What happened?

On December 14, 2023, the Cook County Board of Commissioners (“Board”) passed the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which converts the pre-existing Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance into an ordinance requiring general paid leave for any reason.

What are the details?

• The new Ordinance requires employers to provide 40 hours of paid leave to be used for any reason (previously employers were required to provide 40 hours of earned sick leave per year to all employees).

• The Board enacted this change before January 1, 2024, to ensure that employers that are covered by this new Ordinance are not preempted by the state Paid Leave for All Workers Act (so they remain covered by this law only).

• The Commission will not order remedies for violations of the Ordinance provisions until February 1, 2024.

• Covered employers are the ones defined in Sections 1 and 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, with some exceptions (see bottom of page 2).

See Parallel Provisions and Key Differences for further detail.

Business Considerations

• Due to the time constraints, make it a priority to create or update your existing sick leave policy and notify employees of the change.
• Ensure that the required notice is posted where employees frequent (not yet available see Sec. 42-6 on pages 8-9).

Resources

• Earned Sick Leave Ordinance and Regulations
• Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance (The Ordinance) Full Text.
• Official Cook County, IL, Press Release

Source References

• Effective January 1, 2024, Cook County, Illinois Paid Leave Requirements Will Largely Mirror State Law (Littler Mendelson P.C.)
• Cook County Amends Paid Leave Ordinance (Perkins Coie LLP)
• Cook County’s New Paid Leave Ordinance Replaces the County’s Earned Sick Leave Ordinance Effective December 31, 2023 (Michael Best & Friedrich LLP)
• Cook County Follows the Illinois General Assembly’s Lead, Passes Paid Leave Ordinance (Foley & Lardner LLP)

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