{"id":161933,"date":"2025-02-10T11:30:24","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T18:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=161933"},"modified":"2025-02-10T11:30:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T18:30:27","slug":"paid-leave-program-marks-one-year-with-big-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=161933","title":{"rendered":"Paid leave program marks one year with big impact"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"978\" src=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1-1200x978.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-161934\" srcset=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1-1200x978.png 1200w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1-982x800.png 982w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1-768x626.png 768w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1-1536x1252.png 1536w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1-150x122.png 150w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1-1400x1141.png 1400w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1.png 2025w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s been just over a year since the University of Colorado\u2019s self-funded and self-administered&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cu.edu\/employee-services\/collaborative-hr-services\/cu-campuses\/famli-fml-and-parental-leave\">Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)&nbsp;<\/a>program took effect. Its biggest impact is on the lives of CU\u2019s employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CU faculty and staff can use FAMLI leave to take time away from work to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>care for a new child, including adopted and fostered children.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>care for themselves, or a family member, if they have a serious health condition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>arrange for a family member\u2019s military deployment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>obtain safe housing, care or legal assistance in response to intimate partner violence, stalking, sexual assault, or sexual abuse.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CU FAMLI works in tandem with other CU paid leave options to give employees more time and greater flexibility in taking care of themselves or family members. The program replaces a portion of the employee\u2019s wages for up to 12 weeks, and the employee can supplement this benefit with paid sick, vacation or paid parental leave to make their paycheck whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2025, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cu.edu\/employee-services\/collaborative-hr-services\/cu-campuses\/cu-famli-leave\/planning-tools-cu-famli-0\">maximum weekly FAMLI benefit&nbsp;<\/a>has increased from $1,100 to $1,324.21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CU FAMLI\u2019s positive impact on faculty and staff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024, 2,900 employees used FAMLI leave. These are just a few of their stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Alicen Spale: Time off to care for new twins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Alicen Spale gave birth to twins in late 2023, she had a 1-year-old at home. At first, caring for three very young children was \u201cabsolutely crazy\u201d and required a long adjustment period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor that beginning portion of my maternity leave, I was just trying to keep my head above water,\u201d said Spale, business services manager for Internal Medicine at CU Anschutz. \u201cWhen I was able to take that additional time, I was able to find a groove and actually enjoy some of that time off and just try to get my little family into a new rhythm that was going to work for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FAMLI provided a huge helping hand when it took effect in 2024. While eligible CU employees have always been able to take parental leave, using FAMLI benefits in tandem with sick and vacation leave gave Spale full pay during her parental leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spale was able to return with vacation and sick time left over \u2013 critical when she needs to care for a sick child \u2013 and she was able to prioritize her family and her health before returning to work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spale worked with her department\u2019s HR Business partner for direction on applying for FAMLI leave with Employee Services. \u201cThis is a benefit that you\u2019re paying into and will only have a handful of times in your life to use it,\u201d she said. \u201cThe time spent applying for it will be well worth it to not deplete your vacation and sick time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Liz Fagerness: Time off for her infant\u2019s surgery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Liz Fagerness\u2019s 10-month-old son needed surgery in April 2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone ever wants their kid to have surgery \u2014 especially at such a young age,\u201d said Fagerness, a campus program manager for Central Annual Giving at CU System Administration\u2019s Advancement division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FAMLI leave gave her additional time off without worrying about negotiating other time off or using all her vacation and sick time \u2014 which allowed her to spend with her baby for special moments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was able to take some extra days off, and I had some time right before his birthday, which was really special. We went to the zoo \u2014 it was May, so it was nice to get outside and have fun,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fagerness felt supported by her team during her maternity and surgery leave, and said it demonstrated a very positive work culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mike Ravare: Paternity leave\u2019s impact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before coming to CU, Mike Ravare lost his previous job after being promised he\u2019d be able to stay home with his new daughter for the remainder of the year. When this changed, he was without childcare and needed to stay home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When he started working at CU, he realized that FAMLI allowed for time off to care for a new baby, and he applied for paternity leave giving him extra time before his daughter\u2019s first birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was with my daughter 24\/7 and then I went back to work and \u2014 it\u2019s my first daughter, so it was super hard to leave her. So then having that full week to just be dad again was just amazing,\u201d said Ravare, an administrative assistant in oncology at CU Anschutz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ravare\u2019s manager was supportive of him applying for FAMLI. \u201cI didn\u2019t have to worry that I\u2019m bailing on the team. People picked up my work and as soon as I came back everyone was just happy to have me, happy that I got to spend time with her and with the family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Apply for and use FAMLI leave<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the course of the year, the Employee Services Leave Team has worked hard to simplify and streamline the process to request and use FAMLI leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visit the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cu.edu\/employee-services\/collaborative-hr-services\/cu-campuses\/famli-fml-and-parental-leave\">FAMLI &amp; Leave website<\/a>&nbsp;for full details resources to help you understand, apply for and use this important benefit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>It\u2019s been just over a year since the University of Colorado\u2019s self-funded and self-administered\u00a0Family and Medical Leave Insurance program took effect. Its biggest impact is on the lives of CU\u2019s employees. <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=161933\" title=\"Paid leave program marks one year with big impact\">(More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":161934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,49],"tags":[398,332],"class_list":["post-161933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-campus-announcements","tag-cu-system","tag-more-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/famli-infographic-2png-1.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-G7P","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=161933"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161936,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161933\/revisions\/161936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/161934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=161933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=161933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=161933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}