Employer FAQs

The FAMLI program is a social insurance program, and provides wage replacement for qualifying life events. Your employees will receive FAMLI benefit payments directly from the Division through a debit card or direct deposit. 

As the employer, you don’t have to pay your employee their regular wages  while someone is on leave and receiving FAMLI benefit payments. You should pay your employee for any previous pay periods they worked as scheduled. 
 

Employers should also pay any portion of the employee's (and their dependents) health insurance benefits you normally cover; you are required to continue. You may choose to require the employee to continue to pay their share of their contribution to these benefits while they are on leave.
 

Local government employers that opt-out of the FAMLI program are not required to maintain health insurance benefits during FAMLI leave for their employees who opt-in to the program. See C.R.S. 8-13.3-509(8). However, while the FAMLI Act does not require a local government employer to maintain benefits in this situation, the terms of your specific benefits policies and/or other laws or regulations may require benefits to be maintained during paid family and medical leave.

While an employee is on leave, employers must pay any portion of the employee's (and their dependents) health insurance benefits the employer normally covers. Employers may choose to require the employee to continue to pay their share of their contribution to these benefits while they are on leave. Because you are not paying your employee’s regular wages, you may have access to vacancy savings to spend as needed, like to hire temporary help for example.
 

Employees are not required to use earned paid time off (PTO) before taking leave under the FAMLI program, but employers may allow employees to use their accrued PTO to “top off” or cover the remaining balance of their typical weekly wage in order to “make whole” their take-home pay while on leave.

This decision lies with the employer. As best practice, being honest with the temporary worker that their position may be limited to cover temporary leave for another employee will be helpful.

However, depending on the permanent employee’s circumstances and reason for taking leave, it is possible another federal law such as the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) would be relevant to the employee's new life circumstances, and a partial return to work/job sharing model may exist for a time. If time was spent onboarding the temporary worker, having them available during a transition or for another event may be helpful and can save time and effort

Even a single employee vacancy can be a strain for a business' daily operations. Businesses may have other employees share the workload from the employee taking leave. While an employee is on leave, employers have access to vacancy savings. Employers may use vacancy savings from an employee on leave to provide a bonus or hazard pay for other employees who take on additional work.

FAMLI leave is different from paid sick days and will require documentation of need in most cases before the benefit is approved by the FAMLI Division. 

Depending on the reason and need for leave, the benefit leave period may be up to 12 weeks. For people experiencing pregnancy and childbirth complications this may be extended an additional 4 weeks, for a total of 16 weeks.
 

The FAMLI benefit can be taken multiple times per year, not to exceed 12 weeks in a rolling calendar year. For example, if an employee takes paternity leave on February 11th, 2024, for the full 12 weeks, they would not be eligible for any other FAMLI leave period covered until February 11th, 2025. However, a claimant took 6 weeks for a surgery in January, they would still be eligible to take another 6 weeks later in the year if there is another qualifying event.

Most Colorado employees become eligible to take paid leave after they have earned at least $2,500 in wages within the State within the last 4 calendar quarters.

Self Employed Workers (1099 or Contract Workers) may also be eligible if they have opted into coverage and live and work in Colorado.

My FAMLI+ will send employers a determination notice whenever an employee applies for FAMLI leave and is determined to be eligible. These notices will include the dates the employee is eligible to take leave.   

Employers can also check your HR Dashboard in My FAMLI+ Employer to track employees that are on FAMLI leave. The HR Dashboard allows employers to review the FAMLI leave statuses for all their employees in a single place. On the HR Dashboard, employers can request additional information, such as leave reason and leave amount.
 

The HR Dashboard allows employers to review the FAMLI leave statuses for all their employees in a single place. If you click a claim, you can request additional information for each claim, such as leave reason and leave amount.

Claimants are also required to tell the FAMLI Division when they return to work, so they do not continue receiving FAMLI benefit payments while they are working.  

