The Public Health Emergency Leave Program under the Healthy Families Workplace Act on Jan. 11 was extended for an additional 90 days. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide 60 days’ advance notice before an end to the program. If the PHEL is to end April 11, Metropolitan State University of Denver employees should expect to receive notice in mid-February. If the program is not extended, it will remain available for 90 days after the expiration date and then for four weeks after the conclusion of the 90 days.
Colorado’s 80-hour PHEL is ongoing and continues for as long as a federal or state Public Health Emergency is declared [C.R.S. § 8-13.3-402(9)] — and while state Public Health Orders have been scaled back, federal and Colorado Public Health Emergencies are declared at this time. This 80-hour PHEL will continue until four weeks after all applicable Public Health Emergency declarations end or are suspended. Based on the current emergency declarations, PHEL will continue at least into February but will continue longer if either the federal or the state Public Health Emergency declaration is renewed. For more information on paid sick leave, please see the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Division of Labor Standards and Statistics webpage.
Employees should contact Amanda Berry, director of Total Rewards, to discuss available leave options under the Healthy Families Workplace Act.