The Illinois Department of Labor published proposed regulations for the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act on Nov. 3. These regulations will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
The act will require nearly all covered employers to provide their covered employees up to 40 hours of paid leave per year, which can be used for any purpose.
The bill, known as SB208, was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker on March 13. With the signing of SB208, Illinois became the third state in the nation and the first in the Midwest to mandate time off for employees for any given reason.
Previously, the state of Illinois did not have a statewide paid leave law for private sector employees.
However, the Chicago Paid Sick Leave ordinance, which has been in effect since July 1, 2017, has mandated that all Chicago businesses provide paid sick leave to employees. According to this law, “Any employee who works at least 80 hours for an employer in Chicago within any 120-day period is covered by the ordinance and is eligible for paid sick leave.”
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“Working families face so many challenges, and it’s been my mission to alleviate those burdens in every way I can,” said a statement from Pritzker on the Illinois Department of Labor website.
Pritzker’s statement also discussed the benefits of having greater support for employees.
“Employers benefit from allowing employees to tend to the urgent personal matters of their lives,” the statement said. “Workers’ productivity increases and they often gain greater passion for their job when they can manage the stresses they face outside work.”
Employers that already had paid leave policies granting employees at least 40 hours of paid leave did not have to change their policy to comply with the act. Employers with generous paid time off benefits are still waiting to see how broadly the IDOL interprets the new regulation.
The act will also allow employers to frontload or accrue paid leave over the benefit period. According to law firm Littler’s website, “under the proposed rule, employees will accrue leave faster than the law requires.”
There are also new reporting requirements for employers. These conditions include a customized statement, frontloading notice and paid leave balance reporting on paystubs.
Full details of the act can be viewed here and the status of SB208 can be found on the Illinois General Assembly website.
