Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Colorado Becomes First State To Offer This Paid Leave

Starting January 1st, 2026 Colorado will become the first state in the nation to offer parents with newborns in neonatal intensive care units up to 12 additional weeks of paid leave on top of the existing 12 weeks of bonding leave already provided through the state’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program known as FAMLI. Governor Jared Polis signed the groundbreaking law SB 25-144 which ensures parents can be by their baby’s side during critical early days and weeks without fearing loss of income or having to choose between earning a paycheck and being present during one of the most emotional exhausting moments a parent can face. The new Neonatal Care Leave means a parent whose child is receiving inpatient care in a NICU could receive up to 24 total weeks of paid FAMLI leave with the additional 12 weeks specifically for time while the newborn is hospitalized followed by the full 12 weeks of regular bonding leave after the child is discharged. FAMLI Division Director Tracy Marshall says Colorado is proving that paid leave isn’t just about paperwork or percentages but is truly a care win that protects parents and keeps the fund on solid financial footing.

The measure also lowers premiums for all Colorado workers and employers from 0.9 percent of wages to 0.88 percent starting in 2026 which according to projections from state fiscal analysts will save Colorado workers and employers approximately 35 million dollars next fiscal year. Colorado voters originally approved the FAMLI program in 2020 and benefits officially became available on January 1 2024 allowing covered workers to take paid leave to bond with new children care for themselves or family members with serious health conditions make arrangements for military deployments or address domestic violence and sexual assault situations. Without paid leave families facing NICU situations often confront an impossible choice between returning to work immediately to keep income or staying by their newborn’s side and falling behind on bills but Colorado’s historic law ensures parents won’t have to make that devastating choice ever again.

PrevPreviousMeet The Service Dogs Trained At Illinois Prison

Recent Articles

Happy News

Colorado Becomes First State To Offer This Paid Leave

December 29, 2025

Starting January 1st, 2026 Colorado will become the first state in the nation to offer parents with newborns in neonatal intensive care units up to 12 additional weeks of paid leave on top of the existing 12 weeks of bonding leave already provided through the state’s Family and Medical Leave

Read More
Happy News

Meet The Service Dogs Trained At Illinois Prison

December 29, 2025

Only 40 of the nearly 1,000 people locked up at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln Illinois are allowed to participate in the Helping PAWS program run by Illinois Correctional Industries where incarcerated women train service dogs for people with mobility challenges and emotional support needs in schools and courtrooms. Blanca

Read More
Happy News

How This Couple Communicates Without Words Or Signs

December 29, 2025

Sarah Jane Parsons became paralyzed from the shoulders down after a car accident when she was 20 years old during a camping trip to Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeast Minnesota with her then boyfriend and sister but decades later she found love with Jimmy Turner a 71 year

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 HappyNews.