have to file separately with both agencies, but it does not extend your window to act, and confirming cross-filing actually happened is still worth double-checking on your own.

How you frame the charge can matter well beyond this step. A charge that clearly states the facts and the specific legal claims involved preserves more for a possible later lawsuit than a vague one does, which is part of why the filing itself deserves real, careful attention up front.

None of this replaces a real conversation about your specific situation, your exact timeline, and the particular legal claims that may actually apply to what happened to you at work.

Talk to a Colorado Employment Law Attorney

Filing an EEOC or CCRD charge is a procedural step with real deadlines attached to it. Elkus & Sisson, P.C. represents employees across Colorado in discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and related workplace matters. See Colorado office locations to find how to reach us.

If you have questions about filing a discrimination charge in Colorado, contact us or call +1 303-567-7981 to schedule a consultation.

Sources

1. Colorado Civil Rights Division, Discrimination (C.R.S. § 24-34-402, prohibited employment practices)
   
   
2. Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-34-401(3) (definition of covered employer)
   
   
3. Colorado Civil Rights Division, Discrimination filing deadlines (C.R.S. § 24-34-403)
   
   
4. Colorado General Assembly, HB22-1367, Updates to Employment Discrimination Laws (official source for the 2022 deadline extension)
   
   
5. Colorado Civil Rights Division, The Complaint Process (CaseConnect, no filing fee)
   
   
6. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination
   
   
7. Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-34-306(11)(a)(I) (Commission jurisdictional period)
   
   
8. Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-34-306(15) (right-to-sue request, timing cutoff)
   
   
9. Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. v. Scardina, 2024 CO 67 (Colo. Oct. 8, 2024) (right-to-sue request closes once a hearing notice is served)
   
   
10. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 (Title VII enforcement provisions, right-to-sue and 90-day filing window)