Colorado's rulemaking process regarding its new paid family and medical leave insurance program (FAMLI) continues.
On Aug. 26, the state published final regulations, which provide the most concrete guidance to date regarding the benefits to which employees will be entitled under the FAMLI program as of Jan. 1, 2024.
Under the FAMLI statute, all workers are entitled to FAMLI benefits once they have earned $2,500 in Colorado at any point over the preceding year. This $2,500 threshold can be met from any combination of employers. Functionally, most Colorado employees will thus be eligible for FAMLI benefits on or soon after day one of their employment, unlike the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides that employees are not eligible for FMLA benefits until they have been employed for at least 12 months.
Under FAMLI, an employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid leave for qualifying reasons, plus an extra four weeks for pregnancy or childbirth-related reasons, on a 12-month period rolling backwards, beginning on the first day in which an employee begins taking FAMLI benefits. Again, this differs from the FMLA, which gives employers the option of calculating a 12-month period based on a calendar year, any fixed 12-month period, or a 12-month period rolling forward or backward. Employers may only use the 12-month period rolling backwards period in evaluating benefits eligibility under the FAMLI program.
The process for how employees may apply for...
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