Colorado Supreme Court Creates 5-2 Self-Defense Exception to At-Will Firings
Updated
Updated · The National Law Review · Jun 25
Colorado Supreme Court Creates 5-2 Self-Defense Exception to At-Will Firings
1 articles · Updated · The National Law Review · Jun 25
Summary
A 5-2 Colorado Supreme Court ruling said workers can pursue wrongful-termination claims if they were fired for lawfully acting in self-defense at work.
The court answered a federal judge’s certified question in a convenience-store case, finding Colorado’s statute and constitution make self-defense a clearly expressed public policy that employers cannot punish through termination.
The majority said that right is not unlimited: employers may still impose reasonable workplace safety and de-escalation rules, and the court did not decide whether the store policy barred self-defense or whether the employee acted lawfully.
Two dissenting justices argued the ruling improperly applied constitutional protections against government action to a private employer and strayed from facts suggesting the worker may have confronted a shoplifter.
The decision adds a new public-policy limit to Colorado’s at-will doctrine and raises potential liability for employers that enforce no-confrontation policies too broadly.
Does a new court ruling make workplace 'no-confrontation' policies illegal in Colorado?
Does protecting an employee's right to self-defense actually make workplaces more dangerous for everyone?
Landmark 2026 Colorado Supreme Court Decision Protects Employees Fired for Lawful Self-Defense at Work
Overview
On June 15, 2026, the Colorado Supreme Court made a landmark 5-2 decision in Moreno v. Circle K Stores, Inc., creating a new public-policy exception to the state's at-will employment rule. The court recognized that employees have a right to self-defense at work and cannot be fired for lawfully protecting themselves during an unprovoked attack, even if company policies say otherwise. The majority opinion stressed that entering the workplace does not take away this basic right, and that employment should not remove ordinary legal protections. This decision sets a new legal standard for workplace self-defense cases in Colorado.