In addition to these local government-specific FAQs, local government employers may also refer to FAQs for employers generally.
- What organizations are considered local governments under FAMLI?
Under the FAMLI Act, a Local Government is any county, city and county, city, or town, whether home rule or statutory, or any school district, special district, authority, or other political subdivision of the state. Charter Schools are considered Local Governments under the FAMLI Act. Any government entity with at least one employee in the State Personnel System is NOT considered a Local Government under the FAMLI Act. Any government entity for which the state prepaid premiums under 2022 law (House Bill 22-1133) is NOT a local government. References: §29-1-304.5(3)(b) C.R.S., C.R.S. 8-13.3-518(4)(b)
- What do local governments that opted out of FAMLI need to do?
Local governments that declined to fully participate in the FAMLI program must stay registered in My FAMLI+ Employer and revisit this vote every eight years at minimum, then submit documentation of the vote in My FAMLI+ Employer. Local governments must notify employees of their decision on FAMLI participation within 30 days after a deciding vote.
- Should our local government register with the FAMLI Division?
Yes. All Colorado local governments should register in FAMLI’s online employer service system. Registering with the system and uploading your documents enables FAMLI to keep track of local governments’ participation decision and the obligation to revisit a declination vote after 8 years. Registering also provides local governments that decline to fully participate but choose to facilitate payroll deductions for individually-participating employees with a way to submit wage reports and remit premium deductions.
- I am a TPA and/or an attorney representing a local government. Can I register a local government that has voted to opt out and upload their documents on their behalf?
Yes. When you login to your TPA account, manually register the local government as you would other clients. However, when asked "Are you a TPA registering on behalf of this organization?" select “No.” This will give you the functionality to upload the local government's opt out letter.
Attorneys who represent local governments who have voted to opt out should register as if they are the company administrator of the local government in order to opt out for them. Attorneys will follow the My FAMLI+ Employer User Guide and start a new registration. They should also select "No" to answer the question "Are you a TPA registering on behalf of this organization?" In the system, this will recognize the organization as their own, as opposed to a client account. This will give the account the functionality to upload the required opt out letter.
- What does our local government need to send to FAMLI?
The requirement may be fulfilled by a letter on letterhead and must indicate the date the vote was taken, and declare which of the options outlined above the local government has chosen.
The letter with the date of the vote and the option the local government has chosen is the only information local governments need to submit to the FAMLI Division. The letter must be submitted after registration in FAMLI’s online employer service system. This letter must be uploaded after registering the local government in My FAMLI+ Employer.- Are elected officials counted in employment numbers?
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 considered an employee under the FAMLI Act. Elected officials will generally satisfy this two-prong exception and should not be counted as employees, and payments made to them for their services will not be subject to premiums.
- Who can conduct the vote?
The vote must be conducted by the local government’s governing body. Examples of a governing body include but are not limited to: public school boards, board of regents, board(s) of directors etc.
- Is there an enrollment period for local government employees who want to opt in?
Local government employees who voluntarily want to self-select FAMLI coverage can do so at any time after their local government opts out. There is no enrollment period. Elective coverage begins on the date the notice of election is filed. Benefits are available after they have reported wages and paid premiums for one quarter.
They will need to register with the FAMLI system and will be responsible for remitting 0.45% of the premium and wage data every quarter. Upon voluntarily opting into the program, these individuals are required to commit to participate for at least three years.
- Is a local government that opts out of FAMLI responsible for maintaining an employee’s health insurance while they are on FAMLI leave?
Local government employers which 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.
- If a local government employer votes to opt-out of FAMLI, and an employee voluntarily opts-in, will this employee have job protection under FAMLI?
The job of an employee who voluntarily opts-in after their local government opts out would NOT be protected under the FAMLI program. The employee would still be eligible to take the leave, but his/her job would not be protected, since the employer has opted out. HOWEVER, the employee’s leave may be protected under FMLA if the employer is already covered by FMLA.
- Are Charter Schools considered local governments under FAMLI?
Yes, P-12 Charter Schools are considered local governments within FAMLI’s local government rules. Therefore, Charter Schools have the option to either opt out fully, collect and submit only the employee share of the premium for employees who voluntarily opt in, or participate in the program as any other private employer. The Charter School’s governing body would need to conduct a vote in order to opt out.
- What about local governments, like special districts, that do not have any employees? Are these local governments still required to register with the FAMLI Division?
Local governments without employees are not "local government employers" and will not be required to register with the FAMLI Division. However, as is the case for other CDLE divisions that enforce laws extending benefits and protections to employees, the Division may investigate claims that an employer has misclassified one or more employees as independent contractors.
- Will an opted out local government be notified if an employee has filed or changed a claim?
Yes, the employer(s) will be notified when an employee files or changes a claim.
The My FAMLI+ system will notify all employers, including opted-out local governments, about their employees’ FAMLI claims via email and US Mail letters to the business address in the My FAMLI+ Employer premiums system. These notifications will provide details that include dates of leave, and leave type (continuous, intermittent or reduced) to assist employers in coordinating other benefits like FMLA, paid time off, etc.
- What can opted-out local governments see in the My FAMLI+ Employer portal?
All local governments (opted in, out and remitting) are granted access to the HR Dashboard within My FAMLI+ Employer portal. The HR Dashboard allows for the HR Administrators and HR Viewers to access claim details for all of their employees, this includes claim information, reason for leave, and time request for leave.
Local governments who have opted out completely will not have access to employee wage or payment information within the portal.
Participating local government organizations will be able to view wage and payment information in the portal if granted permission by the employee of an opted out local government for a specified duration. The employee of an opted out local government is the only one who can authorize their local government employer to perform actions on their behalf in the My FAMLI+ Employer portal. The local government employer cannot manage this relationship.
- What should be communicated to employees of Local Governments that are participating in FAMLI?
Employers must tell their employees about FAMLI. Post the Required Program Notice. Employers must post the FAMLI Required Program notice in a conspicuous place.
Employers will also need to deliver the program notice to employees individually (1) upon hire and (2) within five days of learning an employee experienced an event that triggers FAMLI eligibility. Employers can find the required program notice in our toolkit.
The Required Program Notice tells employees about FAMLI benefits as well as their rights and duties under the program.
It should be posted or sent out in the language(s) you use to communicate with employees.