The new Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) which was set to take effect on December 31, 2023, is now delayed until July 1, 2024 due to amendments. In addition to delaying the effective date, the amendments also require employers to provide written notice of their time off policies to covered employees in the employee’s primary language among other changes.
To recap, the new ordinance will guarantee two banks of leave, one for paid sick leave, and one for paid leave that may be used for any reason of the employee’s choosing. This means that covered Chicago employees are entitled to take up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year and another 40 hours of paid leave to use for any reason.
Notably, the existing Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance will remain in effect until the “Ordinances” take effect on July 1, 2024.
As we previously reported, in early 2023, the State of Illinois also passed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which took effect on January 1, 2024. However, that law exempts employees covered by a municipal paid leave ordinance in effect before the state law. Once it goes into effect, Chicago employees will be covered exclusively by the city Ordinance and not by state law. However, until this time, employers should offer leave to Chicago workers under the statewide law.
Next Steps
While employers have additional time to comply, they should begin preparing for the “Ordinance” by reviewing and updating their policies and procedures to comply with the new law, including providing the applicable notice, adjusting their payroll systems, and updating their employee handbooks. At the time of this post, the model notice had not yet been made available; however, it is expected that it will be located here.
