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December 19, 2023

Hello, Colorado FAMLI community! The countdown is on: there are only 12 days left until FAMLI benefits become available to Colorado workers! Until then, we hope you enjoy the holiday season and have a wonderful start to the new year. Click here to update your subscription preferences and stay connected with us in 2024.

You Asked, We Answered

My FAMLI+ is live now, and the FAMLI team hosted a virtual statewide town hall in both English and Spanish on December 6. In case you missed it, the recordings and slide decks are available on our Events page. The response was overwhelming, and we got valuable feedback from our participants. Some of the most asked-about topics included:

• Eligibility for the benefits
• Intermittent Leave 
• Different Reasons for FAMLI Leave
• Parental (Bonding) Leave
• Combining other employer-provided benefits with FAMLI
• Safe leave and domestic violence survivors
• How to submit benefit applications in My FAMLI+

For additional support with the application process, we have a step-by-step user guide, several how-to videos, and an application checklist. If you still need help, give us a call at 1-866-CO-FAMLI (1-866-263-2654) Monday–Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. MT.

We encourage you to share your experience with us, so we can continue improving the customer experience. Please fill out our My FAMLI+ feedback form after filing your claim.

Attend the next session 

We’ll be hosting more Virtual Town Halls in English and Spanish on the following dates:

• January 10, 2024:
• English: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Spanish: 3 - 4 p.m.
• February 1, 2024:
• English: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Spanish: 3 - 4 p.m.

These sessions are open to Coloradans applying for FAMLI benefits, employers, and health care providers. Zoom attendance is limited to the first 500 people who join, but we’ll also be streaming the whole thing live on our YouTube channel and answering as many questions as we can both on Zoom and in the YouTube comments section. 

Don’t forget to tell us that your leave has started 

If you’re submitting a claim in advance, the final step before the FAMLI Division can approve your benefit payments is to inform us that your leave has officially begun. This will appear as a task in your Claims Dashboard in your My FAMLI+ account. Even if you successfully submitted all required documentation, you must log in to your account or call the contact center to let us know when your leave has officially begun.

You can submit your claim now, but FAMLI benefits don’t become available until January. 

Learn more about the different reasons that qualify for FAMLI leave and how you can use your leave on our Individuals and Families page.

If you are applying for Parental (Bonding) Leave

If you are applying for Parental (Bonding) Leave (starting in 2024), you can submit your application for FAMLI leave up to 30 days in advance of your leave start date. Things to keep in mind as you submit your claim:

New parents submitting a Parental (Bonding) Leave claim do not need their claim verified by a health care provider. Instead, they will need to upload proof of birth or placement which must include the child’s birth date or placement date. Examples include:

• a birth certificate, or verification of birth worksheet
• birth or recovery care documentation from a health care provider or medical facility
• adoption or foster care placement paperwork 

Expecting parents: proof of birth documentation is required to fully file the claim. Your claim will be saved as a draft until that documentation is submitted after your baby is born. Don’t forget: when you submit an application for leave in advance, you still have to notify us that your leave has officially begun on your first day away from work. Learn more at our dedicated Parental (Bonding) Leave page here.

If your employer is using an approved Private Plan, here is what you need to know

If your employer decided to offer an approved private plan to cover their required FAMLI obligations, you need to apply for benefits differently.

Private plans provide benefits to employees through either a private insurance company or an employer-administered plan instead of through the FAMLI Division. Instead of using My FAMLI+, you will need to apply for benefits directly through your employer or your employer’s private plan administrator, not through the FAMLI Division. The benefits of a private plan must be the same or better than the benefits offered through the FAMLI Division and must be the same or lower cost to you. Talk to your employer to get started. The table below will help you determine where to apply for family and medical leave benefits:

Employers are required to tell their staff if they have an approved private plan. Please visit our Private Plans page for more information.

Spread the Word About FAMLI

Help us get the word out that Coloradans can now start applying for paid family leave benefits by posting about FAMLI on social media. Check out our Marketing Kit for suggested captions, images, and videos to use on your channels.

Employers: Private Plan Refunds 

Employers who have been approved to use a Private Plan and submitted their application on or before the October 31st deadline:

• You should have received notification from FAMLI that your Private Plan has been approved and you are eligible for a refund of 2023 premiums paid. 
• You will be contacted soon by a Premiums & Private Plans Specialist by secure email for your preferred refund method. They’ll also ask for information about any former employees that contributed FAMLI premiums in 2023
• If you have already received this communication, please start compiling the requested materials as instructed in order to expedite the refund process. 

We appreciate your patience as FAMLI diligently verifies eligible Private Plans and works to return 2023 refunds to you. 

Deadline Approaching: Q4 Wage Reports and Premiums due: January 31, 2024  

Employers: don't forget, the deadline for submitting Q4 FAMLI premiums and wage reports is January 31, 2024. If you need assistance in preparing your wage reports, we have a comprehensive collection of How-To-Videos, user guides, file specifications, and sample templates to help you through the process. For those planning to submit wages through file upload, please review our Wage Report File Specification Guide.

Update Your Total Employee Headcount 

Employers registered in My FAMLI+ Employer must update their total employee headcount for 2024 in My FAMLI+ Employer by January 31, 2024. This will ensure your business is paying accurate FAMLI premium rates. Employers with ten or more employees are required to send in the full 0.9% FAMLI premium for all 2024 quarters, and those with nine or fewer employees will be responsible for sending the 0.45% employee’s share of the premium for all four quarters in 2024. If your Annual Total Employee headcount is not updated by January 31, 2024, we will determine your total employee headcount based on wages reported for employees in 2023. Read this article for more details on how to count your employees and how to update your headcount in My FAMLI+ Employer.

