Colorado’s FAMLI Division Proposes Amendments to Six Rules Ahead of August 18, 2026 Hearing
Bayan Biazar, Associate
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (the “Division) has proposed amendments to six regulations implementing the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act, C.R.S. § 8-13.3-501 et seq. (the “FAMLI Act” or “FAMLI”), specifically: 7 CCR 1107-1 (Premiums and Individuals Electing Coverage); 7 CCR 1107-3 (Benefits and Employer Participation Requirements); 7 CCR 1107-5 (Private Plans); 7 CCR 1107-6 (Program Integrity); 7 CCR 1107-7 (Employee Job Protection, Anti-Retaliation and Anti-Interference); and 7 CCR 1107-8 (Investigations).
Premiums and Individuals Electing Coverage (7 CCR 1107-1)
The proposed rule locks in the 2027 premium rate at eighty-six hundredths of one percent (0.86%) of wages per employee, a slight reduction from the 2026 premium rate of eighty-eight hundredths of one percent (0.88%). Because employers remit this premium on behalf of their workforce and may deduct a portion of it from employee wages, a locked-in rate gives employers an early, fixed figure to use in 2027 payroll and benefits budgeting rather than waiting for a later announcement. For the purposes of determining an employer’s size to determine premium liability under the proposed rule, it clarifies that an employer with an approved private plan needs to notify the Division of its size upon registration but does not need to notify the Division annually. The size of employers for state-run FAMLI plans will continue to be calculated at registration and annually.[1]
The proposed rule also clarifies how FAMLI coverage applies to work performed on federal enclaves and other federal[2] land within Colorado. A federal enclave is land within Colorado’s borders, such as a military installation, national park, federal courthouse, or other federal facility, over which the federal government holds some degree of exclusive or shared legal jurisdiction, separate from the state’s ordinary jurisdiction.[3] FAMLI coverage over employers on the enclave turns on the scope of Colorado's jurisdiction over the enclave. Where the state's jurisdiction extends to governance by the FAMLI Act, work performed on the enclave is treated the same as work performed on non-federal land in Colorado, but where it does not, that work is analyzed under the rule's localization provisions[4] as if it were performed in another state entirely.
Benefits and Employer Participation Requirements (7 CCR 1107-3)
Employer participation requirements under the FAMLI Act generally include registering with the Division through the MyFAMLI+ Employer portal, submitting accurate quarterly wage reports, and remitting quarterly premium payments. The Act also requires employers to notify the Division within 10-business days if it ceases business operations in Colorado. The FAMLI Act does not require a Colorado company with no employees to submit premiums or wage reports to the Division. The proposed rule now clarifies that an employer that has reported to the Division four or more consecutive quarters where it pays no wages to Colorado employees will be presumed to no longer employ Colorado employees and the Division may close the employer’s MyFAMLI+ account. The proposed rule also clarifies that obtaining FAMLI leave for “neonatal care”[5] may be achieved by submitting a Neonatal Care Leave Certification Form signed by a health care provider with direct knowledge of the neonatal care admission.
Under the proposed rule, the Division also clarifies employer-requirements regarding providing FAMLI notices to employees. The proposed changes now state that employers participating in the state plan must display the current program notice (in both English and Spanish) in a conspicuous and accessible place and must individually deliver the current program notice to employees upon hiring or transferring to Colorado and within five days of an employer learning of a potentially FAMLI-triggering event.[6] This clarification is particularly instructive for employers. Under the prior rule text, an employer might reasonably have assumed that simply posting or providing a program notice in English and Spanish was sufficient, regardless of whether that notice reflected the current version. If the Division audited an employer that had posted or provided only an outdated program notice, that employer could have been found non-compliant despite believing it had satisfied the posting requirement. The proposed rule removes that ambiguity by expressly requiring employers to display the current program notice.
Private Plans (7 CCR 1107-5)
The most significant proposed change here is the elimination of the eight-year private plan renewal term. Currently, private plan approval expires after eight years and must be renewed, which requires a new application and fee. Under the proposed amendment, FAMLI Private Plan approval instead "lasts indefinitely until the effective date of a voluntary or involuntary termination." The companion expiration provision is revised to match, tying expiration to an employer ceasing Colorado operations rather than to a missed renewal deadline. For employers with an approved private plan, this change removes a recurring compliance deadline and the risk of an inadvertent lapse into the state plan due to a missed renewal finding.
The proposed rule also now adds a provision which allows for the Division to communicate with the private plan administrator with regard to an employer’s private plan compliance issues, giving the Division a direct channel to raise and resolve concerns with the administrator rather than only through the employer. The rule also now clarifies that if an employer’s termination of a private plan is because the employer is replaced by a successor, the employer may transfer the balance of the private plan account into the successor employer’s separate account if the successor employer has an approved self-insurance private plan, a helpful clarification for employers navigating a merger, acquisition, or other ownership transition who want to preserve continuity of private plan coverage for their workforce.[7][8][9] Otherwise, the employer must pay the private plan account balance to the Division upon termination of the private plan.
Public Hearing and Comment Period
The Division will hold a public hearing on these proposed amendments on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Employers and other stakeholders may register to attend and may submit written public comments through the Division's website; written comments and hearing testimony are given equal weight. More information, including the full text of each proposed rule and instructions for registering or commenting, is available at https://famli.colorado.gov/rules-guidance.
[1] 7 CCR 1107-1.5.2.
[2] The federal government and its employee are not governed by the FAMLI Act. 7 CCR 1107-1.6.6.
[3] For a list of federal enclaves in the City and Couty of Denver, Colorado, see https://www.denvergov.org/files/assets/public/v/3/finance/documents/treasury/tax-guides/taxguidetopic28_federalenclaves.pdf.
[4] An employee is considered localized to Colorado if the employee’s service is performed in Colorado, is performed both within and outside Colorado but the outside the state work is incidental to the employee’s Colorado work, etc. 7 CCR 1107-1.1.6.1.
[5] Neonatal care leave means a separate and distinct leave entitlement under C.R.S. § 8-13.505(1)(b) that provides up to twelve (12) additional weeks of paid family and medical leave benefits to a covered individual who is providing care for their infant receiving inpatient treatment in a neonatal intensive care unit. See 7 CCR 1107-3.3.2(17).
[6] The current English version of the FAMLI Program Notice was updated in December of 2025 and can be found here: https://dhr.colorado.gov/sites/dhr/files/documents/FAMLI%20Program%20Notice%20English%20December%202025.pdf. The current Spanish version of the FAMLI Program Notice can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12PPBVERXDG2-eeQr71GXXDf8MGOpYKHR/view.
[7] Under the proposed amendments to Program Integrity Rules (7 CCR 1107-6), the only change appears to be a rewrite of the language related to a party seeking a request of reconsideration of the Division’s determination of premium underpayment, interest or a fine.
[8] The only proposed change for Proposed Amendments to Employee Job Protection, Anti-Retaliation and Anti-Interference Rules (7 CCR 1107-7), is related to where employees and employers can acquire copies of current and past laws and regulations.
[9] Under the proposed amendments to Investigation Rules (7 CCR 1107-8), employers are now required to preserve both all business and personnel record upon receipt of a Notice of Complaint and Notice of Investigation that are relevant to the charge or action until final disposition of the charge or action. Previously, employers were only required to maintain all personnel records.