City opts out of state family and medical leave program

The Aurora City Council on Monday voted to opt out of participating in the state’s family and medical leave program, mirroring decisions that Denver and dozens of other local governments made.

Deputy Director of Human Resources Jennifer Lorenzen said city staff recommended against participating in the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program because job protections already provided by Aurora for its employees are equal to or stronger than what FAMLI guarantees.

“The decision to opt out is not permanent,” Lorenzen said, noting that the city can revisit the decision annually and is required to at least every eight years.

In November 2020, voters approved a new paid family leave program through Proposition 118. The program takes effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Every Coloradan making at least $2,500 in annual wages will be eligible to take a paid family and medical leave — for most, that could be up to 12 weeks — in certain circumstances. People might use the leave to care for a new child in the family, or to care for themselves amid a serious health condition, among other qualifying reasons.

Weekly benefits are capped at $1,100, but, depending on a person’s income level, they could receive up to 90% of their normal weekly income.

Unlike businesses, local governments are given the ability to opt out of participating in FAMLI — partially or fully. To opt out, local governments must take a vote. They have until Jan. 1, 2023, to notify the state of a decision not to participate.

Local governments have three options: participate in FAMLI, decline all participation or decline employer participation.

Governments that participate will share in paying for the premiums, alongside employees. Premiums are set at 0.9% of an employee’s wage. The local government would pay half of that cost, while its employee paid the remainder. Governments can pay more if they wish to offer a larger benefit to employees.

A local government employer that opts out must still register with the FAMLI system and notify the state it will not be participating. That will help the state know which governments are opting in, and which need to vote again on whether they are participating — something they are required to do every eight years if they opted out.

The third option is for local governments to decline employer participation, which also requires a vote.

An employee of a local government that has opted out of FAMLI can still individually opt-in. A local government has the option to partially participate in FAMLI by declining to pay an employer share of the premium, but deduct the employee’s share of the premium, remitting that to the state, and report the necessary wage data on a quarterly basis.

If a government does not choose to take that on, an employee who individually enrolls is responsible for those steps.

Lorenzen said Aurora provides city employees job-protected leaves, including Family Medical Leave (FMLA) for up to 12 weeks, Employee Medical Leave (EML) for up to a year, military leave, and leaves of 30 and 60 days for addiction rehabilitation services.

City benefits include short-term and long-term disability, emergency leave, bereavement leave and accruals of sick and personal leave, among others.

Councilmember Alison Coombs clarified that employees do not lose job leave protections with the city if they choose to enroll individually in FAMLI.

Denver City Council voted to opt the city out of participating in FAMLI last month.

Executive Director of the Colorado Municipal League Kevin Bommer said the organization is aware of at least 57 local governments that have opted out of FAMLI so far. The organization is only aware of one local government, Crestone, that will not opt out, Bommer said by email.

“We expect many more before the December 31 deadline,” Bommer said.