Your health: New sick leave law gives more flexibility

New sick leave law gives more flexibility

A new Illinois law, which allows family caregivers to use up to half of their sick leave benefits at work to take time off for a family member's illness, injury or medical appointments, went into effect Jan. 1, AARP Illinois reports.

More than 1.5 million Illinoisans are family caregivers, and many struggle to balance their paid work with the responsibilities of caring for a sick parent, spouse, sibling or child.

Without this law, some had to make tough choices such as whether to cut back on work hours or quit their jobs altogether to be able to care for their loved ones.

“Businesses will also benefit,” said Bob Gallo, AARP state director. “This law is likely to improve employee morale by reducing stress and offering support and flexibility for family caregivers.”

Apply for Fittest Loser At Work Challenge

The Daily Herald is still accepting applications for the Fittest Loser At Work Challenge.

Now in its fifth year, the At Work Challenge gives individuals the opportunity to work together on a team of co-workers to get fit. The challenge is sponsored by Assurance and is open to teams of five from any type of company or workplace.

Teams compete against other teams in the friendly 12-week competition that runs parallel to the Fittest Loser Challenge from February to May.

The winning team will receive a $2,000 donation to the charity of its choice, as well as individual prizes.

Since the scores are reported only as a team, a sense of accountability to your teammates helps keep motivation high.

The team scoring also offers a bit of privacy — no individual weights are ever published.

For the 2016 Fittest Loser At Work Challenge, 295 people in 57 teams of co-workers from across the suburbs participated.

Think you and your co-workers are up for the healthy challenge?

For details or to sign up a team of five, visit events.dailyherald.com/fittest-loser. Deadline to register a team is Friday, Jan. 20.