Colorado workers can now take paid time off for personal or family health issues through the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program (FAMLI), created after Proposition 118 was passed in 2020. Employers and employees have been contributing to the program, dividing the premium which is set at 0.9% of an employee’s wages. Starting from 2024, employee benefits can be claimed, with the first set approved in January of the same year. As of mid-January, 8,919 claims had been filed through the online portal.

The system is a “social insurance program paid out by the state, partially funded by premiums from employers and employees. Certain employers, such as local governments, have opted out of it. The FAMLI program permits up to 12 weeks of paid leave, or 16 weeks if complications arise with pregnancy and childbirth. Employees are eligible if a new child is born or adopted, they have a severe health condition needing management; they are dealing with domestic violence or sexual assault or if they need to care for ill family members or deal with military deployment arrangements for a family member.

The benefits are available per qualifying event, once a year. Most Colorado employees, either part-time or full-time, can benefit from the program, as long as they’ve earned $2,500 under the FAMLI premiums in a one-year period. All employers, even with one employee, should register for the program. Employees can take leaves intermittently or reduce their work hours.

Compensation is capped at $1,100 per week through 2024, with the actual amount based on the applicant’s average weekly income. The state uses a sliding scale to determine the compensation. Self-employed, workers with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, and some undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements are also eligible for benefits. The first public paid-leave program in Colorado, it is regarded as one of the most progressive, becoming the first to be created through the ballot process.