FMLA in Colorado: Federal Rules, State Leave Laws, and an Eligibility Calculator (2026)

How does FMLA work in Colorado?

The federal FMLA applies in Colorado exactly as it does everywhere: up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for employees with 12 months of service, 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months, and 50 or more employees within 75 miles of their worksite, at a private employer with 50 or more employees or any public agency or school. Colorado adds Family Care Act, which covers employers covered by the FMLA (50 or more employees) and gives the FMLA's 12 weeks, extended to one more relationship. Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) pays a benefit during the leave, paid sick leave is mandated by the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, and there is no bereavement leave mandate. Checked September 15, 2026.

Does the federal FMLA apply in Colorado?

Yes, and identically to every other state. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives an eligible employee up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, a new child, care for a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition, or a military exigency, and up to 26 weeks to care for a seriously injured servicemember. To be eligible you need 12 months of service with the employer, 1,250 hours actually worked in the 12 months before the leave, and a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Private employers are covered at 50 or more employees on the payroll in 20 or more workweeks; public agencies and schools are covered at any size.

The three employee tests are measured on the day the leave starts, and the third one is the one that surprises people in Colorado: a covered employer with a small branch has a worksite where nobody is eligible if fewer than 50 employees work at that branch and at other sites within 75 road miles. Hours actually worked in the prior 12 months decide the 1,250-hour test; paid time off and holidays do not count. The calculator on this page runs all three tests and, when one fails, names the date or the hours that would satisfy it.

What Colorado leave laws add to the FMLA

One state statute sits on top of the FMLA in Colorado. Family Care Act (C.R.S. 8-13.3-201 to 8-13.3-204) applies to employers covered by the FMLA (50 or more employees) and gives the FMLA's 12 weeks, extended to one more relationship for care for the partner's serious health condition. Eligibility: the FMLA tests (12 months, 1,250 hours, 50 within 75 miles). It widens the family circle beyond the FMLA's spouse, parent, and minor child to include a partner in a civil union or a domestic partner, treated as a spouse would be. Counts against the same 12 weeks; it closes the gap the FMLA leaves for unmarried partners rather than adding time.

Is FMLA leave paid in Colorado?

The FMLA itself pays nothing. Whether the 12 weeks are paid depends on the state program, any disability insurance, and the employer's own paid leave, which may be substituted for the unpaid leave under 29 CFR 825.207. Colorado runs Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI): benefits since January 2024. Up to 12 weeks, plus 4 for pregnancy or childbirth complications. It covers the employee's own serious health condition as well as bonding and family care, so there is no separate disability program. FAMLI protects the job itself: an employee with 180 days of service is entitled to reinstatement after FAMLI leave at any employer size, a lower bar than the FMLA's 12 months and 50 employees.

While the state benefit is paid the leave is not unpaid, so an employer may not require PTO to run at the same time; several programs let the employee top up to full pay with PTO if the employer agrees. Paid sick leave is mandated statewide by the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, accruing at 1 hour per 30 hours worked up to 48 hours/year. Those hours can be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave. The Colorado paid leave calculator linked below estimates the weekly benefit under the current formula and cap.

Bereavement, sick leave, and the smaller Colorado statutes

Bereavement: Colorado has no statewide bereavement leave mandate for private employers, and the federal FMLA does not cover bereavement either, so time off after a death comes from the employer's policy or from paid sick or PTO balances where the policy allows it.

The smaller statutes a multi-state employer has to carry in Colorado, one line each.

How the 12-month period and the calculator work in Colorado

The federal entitlement in Colorado is 12 workweeks in the 12-month period the employer has chosen: calendar year, a fixed leave year, 12 months forward from first use, or a rolling 12 months measured backward from each day of leave. The method must be applied to everyone, disclosed in the rights and responsibilities notice, and changed only on 60 days' written notice. Under the rolling method every hour returns 12 months after the day it was taken; under the other three the full entitlement returns on one date. Family Care Act runs on its own clock (the FMLA's 12 weeks, extended to one more relationship), which is not necessarily the employer's federal 12-month method, so Colorado employers keep two balances for an employee who qualifies under both, and the calculator below tracks the federal one.

The calculator on this page is preset to Colorado. Run the eligibility panel as of the leave start date, convert the schedule into hours (480 for a 40-hour week), then enter the leave taken and the employer's method to see the hours available today, the hours available on a future date, and, under the rolling method, the dates on which used hours come back.

Sources and last check

This page was checked on September 15, 2026 against Colorado FAMLI Division (famli.colorado.gov); Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, HFWA guidance; C.R.S. 8-13.3-201 ff., 8-13.3-401 ff., 8-13.3-501 ff. The federal rules are 29 U.S.C. 2601 ff. and 29 CFR Part 825. State thresholds and programs change, most often on January 1; the paid leave figures on the linked calculator carry their own effective dates.