Paid Family and Medical Leave (FAMLI) and Colorado
In November 2020, Colorado voters approved Proposition 118, which requires employers (with limited exceptions) to provide paid family medical leave and job protection benefits to Colorado employees. The Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act (“FAMLI Act”) created a state-administered FAMLI program, which is administered by the FAMLI Division at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (“CDLE”); however, the law allows employers to meet their PFML obligations through a fully-insured private insurance plan. To be approved, a fully-insured private plan must “confer all of the same rights, protections and benefits provided to employees under a state plan. If the plan is from a third party that provides for insurance, the forms of the policy must be issued by an insurer approved by the state” (§ 8-13.2-521, C.R.S.).
Per DOI Bulletin B-4.126, Concerning Substitution of Fully-Insured Private Insurance Plan Coverage for the Colorado State Family Medical Leave Insurance Benefit, carriers must have the appropriate line of authority to write short-term disability insurance to offer fully-insured private PFML products in Colorado. Fully-insured private PFML products in Colorado must satisfy coverage standards established by the FAMLI Act (§ 8-13.3-521, C.R.S.) and implementing regulations, including 7 CCR 1107-5. The DOI has worked closely with CDLE to develop this guidance for carriers to file fully-insured PFML products so the DOI may confirm that carriers offering fully-insured PFML products are satisfying FAMLI Act standards.
On February 1, 2023, insurance carriers can start filing in SERFF.
The DOI will start reviewing form and rate filings as they are submitted in SERFF. If form and rate filings meet all requirements of the FAMLI Act, 7 CCR 1107-5, and the filing instructions, the DOI will indicate the appropriate disposition in SERFF and notify CDLE.
The DOI’s review of fully-insured private PFML insurance plans is limited to review of the rates and policy forms to determine compliance with state insurance law and the required coverage mandated under the PFML program. The Division’s approval of a carrier’s PFML policy forms and rates does not act as an approval for an employer’s use of a fully-insured private PFML insurance plan in place of paying premiums to the state Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund.
An employer’s use of a fully-insured private PFML insurance plan must be approved by CDLE.