Colorado
Last Updated: 12/01/2023
Colorado Family and Medical Leave Programs
What is the Update?
The contribution rate effective 2023 is 0.9%, shared equally (0.45 each) between the employer and employee. Premiums are capped at the Social Security Wage base. Employers with fewer than 10 U.S. employees are exempt from deductions and must deduct and remit only the employee portions to the state. Benefits become available to employees under the program as of January 2024.
Eligible employees will be able to take up to 12 weeks of leave per year, and an additional 4 weeks will be allowed for those who have pregnancy-related complications. The maximum benefit an employee can receive in 2024 will be 90% of their earnings up to $1,100 per week. The maximum weekly benefit will then be adjusted annually. Employees will be able to take leave and receive benefits under the program if they’ve earned $2,500 in wages in the last four quarters. Their leave will also be job protected, if they have worked for their current employer for 180 days.
Employers cannot require employees to use PTO while on FAMLI leave. Employers and employers can agree, however, to use PTO to “top up” FAMLI benefits. Employees cannot receive more than their average weekly wage between FAMLI leave and PTO.
Employers may require that payments under the law be coordinated with payments made under the terms of short-term or long-term disability policies, however, employers must provide employees written notice of this requirement (The Larkin Company will include this written notice in our introductory letters).
The Colorado Department of Labor has developed the “My FAMLI+ Employer” portal, allowing employers to report wage data, remit premium payments, and more, now available to all Colorado employers. Every CO employer must be registered and submit premium payments and wage reports at the end of each quarter (first payments/reports were due by April 30, 2023). Employers can find a step-by-step guide on how to register here, under the “User Guides and Additional Resources” section.
Handbook/Policy Updates
The CO FAMLI law does not state any legal requirements for updating employer handbooks.
Notice Requirements
Employers are legally required to display the CO FAMLI notice in a prominent location, as well as notify its employees in writing upon hire and upon learning of an employee’s request to take a leave of absence. If you have employees that work remotely, we would recommend also posting this on your company intranet.
The department is expecting an updated notice to be released at the end of 2023. Employers will be required to provide this notice to employees requesting qualifying CO FAMLI leaves effective in 2024. The Larkin Company will include this notice in our leave packets for leaves commencing in 2024. If we receive any updated guidance from the state, we will inform our clients. The notice for CO FAMLI can be found here.
Larkin Action
We will continue to monitor any updates regarding the law and will keep our clients updated.
Further Company Considerations
N/A at this time.
Resources
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