Top Colorado Employee Rights Attorney

Employment attorney Charlotte N. Sweeney is a founding partner of Sweeney & Bechtold, LLC.

She has dedicated her career to protecting the rights of workers from all backgrounds and industries. Charlotte is a Colorado native and a champion of employee rights in our state. She exclusively focuses on employment law and has devoted her legal practice to assisting and representing individuals that have faced unfair practices in the workplace. 

For over two decades, Charlotte has guided and advocated for employees in all aspects of the employment relationship. Charlotte has worked hard to build and maintain a reputation as one of the best employment attorneys in Colorado. She has successfully led individuals and groups of employees to victories against Fortune 500 companies, national chains, and every type of business in between.

Her reputation and success have been repeatedly recognized by the legal community and her peers.

Above all, Charlotte is a passionate advocate for her clients both inside the courtroom and out. She has made equality for all workers the bedrock of her practice, earning her colleagues’ and clients’ respect for her ability to secure fair solutions in difficult and sensitive situations.

Charlotte has worked with federal, state, and private sector employees in nearly all areas of employment law including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, unequal pay claims, , Family and Medical Leave Act violations, and wrongful discharge. Her practice includes the representation of employees of nonprofits and high-level executives as well.

An award-winning attorney, Charlotte is a leader in Colorado law and an outspoken advocate for those in vulnerable positions. She assisted in drafting the 2019 Equal Pay for Equal Work Act in Colorado, repeatedly testified in support of equal pay at the Colorado Legislature, and she has lectured and published extensively on the topic of equal pay.

Charlotte devotes her community activity to issues that support fairness and equality in the greater society. In this regard, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Matthew Shepard Foundation for many years. Since 2013, with her team “Rhodes to Relief” she travels yearly to Juarez, Mexico to build houses in this impoverished community.

• University of Denver College of Law, JD 1995 – Summa cum laude
• National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Graduate
• Order of St. Ives
• California Lutheran University: BS in Psychology 1991 – Summa cum laude

• Top 50 Women Super Lawyers (2013 – 2017, 2019, 2020)
• Top 100 Colorado Super Lawyers (2020, 2016)
• 2020 American Lawyer Woman Leader in the Law
• Top Women in Law, Law Week Colorado (2018)
• Denver’s Top Lawyers in Colorado, 5280 Magazine (2014 – present)
• Best Lawyers in America (Employment Law: Individuals) (2012 – present)
• Best Lawyers in America (Litigation: Labor & Employment) (2010 – present)
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated (2008– present)
• Colorado Super Lawyers: Employment & Labor (2006-present)
• Best Lawyers in America (2005 – present)
• Top 40 Verdicts in 2018, TopVerdict.com (2018)
• “Raising the Bar” Award, Colorado Women’s Bar Association (2017)
• AI Legal Awards (2016)
• Top 100 Lawyers, National Advocates (2014)
• Top 150 Women in Litigation, Benchmark Plaintiff (2014)
• Best Lawyer Denver Litigation (Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year) (2012)

Publications

• Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, The Colorado Lawyer (October 2019)
• Other Discovery Privileges, Discovery in Colorado (2018)
• Settlement and Mediation, The Practitioner’s Guide to Colorado Employment Law (3d Ed.)
• Family Responsibility Discrimination: Enforcing the Rights of Caregivers in the Workplace, The Colorado Lawyer (October 2012)
• Tenth Circuit Survey: Employment Law, 71 DENV. U.L. REV. 945 (1994)

• Interviewed, Law.com, “Denver Law Sued for Underpaying Female Professor—Again” (June 2019)
• Interview, Law Week Colorado, “DU Faces Fresh Pay Discrimination Lawsuit” (June 2019)
• Interviewed, Westword, “DU Gender (and Race) Bias Claims Live on Year After $2.66M Settlement” (June 2019)
• Interview, Law Week Colorado, “Top Women: Charlotte Sweeney (May 2019)
• Interview, Channel 7 News (The Denver Channel), Politics Unplugged, “Colorado Senate to Consider Equal Pay Act this Week” (Apr. 2019)
• Interview, Big Girl Money Podcast, “Get Your Foot in the Door then Get Your Foot in the Bank” (Apr. 2019)
• Interviewed, Medium, “Gender Pay Gap Stands Wide Despite Growing Transparency” (April 2019)
• Interview, Law Week Colorado, Equal Pay Bill Clears First House Hearing (April 2019)
• Interview, Brownstein Podcast Series, “Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act” (Mar. 2019)
• Interview, KGNU Radio, “Equal Pay Act” (Mar. 2019)
• Interview, Not Yo Mama’s Activism Podcast, “Get That Money Honey” (Feb. 2019)
• Interviewed, Denver Business Journal, “Equal-Pay Measure Advances at Colorado Capitol Despite Significant Business Concerns” (Feb. 2019)
• Interviewed, The Denver Post, “University of Denver Will Pay $2.7 Million to Settle Unequal-Pay Lawsuit Brought by Female Law Professors” (May 2018)
• Interview, Law Week Colorado, “DU Law School Settles Pay Discrimination Suit With EEOC” (May 2018)
• Interviewed, The Denver Post, “Denver Will Pay $460,000 to Settle Explosive Claim of Gender Pay Inequality by Top Employment Hearing Officer” (Sept. 2017)
• Interviewed, The Denver Post, “Boulder Attorney Sues Environmental Group Claiming Discrimination” (Oct. 2016)
• Interviewed, The Denver Post, “Former Female Agent Sues FBI Claiming Sexual Harassment, Discrimination” (Aug. 2016)

