Municipal Code of Chicago 6-105-045 Paid sick leave.
06/25/2021 – 07/01/2024
(a) General provisions.
(1) Any Covered Employee who works at least 80 hours for an Employer within any 120-day period shall be eligible for Paid Sick Leave as provided under this section.
(2) Where a Covered Employee is engaged in an Occupation in which Gratuities have customarily and usually constituted part of the remuneration, the Covered Employee’s Employer shall pay at least the full Chicago minimum wage, as provided in Section 6-105-020, for Paid Sick Leave.
(3) Unless an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise, upon a Covered Employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment, the Covered Employee’s Employer is not required to provide financial or other reimbursement for unused Paid Sick Leave.
(b) Accrual of paid sick leave.
(1) Paid Sick Leave shall begin to accrue either on the 1st calendar day after the commencement of a Covered Employee’s employment or July 1, 2017, whichever is later.
(2) For every 40 hours worked after a Covered Employee’s Paid Sick Leave begins to accrue, the Covered Employee shall accrue one hour of Paid Sick Leave. Paid Sick Leave shall accrue only in hourly increments; there shall be no fractional accruals.
(3) A Covered Employee who is exempt from overtime requirements under this chapter shall be assumed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes of Paid Sick Leave accrual, unless the Covered Employee’s normal work week is less than 40 hours, in which case Paid Sick Leave shall, accrue based upon that normal work week.
(4) For each Covered Employee, there shall be a cap of 40 hours Paid Sick Leave accrued per 12-month period, unless the Employer sets a higher limit. The 12-month period for a Covered Employee shall be calculated from the date the Covered Employee began to accrue Paid Sick Leave.
(5) At the end of a Covered Employee’s 12-month accrual period, the Covered Employee shall be allowed to carry over to the following 12-month period half of the Covered Employee’s unused accrued Paid Sick Leave, up to a maximum of 20 hours.
(6) If an Employer is subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act, each of the Employer’s Covered Employees shall be allowed, at the end of the Covered Employee’s 12-month Paid Sick Leave accrual period, to carry over up to 40 hours of the Covered Employee’s unused accrued Paid Sick Leave, in addition to the carryover allowed under subsection 6-105-045(b)(5), to use exclusively for Family and Medical Leave Act eligible purposes.
(7) If an Employer has a policy that grants Covered Employees paid time off in an amount and a manner that meets the requirements for Paid Sick Leave under this section, the Employer is not required to provide additional paid leave. If such Employer’s policy awards the full complement of paid time off immediately upon date of eligibility, rather than using an accrual model, the Employer must award each Covered Employee 40 hours paid time off within one calendar year of the Covered Employee’s date of eligibility.
(8) Unused Paid Sick Leave shall be retained by the Covered Employee if the Employer sells, transfers, or otherwise assigns the business to another Employer and the Covered Employee continues to work in the City.
(c) Use of paid sick leave.
(1) An Employer shall allow a Covered Employee to begin using Paid Sick Leave no later than on the 180th calendar day following the commencement of the Covered Employee’s employment. A Covered Employee is entitled to use no more than 40 hours of Paid Sick Leave per 12-month period, unless the Covered Employee’s Employer sets a higher limit. The 12-month period for a Covered Employee shall be calculated from the date the Covered Employee began to accrue Paid Sick Leave. If a Covered Employee carries over 40 hours of Family and Medical Leave Act leave pursuant to subsection 6-105-045(b)(6) and uses that leave, the Covered Employee is entitled to use no more than an additional 20 hours of accrued Paid Sick Leave in the same 12-month period, unless the Employer sets a higher limit. Within these limitations, Covered Employee shall be allowed to determine how much accrued Paid Sick Leave the Covered Employee needs to use, provided that the Covered Employee’s Employer may set a reasonable minimum increment requirement not to exceed four hours per day.
(2) A Covered Employee may use Paid Sick Leave when:
(A) the Covered Employee is ill or injured, or for the purpose of receiving professional care, including preventive care, diagnosis, or treatment, for medical, mental, or behavioral issues, including substance use disorders;
(B) a member of the Covered Employee’s family is ill, injured, or ordered to quarantine, or to care for a family member receiving professional care, including preventive care, diagnosis, or treatment, for medical, mental, or behavioral issues, including substance use disorders;
(C) the Covered Employee, or a member of the Covered Employee’s family, is the victim of domestic violence, as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, or a sex offense, defined here as any conduct proscribed in Article 11 and Sections 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012, or trafficking in persons as defined in Section 10-9 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/10-9); or
(D) the Covered Employee’s place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or the Covered Employee needs to care for a family member whose school, class, or place of care has been closed.
