1

Local Governments

FAMLI affects local government employers differently than private businesses. Local government employers are the only employers that have the option to vote to opt out of the FAMLI program. Employees of these local governments can take advantage of FAMLI benefits regardless of whether their local government employers are participating or have opted out of the program. Local governments can choose three paths when it comes to FAMLI:

  • Participate in FAMLI. 
  • Decline ALL participation. 
  • Decline EMPLOYER Participation.

Evening in Colorado Springs

Participate in FAMLI

  • Just like private employers, local governments that choose to fully participate in FAMLI, will share responsibility for funding the program with their employees. FAMLI premiums are set to 0.9% of the employee’s wage, with 0.45% paid by the local government and 0.45% paid by the employee. Just like private employers, Local governments may also elect to pay some or all of the employee share if they choose to offer this as an added perk for their employees.
  • The local government must register in My FAMLI+ Employer and create an account like any typical private sector employer. 
  • Local governments that participate in FAMLI must submit quarterly wage reports and owe quarterly premiums.

Decline ALL participation

  • The local government’s governing body must vote to decline all participation. 
  • The local government must register in My FAMLI+ Employer to notify the FAMLI Division of its vote to decline participation. 
  • The local government must upload a decision letter to My FAMLI+ Employer.
  • Employees still have the option of self-selecting FAMLI coverage if their local government employer opted out. 
  • Employees who want to participate must register in My FAMLI+ Employer like an independent contractor to commit to participating in the program for three years. These employees are responsible for self-reporting their wage data and remitting their quarterly premiums into the system. 
  • Local government employers that vote to decline participation in the FAMLI program are not required to have an equivalent paid leave plan in place.  
  • The vote to opt out of FAMLI must be revisited every eight years.

Decline EMPLOYER participation 

  • This option allows a local government to decline to pay the employer share of the premium, while still supporting employees who want to participate by voluntarily deducting and remitting the employee share of the premium (0.45% of wages) and corresponding wage data to the Division every quarter.
  • This allows employees to voluntarily opt into the program without having to worry about the administrative burden of remitting their own premiums and wage data every quarter. 
  • The local government’s governing body must still vote to opt out of paying the employer premium.
  • Employees of these local governments must register in My FAMLI+ Employer to commit to participating in the program for three years, AND give their local government employer permission to deduct and remit premiums on their behalf.  

Options for employees of opted-out local governments

Local government employees whose employers have opted out can still access FAMLI benefits! Here are your options when your employer opts out:

I don’t want the FAMLI benefit

  • As an employee you do not have to do anything if you do not want to participate in the FAMLI program.

I do want the FAMLI benefit: What do I need to do?

  • Even if your local government employer has voted to opt out of FAMLI, you still have the right to self-elect coverage. 
  • You will need to register with the FAMLI Division in My FAMLI+ Employer as an employee of an opted-out Local Government Employer in order to submit your quarterly wage reports and pay your FAMLI premiums.
  • Your premiums will be 0.45% of your wages. When you self-elect FAMLI coverage, you must commit to participating in the program by filing wage data and submitting premium payments for three years. 
  • While there is no open enrollment period, you will need one quarter of coverage before you can file a claim. You may elect a retroactive coverage period if you need to file a claim right away.
  • If your local government employer has decided to remit premiums and wage reports on your behalf, you need to give them permission to do that. This can happen either upon registration or through “Manage My Account” after registering. The Remitting Start/End Date field is the period of time the local government has access to the account. These dates should align with your commitment to FAMLI.