COLORADO - FAMLI LEAVE IS COMING - JANUARY 1ST - START GETTING PREPARED

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All – Senator Faith Winter’s voter approved initiative was prefunded this last year by the general assembly so the good news it that it might not go insolvent right out of the gates -   CWPMA encourages everyone to take a look at the below website and information:

CDLE has done a good job of putting some information together for employers including some webinars on how to begin to get ready:

Couple things:

• 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.
• Employers and their employees are both responsible for funding the program and may split the cost 50/50. The premiums are set to 0.9% of the employee’s wage, with .45% paid by the employer and .45% paid by the employee. Employers may also elect to pay the full amount if they choose to offer this as an added perk for their employees. 
• Businesses with nine or fewer employees do not have to contribute to the program, but do need to remit their employees' share (.45%)  of premium payments on behalf each quarter. This can be done through a simple payroll deduction. 
• Employers who offer their own paid leave program may apply for an exemption. Exemption applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not  the employer’s private plan is adequately comparable to the benefits provided by the FAMLI program.

https://famli.colorado.gov/employers

Now is the time to plan for the FAMLI program. 

Employers will start collecting FAMLI premiums for Paid Family and Medical Leave on January 1, 2023. The premium is 0.9% of each employee’s gross wages. Use the calculator to estimate your premiums. Premiums are capped at the Social Security Wage Base.

Disclaimer: these calculations should only be used as estimates and may not be equal to the exact amount of your premium. 

Premium and Benefits Calculator

Important details:

All employers will either withhold employees' premiums from their paychecks or pay some or all of the premium on their employees’ behalf. Employers cannot collect missed premiums in later pay periods.

Employers may withhold up to 50% of the total premium from an employee. The employer is responsible for paying the other half, unless they are exempted from the FAMLI program by statute. (See table below for possible employer exemptions) However,  if the employer is exempt, it is important to know employees are never required to pay more than 50% of the total premium. 

By law, the FAMLI Division Director is required to recalculate the premium rate every year past 2025 and determine if adjustments to the premium rate need to be made. Current Colorado law caps the premium at 1.2% meaning it will not be assessed any higher than this amount. 

Responsibilities Under Proposition 118