Article
5 min read
What is Colorado FAMLI (Family and Medical Leave Insurance) in 2025?
PEO
Author
Shannon Ongaro
Last Update
June 13, 2025
Published
June 09, 2025
Key takeaways
- Colorado’s FAMLI program provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave (16 weeks for pregnancy-related complications) covering parental leave, caregiving, serious illness, family violence, and military deployment.
- Contributions to FAMLI are equally shared by employees and employers at 0.45% each, except for small employers with fewer than 10 employees.
- Deel PEO simplifies compliance, payroll, and benefits management, ensuring your business stays aligned with Colorado’s FAMLI program effortlessly.
The Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) includes paid leave for serious illness, parental bonding and deployment. But its detailed eligibility, contribution and notice rules can overwhelm even seasoned HR teams.
Deel PEO automates every step—from calculating deductions and issuing notices to centralizing leave tracking—so you stay compliant across states without extra manual work.
Here's what you should know about the FAMLI program in Colorado.
Understanding the Colorado FAMLI program
The FAMLI program in Colorado is a voter-approved initiative that provides paid leave benefits to eligible workers for certain family and medical reasons
| Coverage: | Paid parental leave, serious injury, caregiving, family violence leave, military family deployment leave |
|---|---|
| Employee contribution | 0.45% of up to $176,100 USD in salary |
| Employer contribution | 0.45% of up to $176,100 in salary (employers with fewer than 10 employees are not required to pay the employer share) |
| Maximum entitlement | $1,324.21 per week |
| Duration | Up to 12 weeks per year Up to 16 weeks for complications related to pregnancy or childbirth |
See more: Comprehensive Guide to Payroll Taxes in Colorado
Eligibility for FAMLI Colorado
Workers who earned at least $2,500 in wages subject to FAMLI premiums during the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the start of the benefit year are eligible.
What FAMLI Colorado covers
| Coverage reason | Length of benefit |
|---|---|
| Bonding with a New Child: Leave for the birth of an employee's child, or for the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care. This includes bonding time within the first year after the birth or placement. | 12 weeks |
| Caring for a Seriously Ill Family Member: Leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Family members include a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or any other individual with a close association that is equivalent to a family relationship. | 12 weeks |
| The Employee's Own Serious Health Condition: Leave for an employee's own serious health condition that prevents them from performing the functions of their job. | 12 weeks |
| Qualifying Exigency Leave: Leave for reasons related to a family member's active duty or call to active duty in the Armed Forces, including providing childcare, attending military ceremonies, and addressing financial or legal arrangements | 12 weeks |
| Safe Leave: Leave for employees who are victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or abuse, or for employees who need to assist a family member who is a victim. This leave can be used for obtaining medical care, mental health counseling, legal services, or for other related purposes. | 12 weeks |
| Pregnancy or Childbirth-Related Health Complications: An additional four weeks of leave (for a total of up to 16 weeks) may be available for pregnancy or childbirth-related health complications. | 16 weeks |
Colorado FAMLI benefits
The exact amount of the benefit will vary and will be calculated by the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. Benefits are provided on a sliding scale with partial wage replacement up to a maximum of $1,324.21 per week.
Colorado FAMLI job protections
Under the Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Act, employees who take leave are entitled to be restored to the same or an equivalent position upon their return from leave.
This means they should retain their employment status, pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment that are equivalent to what they had before taking leave.
Deel PEO
How to claim FAMLI Colorado benefits
Employees must apply for FAMLI benefits directly with the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. Applications may be made online. Apply online for FAMLI benefits.
Keep compliant with Deel PEO
New to managing parental and family leave laws in Colorado? With Deel PEO, you can offload compliance risks and processes to ensure state-specific alignment.
- Fully in-house operations for improved support and workflows
- Expert payroll administration, HR, and benefits compliance
- Exclusive Aetna International benefits plans for W2 employees travelling abroad
- Built-in compliance for local and federal coverage
- 60+ domestic benefits plans with Fortune 500-caliber benefits
- Trainings, HR policies, and on-demand HR support
- And more
To learn more about how you can use Deel PEO to scale in the US, book a 30-minute call with one of our dedicated experts.
About the author
Shannon Ongaro is a content marketing manager and trained journalist with over a decade of experience producing content that supports franchisees, small businesses, and global enterprises. Over the years, she’s covered topics such as payroll, HR tech, workplace culture, and more. At Deel, Shannon specializes in thought leadership and global payroll content.
