In 2020, Colorado voters approved the statewide ballot measure Proposition 118, creating the Paid Family and Medical Leave initiative (PFML). Since then, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has been writing regulations to finalize the statewide insurance program which will begin requiring premium payments in 2023 and offering benefits in 2024. Read on to see what your organization needs to do now to prepare for the upcoming PFML requirements.

A recent Colorado Supreme Court ruling clarified that employers must pay employees for earned but unused vacation pay at the end of their employment.

The Employers Council conducts an annual Health, Welfare and Retirement Plans Survey in Colorado, and the results provide valuable insights into benefit and plan trends. We’ve culled through the recent data from 2020 to bring you the latest trends emerging in the Denver/Boulder area.

As the first doses of the COVID vaccine are arriving in Colorado and across the country, questions are being raised by employers about their health plans and office safety procedures. Our partners at Alera Group have issued guidance on what employers should be doing now to prepare themselves and their employees for the vaccine rollout. Read the recommendations here regarding medical policy cost restrictions and vaccine requirements.

Fall River has written in past articles about how Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) can be a valuable cost-containment strategy while effectively rendering employees’ benefits unchanged. We recently completed an internal analysis of one client who was able to slash their effective renewal increase down from 15% to 5% by adjusting and expanding their HRA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty for many employers who worry that expensive Coronavirus testing and treatment could lead to a spike in premiums in 2021. But is it a foregone conclusion that we’ll see large renewals, or a myth?

After Colorado’s Legislature returned in late May to one of the most unusual legislative sessions in recent history, a flurry of bills was introduced and passed in an abrupt end to the legislative cycle. Among the approved pieces of legislation was SB-205 or “Healthy Families and Workplaces Act” requiring new paid sick leave rules for Colorado employers. 

Telemedicine has been a solution for employers and employees seeking more convenient round-the-clock care for years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began and traditional in-person doctor’s offices have closed or moved to restricted visits, telehealth is no longer a novel benefit, but a vital part of any benefits package.

A proposal for paid family and medical leave (FAMLI) has undergone substantial modifications, but its future on the Colorado legislative agenda this year is anything but certain. In 2019, the Colorado legislature created a task force to study paid FAMLI programs, which provided recommendations in January to legislators for a plan covering Colorado workers. 

It’s been quite an eventful year for legislators both at the Colorado Capitol and in Washington, DC. Though Congress has been largely unable to pass any comprehensive legislation addressing healthcare or employment concerns in 2019, the Colorado Legislature was busy this year working on several must-know laws which could impact your business.