Colorado Small Businesses Need a Robust Paid Leave Insurance Program

We are glad the Colorado Senate voted today to advance legislation that would create a path for the implementation of the Family Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI Act) because it is an important step toward establishing a program that can level the playing field for small businesses that struggle to offer paid leave benefits to their employees.

We feel strongly that studying the FAMLI Act will only offer more evidence in support of its eventual implementation. After all, the FAMLI Act would establish a state-administered paid family and medical leave insurance program that would provide Colorado employees with up to 12 weeks of paid time off to bond with a new child or care for an ill relative. The FAMLI Act would greatly benefit the many small businesses that struggle to offer this sort of benefit by reducing turnover, upping productivity and boosting employee morale. It would also help small businesses better compete for talent with their big business counterparts that are more likely to have the resources to offer robust benefits like paid family and medical leave.

What’s more, the small business community favors this type of program. A Small Business Majority scientific opinion poll found 64 percent of small business owners in Colorado support a state-supported paid family and medical leave program. Additionally, the survey found 58 percent of businesses with 2-10 employees don’t offer fully paid leave or have no policy in place, and these businesses comprise the majority of businesses in Colorado.

Small employers know it is important to give employees ways to balance their work and family responsibilities, but they need options that also make sense for their business’ bottom lines. The FAMLI Act would address those needs, and we hope the bill is brought back up next year so this program can be established.