Paid Family Leave Measure Will Help Colorado’s Small Businesses

The Colorado House of Representatives’ vote today in favor of HB17-1307, the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program Wage Replacement (FAMLI) Act, is good news for small businesses because this measure would level the playing field for businesses that don’t have the resources to offer paid leave and boost their bottom lines.

The FAMLI Act would establish a state-administered paid family and medical leave insurance program, funded by modest employee contributions, that would provide workers in Colorado with up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member. The FAMLI Act will benefit businesses by lowering turnover, boosting productivity and enhancing employee morale. What’s more, our small business community strongly supports it.

Small Business Majority’s recent scientific opinion polling found 56 percent of small employers across the country favor the creation of state-administered paid family and medical leave insurance programs funded entirely by modest employee contributions. Additionally, 70 percent of small employers  say it is important to establish a national paid medical and family leave insurance program. In the absence of that sort of program, however, a state program here in Colorado would go a long way toward helping local small businesses.

Small business owners understand how important it is for their employees who need to balance their work and family responsibilities to have reasonable options for doing so, but they need options that also make sense for their bottom lines. The FAMLI Act satisfies all of those concerns, which is why we urge the Colorado Senate to also adopt this measure.