Provision

Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act

Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance

Covered Employee

All employees other than:

1. Employees as defined in the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or the Railway Labor Act;
2. Temporary college or university student-employees;
3. Certain short-term employees of an institution of higher learning;
4. Employees working in the construction industry who are covered by a bona fide CBA; and
5. Employees who are covered by a bona fide CBA with an employer that provides services nationally and internationally of delivery, pickup, and transportation of parcels, documents, and freight.

All employees other than:

1. Employees as defined in the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act;
2. Temporary college or university student-employees;
3. Certain short-term employees of an institution of higher learning; and
4. Employees working in the construction industry who are covered by a bona fide CBA.

Denial of Leave

Employers may deny leave requests for operational necessity (per Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) guidance and proposed regulations)

The Ordinance does not include a provision permitting employers to deny leave requests. We expect that this will be addressed in future rulemaking.

Employer Notice

1. Post the IDOL-provided notice in a conspicuous place in the workplace. If the workforce has a significant portion of non-English speakers, the notice must be posted in other languages as well.
2. Provide the IDOL-provided notice (and, per the proposed regulations, the company policy) to employees at commencement of employment.

Per the proposed regulations:

1. Post a statement, written by the employer, summarizing the employer’s written policy and how an employee can obtain a copy of the policy. The statement must be provided in English and any other language commonly spoken in the workplace.

1. Report employee’s paid leave accrual and remaining balance on each paystub and provide these records to the employee upon request. Alternatively, employers may report the accrual and balance on the form that the employer normally uses to notify the employee of wage payments and deductions from wages.

1. Give written notice informing each employee of how many paid leave hours the employee is receiving on or before the first day of employment or on or before the first day of the 12–month period. The 12-month period may be any consecutive 12-month period designated by the employer in writing at the time of hire.

1. Post the Cook County Commission on Human Rights-provided notice in a conspicuous place at each facility in the County. If the workforce has a significant portion of non-English speakers, the notice must be posted in other languages as well.
2. Provide the above notice to employees at commencement of employment.

Civil Damages

Employee may recover:

actual underpayment, compensatory damages, attorney’s fees, reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the action.

Employee may recover:

three (3) times the full amount of unpaid leave denied or lost, interest calculated at the prevailing rate, and reasonable attorney’s fees.