Colorado Maternity Leave Calculator

Colorado employers don't pay you directly during FAMLI leave — but Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) pays you through the state-administered premium system. For the benefit year that began July 1, 2026, the maximum weekly benefit is $1,448.02 (90% of the State Average Weekly Wage of $1,608.91). The replacement is tiered: 90% of weekly wages up to $804.46 (50% of SAWW), then 50% above, capped at $1,448.02. A typical $80,000 earner receives about $1,091.01/week. Some Colorado employers offer voluntary top-up programs that pay the difference between FAMLI and full salary.

FAMLI is Colorado's state-funded paid family and medical leave program, effective January 1, 2024. It provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year (16 with certified pregnancy or childbirth complications, plus up to 12 more while a newborn is in neonatal intensive care). Federal FMLA is unpaid, only applies to employers with 50+ employees, and requires 12+ months of tenure and 1,250 hours worked. Colorado FAMLI covers all employers (with a local-government opt-out option), requires only 180 days of tenure, and has no minimum-hours requirement — substantially broader than federal FMLA. The two run concurrently when both apply.

FAMLI pays a tiered weekly benefit based on your average weekly wage (AWW) and the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW). For the benefit year that began July 1, 2026, with SAWW = $1,608.91: the first $804.46 of your weekly wage is replaced at 90%, and the portion above is replaced at 50%, capped at $1,448.02/week. A $25,000 earner ($480.77/week) is entirely in the 90% tier and gets $432.69/week. A $50,000 earner ($961.54/week) spans both tiers and gets $802.55/week. An $80,000 earner gets $1,091.01/week. A $250,000 earner is capped at $1,448.02/week. Same structural formula as Washington PFML.

Colorado FAMLI uses a single 12-week bucket per 52-week period covering all leave types combined — medical, family, and bonding all draw from the same pool. For a birthing parent: pre-birth disability (typically 4 weeks) + postpartum recovery (6 vaginal / 8 C-section) + bonding (12 weeks) = 22-24 weeks naive total. The 12-week ceiling truncates the bonding portion. Vaginal delivery: 4 + 6 + 2 bonding = 12 weeks. C-section: 4 + 8 + 0 bonding = 12 weeks (zero bonding). Non-birthing parents get the full 12 weeks of bonding leave because there's no medical leg consuming the bucket. If you have certified pregnancy or childbirth complications, the bucket extends to 16 weeks, leaving up to 6 weeks of bonding for vaginal delivery (4 for C-section).

Yes. Since January 1, 2026, Colorado pays Neonatal Care Leave to a parent whose newborn is receiving inpatient care in a hospital neonatal intensive care unit: up to 12 additional weeks, for as long as the baby stays in the unit. It is a separate allowance — it does not use up the standard 12-week bucket or the 4 weeks for pregnancy complications — so bonding leave can still start once the baby comes home. In the hardest case — a certified childbirth complication and then a long NICU stay — the three allowances together reach 28 weeks. Parents, including adoptive, foster and step-parents, and anyone standing in loco parentis are eligible. Both parents can apply, and if both are approved, each can receive up to 12 weeks for the same NICU stay. It is paid under the same benefit formula as other FAMLI leave (up to $1,448.02/week), and you can take as much or as little of your regular hours as you need each week. You apply in My FAMLI+ with proof of the birth and of the NICU admission, then upload the discharge papers when the baby comes home. The unit has to be one the hospital designates as a NICU: well-baby nurseries do not count, and another intensive care unit counts only if the baby was transferred into it, directly after birth or from the NICU, because their medical needs escalated. Colorado's FAMLI job-protection law (180 days with your employer) covers FAMLI leave in general and makes no exception for Neonatal Care Leave.

Yes — FAMLI has built-in job protection that activates at 180 days (~6 months) of continuous employment. It applies to all employers with the exception of local governments that opted out under Section 26 of the Act. Your employer must restore you to the same or an equivalent position when you return. Health insurance must be maintained during leave at your pre-leave level (you continue paying your share, employer continues paying theirs). Anti-retaliation protections apply regardless of tenure. Among the more accessible state-level job-protection rules in the country: broader than WA's 25-employee threshold, slightly less broad than CT's 90-day rule.

FAMLI is funded through premiums split between employers and employees. For 2026, the total premium is 0.88% of wages; it falls to 0.86% on January 1, 2027, under the rate FAMLI has already adopted, which makes each half 0.43%. Employers with 10 or more employees pay 0.44% (half) and deduct the other 0.44% from employee paychecks. Employers with fewer than 10 employees pay only the employee share (i.e., they're not on the hook for the employer 0.44%). The premium applies to wages up to the Federal Social Security taxable maximum ($184,500 for 2026), so high earners hit a contribution cap mid-year. Private-plan substitution is permitted for employers who can meet the equivalent-benefits standard.

No — there is no waiting period for FAMLI payments. You are paid for the entire approved leave from day 1. This matches Connecticut and Minnesota's PFML programs and contrasts with Massachusetts (7 days) and Washington (7 days for medical, 0 for bonding). New Jersey has a 7-day TDI waiting period on paper, but it pays retroactively from day 1 once a disability runs past 22 days — which a pregnancy claim always does — so New Jersey pregnancy claimants effectively wait 0 days too.