labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Whether you’re a father or a mother, there’s a good chance you’re also a wage or salary earner.

Between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, then, may be a good time to take a look at the program designed to help you during those times when you must take the emphasis off work and put it directly on your family.

The Colorado FMLA law is the program offering you the support you need for critical times. Those times could be good – the birth of a child, an adoption, receiving a foster child into the home. They could be difficult – a loved one being in an accident requiring a hospital stay or rehab, or a serious illness in your immediate family. In either case, the program allows you up to 12 weeks of leave (unpaid) if you fall under the allowable circumstances. If you work for a private business, your employer is obliged to follow the Family and Medical Leave Act if the workplace employs 50 or more people. Pubic employees and teachers are eligible even if staff sizes are smaller than 50.

Unpaid leave raises complications around medical coverage. Normally, your workplace coverage would be paid for by payroll deductions. But when you’re on unpaid leave, where does that premium money come from? The answer is, your employer is likely to consider it an advance on a future paycheck. When you return, you’ll find the cost of your medical coverage premium appearing as a deduction from your wages. You and your employer should sit down and sign an agreement to avoid misunderstandings that could arise as a result of this legal issue.

Under Colorado FMLA you and your employer must follow certain guidelines. For example, the employer must keep you informed. He or she must provide you with a notification in writing immediately, letting you know how to keep in touch to insure you maintain your good status with the workplace. You in turn must respond to those instructions promptly. The Colorado FMLA poster should be prominent at every jobsite.

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