Great question! The answer is no. Religious organizations, nonprofits or any other employer who may be exempt from FUTA premiums are NOT exempt from paying FAMLI premiums.

If the pastor or religious leader meets the definition of employee, they would not be considered a self-employed worker and should be counted as an employee and contribute premiums the same way all other employees in the organization do. Under the FAMLI Act, an “employee” is any individual, including a migratory laborer, performing labor or services for the benefit of another, irrespective of whether the common law relationship of master and servant exists. The FAMLI Act’s definition of “employee” includes a two-prong exception:

If a person is both primarily free from control in the performance of their work, and that work is part of their independent profession or trade, then that person is not an employee under the FAMLI Act, and payments to them would not be subject to premiums. §8-13.3-503 (7) C.R.S.

It's important to note that the Division may investigate claims that an employer has misclassified one or more employees as independent contractors.

The structure of a business isn’t what matters for FAMLI compliance. What matters is whether the business has qualifying employees. If you have at least one qualifying employee, you will need to register with the Division, submit wage data and send in premiums on behalf of that employee. Under the FAMLI Act, an “employee” is any individual, including a migratory laborer, performing labor or services for the benefit of another, irrespective of whether the common law relationship of master and servant exists. The FAMLI Act’s definition of “employee” includes a two-prong exception:

If a person is both primarily free from control in the performance of their work, and that work is part of their independent profession or trade, then that person is not an employee under the FAMLI Act, and payments to them would not be subject to premiums. §8-13.3-503 (7) C.R.S.

Employers with even just one employee must to fulfill their FAMLI obligations regardless of what industry they are in.

While employers with fewer than 10 employees are not required to pay the employer share of the contribution, they are still required to send in the employees’ share of the contribution and wage data to the Division every quarter. Some employers may choose not to deduct any premium contributions from their employees' wages.

The FAMLI program was designed to be able to run concurrently with the FMLA. For more information, see U.S. Department of Labor Office of Wage and Hour Opinion Letter FMLA-2019-1-A.

Some disability policies may require exhaustion of FAMLI leave before making the disability benefits available, some may count FAMLI leave benefits toward the benefit obligations under the disability policy, and some may do neither or both. 

Employers must give employees written notice of these restrictions in order for them to be enforceable. Employees should also ask their employers for details about their long-term and short-term benefits.

Yes. Both the FMLA and FAMLI require employers to keep providing health insurance while an employee is on leave. During the leave, employees need to keep paying their part of the insurance cost. There are different ways employees can make these payments, including paying directly to the employer through a payment plan. You can find details in Regulations Concerning Coordination Of Benefits And Reimbursement Of Advance Payments 7 CCR 1107-4, Section 4.6.2.

If an employee and the employer agree on a payment plan but the employee doesn't make the payments during FAMLI leave, the employer can stop the health care coverage if they follow the FMLA regulations at The Family and Medical Leave Act 29 CFR 825.212, including giving notice and following specific timing. The employer must, however, bring back the coverage when the employee returns. 

FAMLI also prohibit employers from interfering with employees' rights. So, the employer can't cancel coverage if it means they can't fully restore the employee's benefits when they come back. This would go against the employee's right to coverage restoration under FAMLI.

Employers cannot require employees to use accrued vacation, sick leave, or other paid time off before or while receiving FAMLI. However, employers and employees can agree that an employee taking FAMLI leave can use accrued paid time off to “top off” their pay to make their benefit payments “whole.” Employees cannot, however, receive more in compensation than their average weekly wage.

FAMLI premiums should be considered post-tax deductions that do not reduce an employee’s taxable income.

Employers should report such deductions on IRS form W-2 in Box 14, and list “FAMLI” as the label. The FAMLI Division does not regulate income tax reporting requirements, and we encourage employers to confer with counsel, their accountant, and/or the IRS to ensure compliance.

Employers should pay premiums to the Division for every employee regardless of how long the employee works for them. This obligation starts the day the employee is hired.

