What Employers Need PAID LEAVE FOR NEW PAY TRANSPARENCY and

Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Takes Effect January 1st City of Chicago plans expanded leave ordinance

On January 1, 2024, a new Illinois law mandating paid leave for all workers will take effect. All employers will need to ensure that their existing policies are in compliance, consider procedures for recordkeeping, and develop additional handbook policies may to help manage staffing issues while employees are away. According to the Illinois Department of Labor, workers can begin using their earned time off on March 31, 2024 or 90 days after they begin employment with a business.

Employers that currently offer a minimum of 40 hours of paid time off that can be used for any purpose need not modify their existing policies. However, paid leave must be provided to part-time employees on a pro-rata basis of one hour for every 40 hours worked, which may be new for some businesses.

The leave must be available to employees for any purpose. Because of that, existing policies and procedures may need to be modified as employers will not be permitted to request a reason or require documentation for employees to use the mandated paid leave. Employers may, however, develop a written policy that requires employees to provide 7 days’ notice for any foreseeable absence such as a planned vacation. When the reason is unforeseeable, employees need only give as much notice as is practicable. To address staffing and coverage issues that may arise due to unplanned absences with little notice, employers may need to update their call-in procedures. Employers must also keep a record of the time off accruals for three years and provide a balance to employees upon request.

The intent of the law is to protect employee wages and provide relief for employees who need to take time off for mental wellbeing or to handle health or family issues. The law has been constructed to allow up to a full week of paid leave to be taken at one time. With this in mind, employees earning the 40 hours of leave on an accrual basis must be allowed to carry over leave. This leave does not need to be paid out upon separation of employment. Employers may opt to front-load the 40 hours of leave for full-time exempt employees and if they choose to allow the 40 hours upfront, carryover is not required.

Previously, the City of Chicago had implemented an ordinance requiring five days of paid leave for any reason. The Chicago ordinance did meet the requirements of the new Paid Leave for All Workers Act. However, on November 9, 2023, the City of Chicago passed a new ordinance requiring five days of paid sick leave in addition to the five days of paid leave for any reason. Implementation of the Chicago ordinance has been delayed in order to consider protections for small businesses.

For more information, including FAQ, Proposed Rules, and Webinars hosted by the IL Department of Labor, visit: https:// labor.illinois.gov/laws-rules/paidleave.html.

Jennifer Jacobs, SHRM-CP, is Big I Illinois Director of Human Resources and liaison to the Board of Directors.