On January 10, 2023, the Illinois legislature passed the Paid Leave for All Workers (PLFAW) Act and sent it to a Governor Pritzker for his signature. The Governor has stated that he intends to sign the bill into law. Once signed, it will become effective January 1, 2024.

The law would require nearly all covered Illinois employers to provide covered employees up to 40 hours of paid leave per year to be used for any purpose. This will make Illinois the third state with a mandatory paid time off law, following Nevada and Maine.

On January 1, 2024, or whenever employment begins, whichever is later, covered employees will accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked. Employees can accrue up to 40 hours in a twelve-month period, which is any twelve-month period designated by the employer in writing at the time of hire. Employees may carry over up to 40 hours of paid leave from one twelve-month period to the next. Employees cannot use their paid leave until they have completed 90 calendar days of employment, or March 31, 2024, whichever is later.

The law expressly prohibits employers from requiring documentation or certification to support an employee’s need for leave. Employees must receive their hourly rate of pay when using paid leave, which does not include commissions or gratuities. However, an employee’s hourly rate of pay for leave cannot drop below the applicable minimum wage.

Employers may use other types of paid leave policies (vacation or sick pay) to satisfy their obligations under the law. The law states that an employer is not required to modify its leave policy if it satisfies the minimum amount of leave required AND the employee is permitted to take paid leave for any reason.

The law provides that an employer cannot require that an employee seek or find a replacement worker to cover his paid leave time.

There are record keeping requirements and posting and notice requirements in the law (if an employer has a workforce that primarily does not speak English, the employer must post the notice in the appropriate language spoken by the employees). Additionally, the law prohibits employers from taking adverse action against employees for exercising their rights under the law; opposing practices the employee believes to be in violation of the law; or supporting others’ exercise of rights under the law.

We expect that additional guidance will be forthcoming from the Illinois Department of Labor prior to the law’s January 1, 2024 implementation.