Our friend Michael Santo, an employment law attorney, wrote the following summary of Colorado’s Paid Medical and Family Leave Initiative, which allows up to 12 weeks of paid leave for covered employees.
On November 3, 2020, Colorado voters passed Proposition 118, the Paid Medical and Family Leave Initiative (PMFL). In short, Proposition 118 allows covered employees to use 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. The leave will be funded through a payroll tax paid by employers and employees in a 50/50 split. An additional four weeks of leave are allowed for pregnancy or childbirth complications. The first premiums will be paid beginning on January 1, 2023, and benefits will begin to be available on January 1, 2024. Under Proposition 118, employers cannot take disciplinary or retaliatory actions against covered employees for requesting or using paid leave.
Reasons for an employee covered by PMFL to take leave
- caring for their own serious health condition;
- caring for a new child during the first year after the birth or adoption or for foster care of a new child;
- caring for a family member with a serious health condition;
- when a family member is on a