Colorado FAMLI Leave: Eligibility, Benefits, and Filing a Claim

Colorado’s FAMLI leave program pays eligible workers a portion of their wages for up to 12 weeks a year when they bond with a new child, deal with a serious health condition of their own or a family member’s, address domestic violence, or manage a loved one’s military deployment. The maximum benefit in 2026 is $1,381.45 per week, and claims are filed through the state’s My FAMLI+ portal.¹

Who Qualifies

You need to have earned at least $2,500 in wages in Colorado during the five calendar quarters before your leave starts.² That’s a low bar, and most full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers meet it. There is no minimum time with any one employer to collect benefits, though job protection is a separate question answered later.

Private-sector employees are enrolled automatically through payroll deductions. Self-employed people can opt in voluntarily, but doing so is a three-year commitment to pay premiums and report income.³ Local governments are the only employers that can vote to opt out of the program. If yours did, you can still self-elect coverage by registering through My FAMLI+ and paying the 0.44% employee share yourself.⁴

What Counts as a Qualifying Reason

FAMLI covers five categories of leave:

Parental bonding after birth, adoption, or foster placement.⁵
Your own serious health condition.
Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
Safe leave for you or a family member who is a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.
Military exigency related to a family member’s active-duty deployment.

Colorado defines “family member” broadly. Alongside spouses, parents, and children, the law recognizes anyone with whom you have a significant personal bond that resembles a family relationship, so you are not confined to blood relatives when taking care leave.³

How Much FAMLI Pays and for How Long

The standard entitlement is up to 12 weeks of paid leave within a single benefit year, which starts on the first day of your approved leave. Pregnancy or childbirth complications can add up to four more weeks, for a possible 16 weeks total.⁶

The benefit is not a full paycheck. The formula replaces more of a low wage than a high one, using the state average weekly wage (SAWW) as the pivot. For 2025–2026, the SAWW is $1,534.94.¹ Your average weekly wage is calculated from your earnings over the previous five calendar quarters, and then:

The first $767.47 of your weekly wages (50% of the SAWW) is replaced at 90%.⁷
Anything above $767.47 is replaced at 50%, up to the weekly maximum.

The 2026 maximum benefit is $1,381.45 per week, which equals 90% of the SAWW.⁷ These numbers may be recalculated by mid-2026.

In concrete terms: a worker earning $800 a week would receive about $707 (90% of the first $767.47 plus 50% of the remaining $32.53). Someone earning $1,500 would receive roughly $1,057.

How To File a Claim

Claims are filed online through the My FAMLI+ portal at myfamliplus.state.co.us.⁸ Create an account and link your identity to your employment records. You’ll need your Social Security Number or ITIN and your employer’s name or Federal Employer Identification Number.⁹

For medical or care leave, your healthcare provider must complete a Serious Health Condition Certification form confirming the medical necessity and estimated duration. Incomplete fields on this form are the fastest route to a delayed claim, so check it before you upload.¹⁰

Giving Your Employer Notice

Give your employer at least 30 days’ notice when the need for leave is foreseeable.¹¹ For emergencies, notify them as soon as you reasonably can. Keep a written record in case there’s a later dispute about timing.

How Fast the Money Arrives

There is no waiting period. Once your claim is submitted with all required paperwork, the FAMLI Division aims to decide it within two weeks.³ Approved benefits are paid weekly, either by direct deposit or a state-issued ReliaCard debit card.¹²

Taking Leave in Blocks or Reduced Hours

You don’t have to take all 12 weeks in one stretch. Leave can be continuous, intermittent, or taken as a reduced work schedule.¹³ Intermittent leave suits recurring treatments or therapy appointments.

One billing detail matters: you can file for less than eight hours, but no payment goes out until you have accumulated at least eight hours of leave per claim. Short increments get batched until they reach that threshold.

Keeping Your Job

If you’ve worked for your employer for at least 180 days (roughly six months) before your leave starts, you have the right to return to the same position or an equivalent one with the same pay and benefits.¹⁴ This is the most important protection in the program and the one people most often miss.

If you’ve been with your employer for less than 180 days, you can still collect FAMLI wage-replacement benefits, but your employer isn’t legally required to hold your job. Workers at local governments that have opted out may also lack job protection even when they self-elect premium coverage.³

How FAMLI Works With Federal FMLA

If your leave qualifies under both FAMLI and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, the two run concurrently rather than back-to-back.¹⁵ You will not get 12 weeks of one plus 12 weeks of the other. FAMLI does, however, cover more workers than FMLA, which requires 12 months of employment and 1,250 hours worked at an employer with 50 or more employees. Plenty of Colorado workers who fail those FMLA tests still qualify for FAMLI. Your employer also cannot force you to use up FAMLI first before letting you use FMLA.

Taxes on Your Benefits

How FAMLI benefits are taxed depends on the type of leave and who paid the premium. Under IRS Revenue Ruling 2025-4:¹⁶

Family leave benefits (parental bonding, care for a family member, military exigency) are included in federal gross income but are not subject to Social Security or Medicare taxes.
Medical leave benefits tied to your own employee contribution (your 0.44% share) are excluded from federal gross income.
Medical leave benefits tied to your employer’s 0.44% share are taxable federal income.

All FAMLI benefits are exempt from Colorado state income tax, no matter the leave type.¹⁷ Practically, roughly half of a medical leave benefit will be federally tax-free; budget for federal income tax on the full amount of a family leave benefit.

If Your Claim Is Denied

You can appeal a denial by sending a completed Appeal Request Form to the FAMLI Division. The form must be received within 45 days of the initial determination. If you miss that window, the Division may still accept an appeal filed within 60 days when you can show good cause for the delay.¹⁸ Most denials trace back to incomplete medical certification forms and missing documentation, so before you file an appeal, check whether resubmitting corrected paperwork would fix the issue faster.

If Your Employer Uses a Private Plan

Some employers meet their FAMLI obligations through an approved private plan rather than the state program. A private plan has to deliver benefits, protections, and rights equal to or better than the state plan, matching its leave duration, wage replacement, and employee premium caps.¹⁹ If your employer uses one, you file through that plan, not My FAMLI+. Your employer has to notify you at least 30 days before the private plan takes effect. If you’re not sure which route applies to you, ask HR before you start a claim; the benefit levels are equivalent, but the paperwork and contact information are not.

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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Premium and Benefits Calculator
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). FAMLI and FMLA
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Individuals and Families FAQs
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Local Governments
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). My FAMLI+ User Guide – Reasons for Leave
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Individuals and Families
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Rules and Guidance
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My FAMLI+. My FAMLI+ Benefits Portal
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). My FAMLI+ User Guide – Filing a Claim
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). My FAMLI+
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Parental (Bonding) Leave
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). My FAMLI+ User Guide – Next Steps
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). How FAMLI Leave Can Be Used
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Job Protection and Retaliation
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). FAMLI and Other Types of Leave
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Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2025-4
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). IRS Tax Guidance
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Colorado Secretary of State. 7 CCR 1107-3 – FAMLI Rules
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Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). Private Plans