Illinois enacts mandatory paid leave 'for any reason' - but not in Cook County

Illinois will become one of three states to require employers to offer paid time off for any reason after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law on Monday that will take effect next year. But it doesn't apply in Chicago and Cook County unless they update their existing sick leave laws in 2024 or later.

Starting Jan. 1, Illinois employers outside Chicago and Cook County must offer workers paid time off based on hours worked, with no need to explain the reason for their absence as long as they provide notice in accordance with reasonable employer standards.

Just Maine and Nevada mandate earned paid time off and allot employees the freedom to decide how to use it, but Illinois' law is further reaching, unencumbered by limits based on business size.

Similarly structured regulations that require employers to offer paid sick leave exist in 14 states and Washington, D.C., but workers can use that only for health-related reasons.

Chicago's and Cook County's sick leave laws similarly have such limits, and the new state law does not supersede them. It specifies that its provisions "shall not apply to any employer that is covered by a municipal or county ordinance that is in effect on the effective date of this Act (and) that requires employers to give any form of paid leave to their employees, including paid sick leave or paid leave."

In Chicago and Cook County, employees can use paid sick leave if they or a family member is sick or hurt, if their workplace or their child's school is closed due to public health emergency, or if they or a family member is the victim of domestic or sexual abuse, according to LegalAid Chicago. Employers could require documentation upon three consecutive sick days used.

Meanwhile, other Illinois employees starting next year will accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to 40 hours total, although the employer may offer more. Employees can start using the time once they have worked for 90 days. Seasonal workers will be exempt, as will federal employees or college students who work non-full-time, temporary jobs for their university.

The Chicago and Cook County ordinances served as pilot programs for the statewide legislation and assuaged critics who predicted mass business closures that didn't come to fruition, said Sarah Labadie, director of advocacy and policy at Women Employed, a nonprofit that has fought for paid leave since 2008 and helped push through the legislation.

"Our goal was to make sure you had time off for sick time, and if you had to take care of an ill family member, but (the state law) is more expansive," Labadie told ABC 7 Chicago. "It offers time if you want to go to your kid's school play, or if you just need to go visit your mom in California."

The law will also exempt employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry and parcel delivery industry, ABC 7 reported.

Pritzker signed the bill Monday in downtown Chicago, saying, "Too many people can't afford to miss even a day's pay ... together we continue to build a state that truly serves as a beacon for families, and businesses, and good paying jobs."

Proponents say paid leave is key to making sure workers, especially low-income workers who are more vulnerable, are able to take time off when needed without fear of reprisal from an employer.

But critics say the law will overburden small businesses already struggling to survive the post-pandemic era amid the high inflation that has gripped the nation for nearly two years.

National Federation of Independent Business Illinois state director Chris Davis said business owners are best positioned to work with their employees one-on-one to meet their needs.

The new law is "a one-size-fits-all solution to a more intricate problem," he said.

Bill sponsor Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Peoria Democrat, said the bill is the product of years of negotiations with businesses and labor groups.

"Everyone deserves the ability to take time off," she said in a statement. "Whether it's to deal with the illness of a family member, or take a step back for your mental health, enshrining paid leave rights is a step forward for our state."

"This is about bringing dignity to all workers," she said at the signing.

The sick leave ordinances in Cook County and Chicago have been in place since July 2017. Any new local laws enacted, or current laws updated, after the state law takes effect must provide benefits that are greater or equal to the state law.

Molly Weston Williamson, paid leave expert at the Center for American Progress, said the law "creates a strong foundation for employers to build from while generating a healthier, more productive workforce."

But Williamson added that while Illinois' law is a step in the right direction, U.S. paid leave laws remain "wildly out of line with all of our economic peers internationally."

"In the United States, federal law does not guarantee anyone the right to even a single paid day off work. Not when you're sick, not when you have a baby, not when your mom has a stroke. Not a single paid day," she said.

Joan Van, a server at an international hotel chain and single mother of three, currently has no paid time off.

But the Belleville parent leader with Community Organizing and Family Issues said that knowing that she will have five days next year brings a smile to her face.

"It's going to help out a lot of people, a lot of mothers, a lot of single mothers at that," she said.