Any individual who has earned $2,500 in wages that are subject to FAMLI premiums within the state of Colorado over the course of roughly a year, is eligible to apply for FAMLI benefits.

This depends on the type of jobs the individual is doing simultaneously. If both jobs are with employers that are choosing to deduct the employee’s portion of the premium and are not an opted out local government, then this individual would see the FAMLI deduction on each paycheck from each employer. When applying for benefits, this individual will have to identify which employers they are requesting to take leave from.

If your Third Party Administrators (TPA) has indicated that they will register on your behalf and manage your wage reporting and premium payments for your business, you do not need to register. Please confirm with your TPA exactly how they will be supporting your business in meeting your obligations.

If you want access to your My FAMLI+ Employer account after your TPA has registered on your behalf, your TPA will need to add you as a user. You can create your own user account in My FAMLI+ Employer, and request access to your business account if your business has already been registered.

Employers and TPAs now have the option of managing TPA-relationships and connecting their accounts directly in My FAMLI+ Employer. Visit our My FAMLI+ Employer page for user guides and how-to videos or give us a call at 1-866-CO-FAMLI (1-866-263-2654) for support.

The FAMLI program is a social insurance program that both employers and employees contribute to. All contributions are added to the fund that pays out benefits. 

The law currently does not allow an individual to withdraw contributions upon retirement or when leaving the state. The contributions made by that individual will remain in the social insurance pool after they retire or stop working in Colorado.

Sole Proprietors that have employees should not be registered as Self Employed. You must register your account as an Employer / Company Administrator in order to report wages and pay premiums on behalf of your employees. If you need to change Employer type please call the Contact Center at 1-866-CO-FAMLI (1-866-263-2654) Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (Mountain Time).

Remember: If you have at least one qualifying employee, you will need to register with the Division as an employer to submit wage data and send in premiums on behalf of that employee. 

Overall, FAMLI premiums are shared between employers and employees based on 0.9% of wages. If you have 10 or more employees (nationwide), you may deduct up to 50% of the 0.9% premium as a standard payroll deduction.

If you have less than 10 employees (nationwide), you are not required to pay the employer share.

Employers are responsible for submitting  wage reports and paying premiums.  An employer will not be required to pay more than half the premium into the program from its own business expenses.

This formula is used to calculate premiums:

• (subject annual wages X .009) / 2 = employer share
   
• (subject annual wages X .009) / 2 = employee share

The upper limit of what an employer may be required to pay for a senior level or executive employee is capped at the same rate their social security withholding is. The Federal Social Security Wage Cap is set at $176,100 for earnings in 2025.

The chart below is a floor to ceiling calculation of what a self employed individual or an employer can expect to pay as a premium. See the table below. 

 FAMLI Floor to Ceiling Calculation in 2025 dollars 

Estimates only. Annual cost to employer/employee at 50/50 in BOLD.

This table shows the 2025 minimum wages as a floor and the 2025 Social Security Wage Cap as a ceiling. 

Both employers and employees began paying into the fund in January 2023. Employers need to submit to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment both their share (if required) and their employee's share of the premium through an online system at the end of each quarter. These quarterly filings are similar to how most companies submit their unemployment insurance. 
 

The premium payment schedule is:

• April 30 
• July 31
• October 31
• January 31
   

Responsibilities Under Proposition 118

Employers will have several payment type options to submit their quarterly premium payments to the FAMLI Division:

• Online Payments through the My FAMLI+ Employer portal
• Online Bill Pay
• Payment via API
• ACH Credit
• Payment by Check

Please visit the Employers page and click on “Paying Your Premiums” for more details.

Yes, an employer may apply for private plan approval at any time after previously participating in FAMLI. If an employer plans to apply for Private Plan approval, they must continue to fulfill their FAMLI obligations until their private plan is formally approved by the Division. 

