December 14, 2023

New Chicago Paid Sick & Paid Leave Ordinance Delayed Six Months

Employee Benefits

3 min read

Erica Honig, J.D., Senior Compliance Director, Employee Benefits

New Chicago Paid Sick & Paid Leave Ordinance Delayed Six Months

In very welcome relief for Chicago employers, on December 13, 2023, the Chicago City Council approved a six-month delay of the new Chicago city ordinance (Ordinance).

This new Ordinance, originally set to go into effect on December 31, 2023 and now delayed until July 1, 2024, requires employers to provide their employees working in Chicago up to 40 hours of paid sick leave and an additional 40 hours of paid leave (for any reason) per year.

This new Chicago city ordinance will replace its current paid sick leave ordinance, which is now still in effect until June 30, 2024.

Click here for a Risk Strategies article first reporting on the Ordinance with detailed information, some of which has now changed, as highlighted below.

Ordinance Revision Highlights

The key highlights of these recent Ordinance revisions are outlined below:

Effective Date: The new effective date for the Ordinance for both paid sick leave and paid leave is now July 1, 2024, rather than the original December 31, 2023 effective date.
Covered Employees: The new definition of “covered employee” under the revisions is an employee who works at least 80 hours for an employer within any 120-day period while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the City. Additionally, once the threshold is reached, the employee will remain a covered employee for the remainder of the time that the employee works for that employer.

Previously, a “covered employee” was defined as an employee who works at least two hours for an employer in any particular two-week period while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the city of Chicago.
Payout Upon Termination of Employment: The revisions clarify that for “medium employers” (51 - 100 covered employees), accrued, unused paid leave time of 16 hours maximum must be paid out upon employee termination until July 1, 2025 (rather than the previous deadline of December 31, 2024). For these “medium employers,” all accrued, unused paid leave must be paid out on or after July 1, 2025 (rather than the previous deadline of January 1, 2025).
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA): The Ordinance revisions do not impact the terms in a bona fide CBA in force on July 1, 2024 (rather than the previous date of January 1, 2024).
After July 1, 2024 (rather than the previous date of January 1, 2024), the requirements of the Ordinance may be waived in a bona fide CBA if the waiver is set forth explicitly in the CBA in clear and unambiguous terms.
Private Cause of Action for Paid Sick Leave Violations: The private cause of action for paid sick leave violations is now available on July 1, 2024, rather than the previous date of December 31, 2023.

Employer Impact

With these recent revisions by the Chicago City Council, employers with Chicago employees now have additional time to comply with the Ordinance.

These employers also have additional time now to determine, in consultation with their labor and employment counsel, how this Ordinance interacts with the upcoming new Illinois PTO law, set to take effect on January 1, 2024.

Risk Strategies is closely following this new Chicago paid leave development and will provide updates when available. Contact us directly with any questions at benefits@risk-strategies.com.

The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and Risk Strategies Company makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of any information contained herein. Any recommendations contained herein are intended to provide insight based on currently available information for consideration and should be vetted against applicable legal and business needs before application to a specific client.

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