The first premium payments under Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program are due April 30. For this first submission, however, the state offers a 30-day grace period. To avoid fees, penalties and other consequences, employers must make payments by May 31.

A template is available under the “submitting your wage reports” section of the
FAMLI website at https://famli.colorado.gov
with separate pages for employers doing their own submissions and third party administrators.

Colorado has been soliciting and evaluating insurance company proposals to provide private plan options for employers to provide FAMLI benefits. Several insurance carriers have submitted proposed paid FAMLI policies to the Colorado Division of Insurance. A list of those insurance carriers has been posted on the private plan page on the FAMLI website. None of these proposed policies is available yet. They’re still under final review.

If you’re considering using a private plan rather than submitting premium payments and wage data to the state, you must submit a private plan application for a fully approved plan within My FAMLI+ Employer to receive formal approval from the FAMLI division.

Employers — as opposed to third party administrators —  have two options for submitting premium payments through My FAMLI+ Employer.

If you’re submitting manually, read and follow the instructions in the quick reference guide on reporting wages. This guide will walk you through the process of entering wage data for each employee.

If you are submitting wage data on a bulk basis using a wage report file, read and follow the instructions in the appropriate wage report specifications and use the associated template. Sample templates are found on the employer’s page under the submitting your wage reports section of the FAMLI website.

Self-employed individuals and independent contractors have access to FAMLI benefits, but their participation in the program is optional. You must opt in to participate.

Here are a few tips when making your premium payments:

Read and become familiar with information on the FAMLI website.

Use sample templates on the website to increase the likelihood of completing submissions correctly.

Remember to round down any amount beyond a penny. Otherwise, you’ll probably get an error message. If your report shows fractions of a penny, round down to the nearest penny.

Remember you’re filing your FAMLI premium payments and reports one quarter in arrears — just like your unemployment report. Be sure to select the first quarter of 2023, not the second quarter.

If you need assistance, call (866) 263-2654 and a specialist will walk you through the process.

If you’re considering using a private plan, keep the following in mind:

Obtain and read the guide for employers interested in fulfilling their FAMLI requirements by using an approved private plan.

Review the private plan tools, including surety bond guidance, self-insured plan template, surety bond calculator and past private plan webinars.