Colorado Revised Statutes Title 8. Labor and Industry § 8-13.3-502. Purposes and findings

(1) Workers in Colorado experience a variety of personal and family caregiving obligations, but it can be difficult or impossible to adequately respond to those needs without access to paid leave.

(2) Access to paid family and medical leave insurance helps employers in Colorado by reducing turnover, recruiting workers, and promoting a healthy business climate, while also ensuring that smaller employers can compete with larger employers by providing paid leave benefits to their workers through an affordable insurance program.

(3) Paid family and medical leave insurance will also provide a necessary safety net for all Colorado workers when they have personal or family caregiving needs, including low-income workers living paycheck to paycheck who are disproportionately more likely to lack access to paid leave and least able to afford unpaid leave.

(4) Due to the need to provide paid time off to Colorado workers to address family and medical needs, such as the arrival of a new child, military family needs, and a personal or a family member’s serious health condition, including the effects of domestic violence and sexual assault, it is necessary to create a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance enterprise and to authorize the enterprise to:

(5) The fiscal approach of this part 5 has been informed by the experience of other state family and medical leave insurance programs, modeling based on the Colorado workforce, and input from a variety of stakeholders in Colorado.

(6) The creation of a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance enterprise is in the public interest and will promote the health, safety, and welfare of all Coloradans, while also encouraging an entrepreneurial atmosphere and economic growth.