No.

• To bond with a child during the first 12 months after the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement;
• To care for a family member’s serious health condition;
• A qualifying exigency arising out of a family member’s active duty or impending call to active duty in the armed forces;
• Safe leave; or
• The covered individual is unable to work due to their own serious health condition.

Family member means the following:

• A person to whom the covered individual is legally married under the laws of any state, or a domestic partner of the covered individual;
• Regardless of age:
• A biological, adopted, or foster child, or stepchild or legal ward of the covered individual;
• A child of the covered individual’s domestic partner;
• A child to whom the covered individual stands In loco parentis; or
• A person to whom the covered individual stood In loco parentis when the person was a minor.
• A biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of a covered individual or covered individual's spouse or domestic partner; or a person who stood in loco parentis when the covered individual or covered individual's spouse or domestic partner was a minor child;
• A grandparent, grandchild or sibling (whether a biological, foster, adoptive or step relationship) of the covered individual or covered individual's spouse or domestic partner; or
• Any other individual with whom the covered individual has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship, based on the totality of the circumstances surrounding the relationship.

The wages used for contributions is capped at the Social Security Maximum of $168,600 for 2024, and is updated annually.

The State Average Weekly Wage is $1421.16 effective 7/1/23 and is updated annually.

Weekly Benefit Amounts will be based on the State Average Weekly Wage in effect at time of the initial claim but will be re-calculated if the State Average Weekly Wage changes during the period of approved leave for the remaining period.

The application year (used interchangeably with “benefit year” in Colorado) means the 12-month period beginning on the first day of the calendar week that Family and Medical Leave Benefits commence for the covered individual. The 12-month period is typically measured forward from the date the covered individual uses Family and Medical Leave Benefits. A covered individual may only have one valid application year at a time. Under this “rolling forwards” basis, each time a covered individual takes Family and Medical Leave Benefits, the remaining leave entitlement would be the balance of the covered individual’s leave entitlement left in the 12 month period beginning on the date the covered individual’s leave begins.

No. Not applicable.

Yes, under Symetra’s insured plan, if the Policyholder requests reimbursement for a payment prior to making an advance benefit payment, we will send the Policyholder any PFML benefits due, or that become due for their advance payment of Family or Medical Leave benefits.

Yes. Leave is allowed on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule. An employer may require that intermittent or reduced leave be taken in increments consistent with the established policy that the employer uses to account for use of other forms of leave, provided, however, that the minimum designated time period cannot be in increments greater than one hour.

Under the state plan, no benefit will be paid until the covered individual has at least 8 hours of accumulated leave time.

• The benefit is prorated based on how much leave is taken. When claiming an increment of less than a full work week, the hourly expression of a covered individual’s total allotted leave duration is equal to the total number of hours in the covered individual’s regular work schedule, multiplied by the number of weeks of leave entitlement.
• A covered individual who takes leave on an intermittent leave or reduced leave basis will receive a CO PFML benefit, including maximum CO PFML benefit, that is reduced in direct proportion to the intermittent leave usage or reduced leave schedule. A proportionate reduction will also be taken to the covered individual’s available allotment of leave under the maximum duration of benefits.

• If a covered individual has been employed with current employer for at least 180 days prior to commencement of CO PFML leave, the employee must be restored to the same or equivalent position and terms/conditions of employment after the leave ends.
• Leave taken under the policy runs concurrently with leave taken under other applicable state and federal leaves, including but not limited to the FMLA when the leave is for a qualified reason under these other acts.
• Employers are required to maintain an employee’s health care benefits while an employee is out on FAML leave, and employees are still required to pay their premium obligations toward those healthcare benefits during their leave.

Please note: While FMLA and the Colorado Family Care Act run concurrently with CO PFML, the employee cannot be required to take CO PFML.

Employer-provided paid leave (what we often refer to in other states as “accrued paid leave”) is defined as paid leave that is earned by or otherwise provided to a covered individual by the employer, including vacation leave, paid sick leave, paid personal leave, paid parental leave, paid domestic violence or other safety leave under C.R.S. § 24-34-402.7, and any other employer paid time off. Employer-provided paid leave does not include benefits provided under a commercial short-term or long-term disability policy.

An employer may not require an employee to use employer-provided paid leave prior to initiating a claim or as a supplement to family and medical leave benefits. Mutual agreement between the covered individual and the employer is required before employer-provided paid leave can be used to supplement a claim. It is the employer's responsibility to pay only the amount of any employer-provided paid leave so that the sum, when combined with the covered individual's weekly CO PFML benefit, does not exceed the covered individual’s Average Weekly Wage.

Safe leave means leave under the CO PFML program needed because the covered individual or the covered individual's family member is the victim of domestic violence, stalking, or the victim of sexual assault or abuse, as defined under Colorado law and referenced in the CO PFML statute and regulations. Safe leave applies if the covered individual is using the leave from work to protect the covered individual or the covered individual's family member by:

• Seeking a civil protection order to prevent domestic violence pursuant to C.R.S. §§ 13-14-104.5, 13-14-106, or 13-14-108;
• Obtaining medical care or mental health counseling or both for the covered individual or the covered individual’s child[ren] to address physical or psychological injuries resulting from the act of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault or abuse;
• Making the covered individual’s home secure from the perpetrator of the act of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault or abuse, or seeking new housing to escape said perpetrator; or
• Seeking legal assistance to address issues arising from the act of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault or abuse, or attending and preparing for court-related proceedings arising from said act or crime.