Colorado's legal landscape continues to shift. Through one
sentence in a 304-page bill enacted in 2021, SB 21-271 criminalized
violations of Colorado's restrictive-covenant statute, section
8-2-113, C.R.S. Effective March 1, 2022, violations of section
8-2-113 are a Class 2 Misdemeanor. As a result, a violation of
section 8-2-113 could lead to 120 days' imprisonment, a $750.00
fine per violation, or both.1
What does this mean for employers? As many Colorado employers
know, non-compete agreements in Colorado, including customer
non-solicitation clauses, are considered void unless subject to one
of four exceptions.2 Those exceptions relate to
contracts: (1) for the purchase and sale of a business or the
assets of a business; (2) for the protection of trade secrets; (3)
for the recovery of the expense of educating and training an
employee under certain conditions; and (4) for executive and
management personnel.3 Any restrictive covenants outside
those exceptions are