The FAMLI Division works closely with the Division of Insurance (DOI) to ensure private plan insurance carriers have products available to employers that meet all of the FAMLI requirements. A list of approved carriers is published on our Private Plans page. 

An employer must notify the Division, in writing, of any material change to an approved private plan at least sixty (60) days before the change is to take effect. However, if an employer is changing from one approved private plan to another approved insurance carrier’s private plan,

the employer must notify the Division, in writing, of the change at least thirty-five (35) days before the change is to take effect.

1. Go to the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) webpage. 
2. Hover mouse over “For Consumers” in the bar at the top of the page.

3. Hover over “Consumer Protection in the dropdown menu.
4. Click on “Verify a License” - This will send you to a new webpage.

5. Select "Colorado" for the state, then "Company," then select "Fidelity/Surety" under Authorized Line Type then click Submit to access a list of all insurers authorized to sell surety bonds in Colorado.

An employee’s “Application Year” is twelve months, measured forward from the employee’s first day away from work on FAMLI leave. For example, if the employee takes two weeks of FAMLI leave starting on February 3, 2024, the application year runs from February 3, 2024 through February 2, 2025.  During that time, this employee is limited to using 12 weeks of leave (or 16 weeks if the employee qualify for the extra 4 weeks for a pregnancy or childbirth complication).  

The employee’s next application year will start on February 3, 2025, or the next date the same employee takes FAMLI leave, whichever is later. For example, the first application year ends on February 2, 2025, and the employee doesn’t need to take leave again until needing to bond with a new baby on September 1, 2025. The new benefit year runs from September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026. 

Your total nationwide employee count will be what determines whether or not you pay the employer share of the premium. You will only need to pay premiums for the employees who are localized in Colorado. For example, if you have 15 employees nationwide, and eight working completely in Colorado, you as the employer would be required to pay the 0.45% employer's share and collect and remit the 0.45% of the employee's share for each of those eight employees.

Remember: employers are required to update their total employee headcount every year. The Annual Total Employee headcounts are due by February 28. This annual reporting task will ensure that employers aren’t charged incorrect premiums each quarter. Starting in 2025: if your Annual Total Employee headcount is not updated by February 28, 2025, the FAMLI Division will assume you have 10 or more employees, and you’ll be required to send in 0.9% of wages each quarter. Here’s a handy refresher that dives deeper into how you count your employees.

Under the FAMLI Act, most private sector employers must provide paid family and medical leave to their Colorado employees, whether through the state-run plan or through a private plan with equal or greater benefits and protections. An employee's wages will be subject to FAMLI premiums if:

1. The employee's work is performed entirely within Colorado;
2. The employee performs work both within and outside of Colorado, but the work performed outside of Colorado is incidental to the employee's work within Colorado, or is temporary or transitory and consists of isolated transactions; or
3. The employee's work is not primarily localized in any state, but some work is performed in Colorado, and one of the following is true:
   • The employee's base of operations is in Colorado, or if there is no base of operations, the place from which the employee's work is directed or controlled is in Colorado; or
   • Neither the base of operations nor the place from which some part of the work is directed or controlled is not in any state in which part of the employee's work is performed, but the employee's individual residence is in Colorado. More information regarding localization can be found in the FAMLI Division's Premium Rules at 7 CCR 1107-1, Section 1.6.

We've created the following decision tree to help employers determine Colorado localization when it comes to employees being subject to FAMLI:

When determining whether the employee works primarily in Colorado or some other state, it is not sufficient to determine the amount of time they work in a state. An employee works primarily in a state only if the work performed outside that state is incidental to the work performed inside the state, or if the work performed outside the state is temporary or transitory and consists of isolated transactions. It is possible that an employee does not work primarily in any state.

For more detailed information about localization, please see the Premiums Rules at 7 CCR 1107-1, Section 1.6. if you still need help determining an employee's localization, please contact us at 1-866-CO-FAMLI (1-866-263-2654) Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.