Employers & Third Party Administrators: Update Your HR Point of Contact in My FAMLI+ Employer

Employers and TPAs, now that your employees can apply for FAMLI leave, don’t forget to add the contact information for your HR Benefits Manager in My FAMLI+ Employer. This new feature allows you to easily designate a dedicated point of contact for your HR Benefits Manager within your organization and any other organizations you represent.

This designated contact will be the go-to person who receives documentation when an employee applies for FAMLI leave. This documentation will now also be delivered via email (in addition to a mailed letter)! If a point of contact isn't provided for the HR Benefits Manager in My FAMLI+ Employer, employee benefit documentation will be sent to the main email address and mailing address for the account holder on file.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to make sure all of your contact information (including your email address) is up to date in the system. For more information, please refer to Page 41 of the Employer User Guide on our My FAMLI+ Employer page.

Health Care Providers: Don’t Forget to Verify Your License!

Your patients are already starting to apply for FAMLI leave benefits and your participation is important. When Coloradans use My FAMLI+ to apply for medical care leave, they will need to identify their doctor. If you as their health care provider, are registered and verified, your patients will be able to easily find you in our system. This will make applying for benefits easier and will hasten the approval process. 

You’ll be notified whenever one of your patients applies for benefits and you, or a delegated staff member, can certify their Serious Health Condition Form all online, saving yourself and your patient from passing around paperwork. If you don’t register and verify your license in My FAMLI+, expect to start seeing patients bring in paper Serious Health Condition Forms that you’ll have to fill out, sign and return to the patient. Click here to get started.

People Are Asking

Applicants Are Asking

Q: How do I submit a claim and log into the system?

A: Start by visiting our My FAMLI+ page on famli.colorado.gov:

1. Select the “Apply for FAMLI Benefits in MyFAMLI+ button.” 
2. First time users can select the Create An Account button, returning users can select Login.
3. Follow the prompts, and submit your application. Refer to our application checklist before you get started.
4. After you start a draft of your application, you can view your progress, the status of submitted claims, manage your payment options, and complete required tasks all in My FAMLI+. 

For more information please visit how-to videos and user guide for My FAMLI+ here. 

Q: How long and how often can I take FAMLI leave?

A: Each claimant has up to 12 weeks of FAMLI Leave benefits available to them (plus an extra four weeks for birth parents who experience pregnancy or childbirth complications) during a rolling 12-month period. This 12-month period, also called your “benefit year,” starts on your first day away from work. For example, if you take FAMLI leave starting on February 3, 2024, your application year will run from February 3, 2024 through February 2, 2025.  During that time, you are limited to using 12 weeks of leave (or 16 weeks if you qualify for the extra four weeks for a pregnancy or childbirth complication). Once you use all 12 weeks (or 16) of leave during that 12-month period, you will not be eligible to take FAMLI leave again until February 3, 2025 or after. 

Q: Which Employees are eligible for FAMLI leave?

A: Most Colorado employees become eligible to take paid leave after they have earned at least $2,500 in wages subject to FAMLI premiums within Colorado within the last 5 calendar quarters.

Self-Employed workers may be eligible if they have opted into coverage and live and work in Colorado. They are exempt from the $2,500 wage requirement but must commit to paying premiums for a minimum of three years.

Local Government Employees: If your Local Government Employer has opted out, you are also eligible to participate in FAMLI as long as you agree to voluntarily commit to paying premiums for a minimum of three years.

Q: How are benefits calculated if I work inconsistent hours or multiple jobs?

A: When you apply for FAMLI leave, you will enter your average work schedule. Enter your working hours for each day of the week. If you have more than one employer you will need to repeat this step for each employer. You can also use the system to calculate your average work schedule if you work inconsistent hours. You’ll do that by filling in the hours you worked each day over the last four weeks and select the Calculate Average Schedule button. The My FAMLI+ system will use this information to calculate your typical working hours per week and use that to determine your benefit payment amount.

Employers Are Asking 

Q: What information will be shared with employers when a claim is filed by an employee?

A: Employers will be notified when employees file a claim for FAMLI benefits and when the claim has been adjudicated, but these notifications will never share any specific medical information.  Instead, these notifications will inform employers that their employees have applied for FAMLI leave and will detail the dates and hours of absence. There will also be other times employers are notified, such as when a FAMLI leave determination is appealed. 

The employer notifications that FAMLI sends to employers will not disclose the employee’s benefit information including the reason for leave or the benefit payment amount. In order to coordinate other employer-provided benefits available to that employee, the employer’s authenticated user can call the  FAMLI contact center at 1-866-CO-FAMLI (1-866-263-2654) Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. MT. When they make the call, the employer will need to formally attest that they have authorization to access the information. 

Q: What is the anticipated time lapse between an employee filing for FAMLI benefits and the employer being notified of that leave?

A: Notifications are sent the next business day after the claim is submitted (and similarly for all other notifications such as claim approval/denial/update). Anticipated time is 5 business days or less. These notifications will be sent to the email address and the mailing address on file in My FAMLI+ Employer.

Share Your Story

We want to hear your personal stories. Please tell us how FAMLI could have or will help you. Each month we’ll feature stories like this one from Kristen who often spends weeks at a time in the hospital with her daughter who has Cystic Fibrosis. Read Kristen’s full story on Facebook here.