•  “The Denver Equal Pay Litigation,” Symposium: Gender Equity in Law Schools, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Annual Normal J. Shachoy Symposium (Oct. 2019)
•  “Equal Pay Claims and Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act,” Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association Annual Retreat (August 2019)
• “Advancing Inclusivity and Reducing the Gender Pay Gap in the Practice of Law,” Best Practices and Ethics in the Profession, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (June 2019)
• “The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act,” Colorado Social Legislation Committee (April 2019)
• “Learning to Lawyer with a Pluralistic Mindset: Implicit Bias and Gender,” Colorado Women’s Bar Association (April 2019)
• “Objection, Inappropriate! Quashing Incivility and Disrespect,” Faculty of Federal Advocates (April 2019)
• “Equal Pay Claims and the DU Eight,” University of Denver Sturm College of Law Civil Rights Summit (Feb.2019)
• “Ethics in Discovery,” Advanced Discovery Skills, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (Oct. 2018)
• “The Gender Pay Gap: 55 Years after the Equal Pay Act,” Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (Sept. 2018)
• “Sexual Harassment, Gender Inequality, and Legal Ethics,” Best Practices and Ethics in the Profession, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (June 2018)
• “Be Bold for Change: Starting on the Inside,” Women’s Leadership Forum (June 2018)
• “Superheros at Work for Equal Pay,” Colorado Women’s Bar Association Annual Convention (May 2018)
• “Litigation Holds: Ethical and Practical Considerations,” Faculty of Federal Advocates (March 2018)
• “Gender and Generational Dynamics in the Legal Profession,” CLE in Colorado, Inc. (Oct. 2017)
• “Valuing Emotional Distress Damages in the Employment Case,” Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association Annual Retreat (August 2017)
• “Enforcement of Discrimination Laws Under the Trump Administration,” Employment Law Spring Update, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (April 2017)
• “Mediation Advocacy,” 2016 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (April 2016)
• “Faculty of Federal Advocates Jury Instructions,” 2015 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (April 2015)
• “The Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” CLE in Colorado, Inc. (July 2014)
• “Winning the Summary Judgment Battle,” Colorado Bar Association Labor & Employment Section (June 2014)
• “Associational Discrimination,” Employment Law 2014, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (March 2014)
• “Fly on the Wall: What Goes on in the Other Room During a Mediation,” Workplace Discrimination, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (January 2014)
• “Like Sands Through the Hourglass: Handling Romantic Relationships in the Workplace,” Employment Law 2013, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (April 2013)
• “Retaliation in the Workplace: The Impact of University of Southwestern Texas v. Nassar,” Employment Law Fall Update, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (November 2013)
• “The Effect of Bankruptcy on Employment Law Claims,” Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association Annual Retreat (August 2012)
• “The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Employment Law,” Employment Law 2012, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (May 2012)
• “War and Peace: Handling Claims of a Current Employee,” 2011 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (May 2011)
• “Damages in the Employment Discrimination Case,” Employment Law Practice, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (October 2010)
• “Family Responsibilities Discrimination: The New Tool in the Employment Litigator’s Toolbox,” CLE in Colorado, Inc. (September 2010)
• “The Attorney’s Fee Petition-How to Prepare It and Defend Against It,” 2010 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (May 2010)
• “Family: The Ties that Bind (but May Derail a Career),” 33rd Annual Colorado Women’s Bar Association Convention (May 2010)
• “Jury Instructions in Federal Cases,” Federal Practice Update, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (February 2010)
• “Civil Rights/Employment Law Update: The Americans with Disabilities Act,” 48th Annual Workshop on Transportation Law (July 2009)
• “How the ADA Amendments Act Affects You,” 2009 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (May 2009)
• “The Increasing Power of Stereotyping Claims,” Employment Law Update, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (September 2008)
• “Damages in the Employment Discrimination Case,” Employment Law: Hot Topics and Core Skills, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (May 2008)
• “Bankruptcy Issues in Employment Cases,” Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association (May 2008)
• “Current Issues in Family Responsibility Discrimination and “Sex-Plus” Discrimination,” 2008 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (February 2008)
• “Do I Need an Expert?,” 2006 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE In Colorado, Inc. (October 2006)
• “Sex-Plus and Other Compound Discrimination Claims,” 2005 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (October 2005)
• “Summary Judgment Arguments that Win,” 2003 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (October 2003)
• “Recurring Discovery Disputes in Employment Cases,” Colorado Bar Association Labor & Employment Section (June 2003)
• “Proving Non-Economic Damages,” 2002 Colorado Employment Law Conference, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (October 2002)
• “Litigating and Proving Damages,” Employment Law: Advanced Litigation Techniques, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (November 2001)
• “Employer Liability for Supervisory Harassment: Burlington, Faragher and the EEOC’s Enforcement Guidelines,” 1999 Employment Law Conference

Matthew Shepard Foundation Board of Directors (2016 – present)