Title
Ordinance No. 22-59 declining the participation of the City of Colorado Springs in the Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program
Presenter:
Michael Sullivan, Chief Human Resources Officer, City of Colorado Springs
Renee Adams, General Manager - Human Resources, Colorado Springs Utilities
Body
Summary:
Attached is an ordinance indicating the City of Colorado Springs and Colorado Springs Utilities intent to decline all participation in the Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program.
Background:
Proposition 118, which created the Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Program, was passed by voters in 2020 to ensure that all eligible Colorado workers have access to paid leave. This Act provides for up to twelve (12) weeks of paid family and medical leave (PFML), and an additional four (4) weeks for pregnancy/birth related complications. This Act applies to all employers within the state of CO and is funded by a new payroll premium for participating employees and employers. The Act also requires a new division to be created at the state level to administer this new program. To allow time to implement this new division and develop guidance and regulations on how the program is administered, the payroll contributions are scheduled to start as of January 2023, and the paid benefits are scheduled to begin January 2024.
There are provisions which allow local government employers to opt out of or decline participation in this program. Colorado Municipal League (CML) surveyed municipalities regarding their intentions under FAMLI of the forty-five 45 jurisdictions responding, only three (3) said they were considering participating; twenty-four (24) were considering declining participating and eighteen (18) were undecided as of mid-April 2022. City and Colorado Springs Utilities Administration are recommending to decline participation in the program due to the robust leave and supplemental voluntary benef...
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