FAMLI Business — November 2025

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment sent this bulletin at 11/20/2025 03:30 PM MST

November 20, 2025

This is an official communication from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s
Family & Medical Leave Insurance Division.

Workplace Excellence: Karyn Resch Counseling
What To Know For 2026
Simplified: Your Leave Management Experience
Employer Services: Performance Report

Your Impact: Colorado Paid Leave Outcomes
Paid Leave In the News
Upcoming Presentations
FAMLI Help Kit
Contact

Workplace Excellence: Karyn Resch Counseling

Running a business means planning for the unexpected. For many independent entrepreneurs, time away from work can mean lost income, delayed projects, and added stress at the exact moment they need stability.

With FAMLI, Colorado entrepreneurs have a safety net.

Karyn, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Jefferson County, opted in to FAMLI as self-employed worker for exactly that reason. Every few years, she experiences a chronic illness flare that temporarily takes her out of practice.

“FAMLI gives me the peace of mind to continue doing meaningful work, instead of having to sacrifice my career because of my chronic illness,” Karyn explained. “It allows me to take time away from my business to care for my health without worrying about not being able to provide for my daughter.”

Colorado’s paid medical leave program offers self-employed Coloradans a straightforward way to protect their income when life interrupts work — without the overhead or complexity of large-employer benefits.

Learn How Self-Employed Professionals Can Opt-in

A woman hands a pen to a man to her right, gesturing for him to sign a document.

What To Know For 2026

Three key updates are planned for 2026. Here’s what to expect — and how we’re preparing resources to support your business needs.

1. Decreased Premiums Make FAMLI More Affordable

Beginning January 1, the premium rate will drop to 0.88% of employee wages.

For employers who contribute the full share, the lower rate will be automatically applied — no action needed.

This reduction makes FAMLI coverage more affordable for businesses and employees across the state — all while providing the same high level of support during critical life events.

2. Federal Tax Changes Take Effect in January

New IRS rules related to paid medical leave go into effect at the start of the year. If you haven’t already, please revisit our September and October newsletters for a breakdown of what these changes mean for your payroll and reporting processes.

FAMLI Business — September 2025

FAMLI Business — October 2025

We’ve also written an Employer Tax FAQ to answer the most common questions and walk you through what to expect.

FAQ: FAMLI & IRS Rev. Rul. 2025-4

More resources will be listed on our website soon — tell us what you’d like to know today!

FAMLI Tax Toolkit Survey

3. Neonatal Care Leave Benefit Launches in 2026

Colorado will become the first state in the country to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave for parents whose infants require intensive care. This is an additional bank of 12 weeks separate from the 12 weeks FAMLI typically provides for other claim types — and it has no impact on premiums.

Employers with a private plan: no re-application is necessary. FAMLI is working with carriers to update your coverage now. FAMLI will send an addendum to your mailing address in the coming weeks.

Simplified: Your Leave Management Experience

FAMLI is committed to making paid leave work smoothly for Colorado employers. This month’s platform enhancements were built with your workflows in mind:

Faster Premium Calculations and Wage Uploads

You told us faster premium calculations and quicker wage reporting were key to improving your FAMLI experience. So we’re upgrading a backend processing system that will allow us to deliver on those needs.

Clearer Claims Notifications

You’ll now receive improved claim notices that clearly separate your employee’s approved leave periods from the ineligible ones — giving you a complete, easy-to-understand snapshot in a single document, and leading to clearer scheduling decisions with your employee.

Experience the difference these changes can make during your next wage upload — log in to My FAMLI+ Employer today!

Log-in to My FAMLI+ Employer Portal

Employer Services: Performance Report

Quicker Answers, Faster Processing, A Stronger Support Experience

FAMLI’s Contact Center continues to deliver some of the strongest customer support performance in the state. Since December, our team has made major gains that translate directly into a smoother experience for your business.

We’ve been working to make every part of your FAMLI experience faster and more efficient. Here’s how our latest performance metrics stack up, and how they’re directly improving your day-to-day operations.

👉 Average Answer Time is Less Than 60 seconds!

What used to take more than seven minutes now takes one (or less!)

👉 Support Tickets Resolved Faster Than Ever

We set a goal to reduce the time it takes to resolve support requests from 84 to 72 hours by year’s end. Our current average? 62 hours.

👉 Wage Uploads Processed in Minutes, Not Half-Hours

We also aimed to reduce wage upload processing time from 27 minutes to 15 minutes. We’re now averaging 5 minutes.

👉 Faster Premiums Reporting, Less Waiting

That back-end system we mentioned earlier? It’s already brought processing times down from 6 to 2 hours.

Across the board, we’re focused on building a simpler, faster, and more reliable experience for every Colorado workplace. Every improvement we roll out is for the same goal: to be the partner you trust to help your business run smoothly.

Experience the difference the next time you log-in — and tell us how you’re experiencing the portal today:

Tell Us How The My FAMLI+ Employer Works For You

Parents take a selfie with their smiling daughter in a hospital

Your Impact: Colorado Ranked Best State for Families

Your impact continues to grow.

This past month, the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center ranked Colorado #1 in the nation for resources available to families with young children — and FAMLI participation was specifically cited as a key reason why.

Research published in the Policy Impact Center’s 2025 State Resources Report determined that — due in part to the amount of employers participating in FAMLI — Colorado has the smallest percentage of households reporting childhood food insecurity. We also rank highly in terms of:

percentage of children under 3 whose mothers report fair or poor mental health

percentage of children who receive developmental screening

percentage of children living in poverty.

FAMLI’s wage replacement during times of crisis and need contribute directly to these health and economic outcomes — which means everything you do to make this program accessible, supportive, and safe for your employees contributes directly to these outcomes.

Thank you for making this program what it is today, and what it is becoming.

Read the report below — and see how your participation in FAMLI is making a world of difference.

2025 Policy Impact Center State Report

Paid Leave in the News

The latest news and research about paid leave, businesses, and communities

#1 - Colorado Caregiving Report

A new AARP Colorado report highlights the essential role of family caregivers across the state. Colorado caregivers provide more than $11 billion in unpaid care each year, yet 47% report taking on debt, draining savings, or struggling to afford basic needs — often leading to burnout and job separation.

What this means for you: Retention is difficult enough — and caregiving needs only add to the hardship. Employers participating in programs like FAMLI can reduce their turnover and save themselves employee replacement costs at the same time.

#2 Colorado Ranked Number One in Family Support

Colorado was ranked #1 in the nation for resources available to families with young children, according to the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center. We now lead the country in reducing childhood food insecurity and place in the top 10 for maternal mental health, development screenings, and low child poverty rates.

What this means for you: Top talent gravitates toward employers with strong family support. Your participation in FAMLI strengthens your competitive position, helping your business align with what today’s workforce values.

#3 New Study: Paid Leave Strengthens Father Engagement

The June 2025 Progress to Paternity report shows that state paid leave programs significantly increase the number of fathers able to take bonding leave in a child’s first months, directly improving return-to-work outcomes.

What this means for you: Employees who take paid leave are able to manage early caregiving demands before returning to work. This results in more focused, fully present employees — meaning fewer disruptions and greater productivity for your business.