Gov. Polis Statement on Paid Family & Medical Leave for State Employees

DENVER - Following reports regarding his proposal to ensure Colorado’s state employees have access to paid family and medical leave, Gov. Jared Polis released the following statement:

“At a time when 1 in 5 positions in state government are vacant, it is imperative that we stay competitive as an employer. Currently, more than 30,000 hardworking state employees do not have access to paid family and medical leave. This modest proposal, when paired with our requests for a pay raise for workers, would bring about real change and ensure that Colorado becomes an ‘employer of choice’. While ensuring that we uphold our shared Colorado values of treating our hardworking state employees with the dignity and respect that they deserve.”

Last week, the Joint Budget Committee rejected this proposal and the administration is urging the members to reconsider. Below is a fact sheet regarding the Governor’s paid family and medical leave proposal for state employees. The sixteen-page proposal detailing the request was submitted to the legislature on Nov. 1, 2019 and can be found here.

Paid Family Leave Overview

Funding Request: The Department of Personnel & Administration is requesting fiscal year 2020-21 spending authority of $9,996,442 to backfill critical positions. Of that request, slightly more than half, $5,494,624 would come from the General Fund. The rest would come from other sources including cash funds and federal funds.

Current Program: According to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), passed in 1993, eligible employees that have worked at least 1,250 hours in a 12-month period, can take up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid job-protected leave for the specified family and medical reasons: to recover from a serious illness, to care for an ill family member, to care for a newborn or a newly adopted or fostered child, or for certain military purposes.*

Proposed Solution: This would be available at the beginning of the fiscal year, on July 1, 2020 for all permanent state classified and non-classified employees:

Offer 8 weeks of paid leave for the following events:
- Birth, adoption, foster placement, or bonding with a new child
- Qualifying military exigency
- Serious health condition of a spouse or family member and unlike the federal FMLA, the Governor’s proposal included domestic partnerships and domestic violence.
Departments that cannot absorb the costs of the leave would receive extra funds to ensure the work duties of critical care positions are covered. For example, employees who work in 24/7 facilities and provide direct care to patients or residents; also child care aides, social workers, and lab technicians.
The state estimates that 10.2% of employees (about 4,000 annually) per year would take the leave.* Of that 10.2%, almost one-third of those employees are in such critical care positions that require additional funding for their Departments to backfill the employee absences.

Legal Authority

The Department received an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General clearly stating that under CRS 24-50-104 (1)(g) the State Personnel Director has the authority to implement any benefits not already outlined in statute. CRS 24-50-104 (7) outlines 4 types of leave benefits identified in statute, none of which include paid family leave. Because none of these are Paid Family Leave, the State Personnel Director maintains authority to implement this benefit with executive authority. To view the legal authority click here.

*The State, as an employer, offers short-term disability (STD) insurance, when utilized covers 60 percent of the employee’s salary for a maximum of $3,000 a week for up to 150 days in a 12 month period and runs concurrent with FMLA.

*The overall utilization rate of 10.2% is based on the number of employees that are currently eligible for FML, combined with the estimated occurrence of all qualifying events including for birth, adoption, foster placement (bonding with child), caring for a family member that has a serious health condition including domestic abuse, sexual assault or abuse, and stalking, as well as for military exigency events. The utilization rate assumes that each employee has an average of four family members. The table below outlines the calculations and assumptions.

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