11 Dec Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act Updates
On January 1, 2024, the “Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act” (PLAWA) went into effect. It states that most workers, including part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers, in the state of IL are guaranteed at least one week (40 hours) of paid leave during a 12-month period – but there are some exceptions.
The following are NOT covered:
- Independent contractors
- Union construction workers
- Union package delivery workers
- Certain higher education employees
- Public school districts organized under the School Code
- Park districts organized under the Park District Code
Paid Time Off (PTO) may be used for ANY REASON, including sickness, childcare needs, mental health reasons, medical appointments, vacation, or other reasons. Workers will not have to provide documentation to their employer for any time taken. Illinois is one of only 3 states with a paid leave “for any reason” law.
Quick facts about the Paid Leave for All Workers Act
The employee must work for the company for at least 90 days before they can use their earned time off.
The first day they may take accrued time off was March 31, 2024. (Accrual began January 1, 2024 or at a later start of employment date, if applicable. )
One hour of paid leave will accrue for every 40 hours worked.
- Paid leave for salaried employees will be based on a 40-hour week, even if they work more than 40 hours per week.
- An employer may choose to provide the paid leave in smaller, proportional increments, as long as the rate of the benefit is at least 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked.
- Employees must work at least 90 days before using the accrued paid leave.
- Up to 40 hours of PTO may be accrued per year.
Employees will be paid their full wage while on leave.
Tipped workers will be paid the minimum wage in their area.
Additional things to know:
- This law will apply to all employees who perform work in IL for an employer that does business in Illinois.
- An employer may allow an employee to borrow against future accrued hours and may require that the employee repay the paid leave if the employee terminates before they’ve accrued the hours. Please note: you MUST disclose this policy in the employer’s written paid leave policy and the employee must agree to that policy in writing prior to taking any leave.
- Unused paid leave must carry over annually, up to 40 hours.
- The Act does NOT require that unused leave be paid out if the employee is terminated or resigns – unless the leave is credited to the employee’s paid time off bank or vacation account.
Illinois business owners: what to do now
If you own a business in Illinois, please make sure you have a payroll processing company who can monitor these accruals for you, keeping you in compliance with the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. Penalties include payments to employees such as back wages, compensatory damages, attorney fees, and other fees. In addition, violations of PLAWA will expose employers to civil penalties up to $2500 for each offense.
The City of Chicago has it’s own Chicago Paid Time Off ordinance
To complicate matters, the city of Chicago has its own Paid Leave Ordinance, with many amendments to it that will become effective as of July 1, 2024. The Ordinance guarantees up to 5 days of paid time off AND 5 days of paid sick leave for all Chicago workers. Just last week (on May 1, 2024) the rules were signed and published. They can be found here: Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave. Highlights include:
Paid Leave
- 1 hour is accrued for every 35 hours worked
- Up to 40 hours may be accrued in a 12-month period
- May be used for any reason but Employer may deny request
- May use paid leave 90 days after July 1, 2024 or start of employment, whichever is later
- Minimum usage increment is 4 hours
- May carryover up to 16 hours
- Payout:
- Is required for large employers (more than 101 employees)
- 2 days (16 hours) is required for medium employers (51-101 employees)
- Is NOT required for small employers (1-50 employees)
Sick Leave
- 1 hour is accrued for every 35 hours worked
- Up to 40 hours may be accrued in a 12-month period
- May be used to recover from illness, take care of a family member, address domestic violence, and public health emergencies
- May use sick leave 30 days after July 1, 2024 or start of employment, whichever is later
- Minimum usage increment is 2 hours
- May carryover up to 80 hours
- Payout is not required
Make sure you’re prepared when the new rules go into effect
Once the new rules go into effect in July, violations of paid sick leave or other paid time off requirements could result in fines between $500 and $3,000 per violation per day.
It is important for you to have a payroll processing company who can monitor the accruals for you, keeping you in compliance with the Illinois and City of Chicago Paid Leave Ordinances.
If you are struggling to understand the specifics, the City of Chicago hosted a webinar on the new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance. Click here to view the webinar: Chicago’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance
