Need-to-know info about new Colorado family, medical leave law

Joining just a handful of other states with similar laws, Colorado voters approved a ballot initiative—Proposition 118—creating a state-run insurance program that will provide paid family and medical leave to employees in the state. The program will be funded through a new payroll tax split evenly between employers and employees, with the tax initially set at 0.9% of an employee’s wages (up to an applicable limit discussed below). Employers and employees will begin paying into the program on January 1, 2023, and benefits will be available to workers beginning on January 1, 2024.

How leave program will work

Colorado legislators failed to pass the family and medical leave program during the 2020 legislative session and subsequently placed it on the November 2020 ballot after securing enough signatures in August. It will provide most Colorado employees with up to 12 weeks of partial pay and job security for various family- and medical-related absences from work, plus four additional weeks of paid leave if workers have a serious health condition related to pregnancy or childbirth complications.

Qualifying reasons for paid leave under the new program include: