Working individuals across the State of Colorado had an extra reason to celebrate this New Year’s Day! As of January 1, 2024 more than 2.5 million Coloradans now have the legal right to job-protected paid family and medical leave.
Under the state’s paid family and medical leave program, known as FAMLI, covered workers will be able to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to bond with a new child, recover from one’s own serious health condition, care for a seriously ill loved one, address specific safety needs related to domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, or respond to a family member’s military deployment and other military family needs. An additional 4 weeks is available for qualifying pregnancy or childbirth complications.
In November 2020, Colorado became the first – and still only – state to approve paid family and medical leave insurance through a popular vote, demonstrating the clear popularity of – and urgent need for – these critical policies. In addition to drafting the Colorado ballot initiative, we worked on the ground in the state for years out of our Denver-based Colorado Office to provide legal, policy, and strategic support to coalition partners and key stakeholders.
In the three years since voters decisively approved the paid family and medical leave ballot initiative, we have dedicated ourselves to the law’s successful implementation. Together with our partners at 9to5 Colorado and the Colorado Fiscal Institute, we serve on the Executive Committee of Colorado’s paid family and medical leave implementation coalition. In this role, we have worked to ensure public administration of the FAMLI program, achieved strong regulations that protect workers’ rights under the law, and helped to win a unanimous decision from the Colorado Supreme Court upholding the FAMLI program.
For more information regarding Colorado’s FAMLI program, please see our FAQ here (with a Spanish translation here). Detailed program information is also available here from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, which is currently accepting applications for paid family and medical leave through their My FAMLI+ benefits portal.
As we celebrate this tremendous victory in Colorado, A Better Balance remains committed as ever in 2024 to ensuring that all workers nationwide have a similar right to paid family and medical leave.