(E) a Covered Employee obeys an order issued by the Mayor, the Governor of Illinois, the Chicago Department of Public Health, or a treating healthcare provider, requiring the Covered Employee to:
(i) stay at home to minimize the transmission of a communicable disease;
(ii) remain at home while experiencing symptoms or sick with a communicable disease;
(iii) obey a quarantine order issued to the Covered Employee;
(iv) obey an isolation order issued to the Covered Employee.
(3) An Employer shall not require, as a condition of a Covered Employee taking Paid Sick Leave, that the Covered Employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the Covered Employee is on Paid Sick Leave.
(4) If a Covered Employee’s need for Paid Sick Leave is reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require up to seven days’ notice before leave is taken. If the need for Paid Sick Leave is not reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require a Covered Employee to give notice as soon as is practicable on the day the Covered Employee intends to take Paid Sick Leave by notifying the Employer through via phone, e-mail, or text message. For purposes of this subsection, needs that are “reasonably foreseeable” include, but are not limited to, prescheduled appointments with health care providers for the Covered Employee or for a family member, and court dates in domestic violence cases. Any notice requirement imposed by an Employer pursuant to this subsection shall be waived in the event a Covered Employee is unable to give notice because the Covered Employee is unconscious, or otherwise medically incapacitated.
(5) Where a Covered Employee is absent for more than three consecutive work days, the Covered Employee’s Employer may require certification that the use of Paid Sick Leave was authorized under subsection 6-105-045(c)(2). For time used pursuant to subsections 6-105-045(c)(2)(A) or (B), documentation signed by a licensed health care provider shall satisfy this requirement. An Employer shall not require that such documentation specify the nature of the Covered Employee’s or the Covered Employee’s family member’s injury, illness, or condition, except as required by law. For Paid Sick Leave used pursuant to subsection 6-105-045(c)(2)(C), a police report, court document, a signed statement from an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a victim services advocate, or any other evidence that supports the Covered Employee’s claim, including a written statement from the Covered Employee or any other person who has knowledge of the circumstances, shall satisfy this requirement. The Covered Employee may choose which document to submit, and no more than one document shall be required if the Paid Sick Leave is related to the same incident of violence or the same perpetrator. The Employer shall not delay the commencement of Paid Sick Leave taken for one of the purposes in subsection 6-105-045(c)(2), nor delay payment of Wages, on the basis that the Employer has not yet received the required certification.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an Employer from taking disciplinary action, up to and including termination, against a Covered Employee who uses Paid Sick Leave for purposes other than those described in this subsection 6-105-045(c)(2).
(d) This Section 6-105-045 provides minimum Paid Sick Leave requirements; it shall not be construed to affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater Paid Sick Leave benefits.
- Cook County, IL Div. 1, Sec. 42-2. Definitions
07/01/2017 – 07/01/2024
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Agency means the Cook County Commission on Human Rights.
Construction Industry means any constructing, altering, reconstructing, repairing, rehabilitating, refinishing, refurbishing, remodeling, remediating, renovating, custom fabricating, maintenance, landscaping, improving, wrecking, painting, decorating, demolishing, and adding to or subtracting from any building, structure, highway, roadway, street, bridge, alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant, water works, parking facility, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development, real property or improvement, or to do any part thereof, whether or not the performance of the work herein described involves the addition to, or fabrication into, any structure, project, development, real property or improvement herein described of any material or article of merchandise. Construction shall also include moving construction related materials on the job site to or from the job site, snow plowing, snow removal, and refuse collection.
Covered Employee means any Employee who, in any particular two-week period, performs at least two hours of work for an Employer while physically present within the geographic boundaries of Cook County. For purposes of this definition, time spent traveling in Cook County that is compensated time, including, but not limited to, deliveries, sales calls, and travel related to other business activity taking place within Cook County, shall constitute work while physically present within the geographic boundaries of Cook County; however, time spent traveling in Cook County that is uncompensated commuting time shall not constitute work while physically present within the geographic boundaries of Cook County. The definition of “Covered Employee” for purposes of this Division does not include any “employee” as defined by Section 1(d) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, 45 U.S.C. § 351(d).
Domestic partner means any person who has a registered domestic partnership, or qualifies as a domestic partner under Sections 2-173 and 2-174 of this Code or as a party to a civil union under the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, 750 ILCS 75/1 et seq., as currently in force and hereafter amended.
Earned Sick Leave means time that is provided by an Employer to a Covered Employee that is eligible to be used for the purposes described in Section 42-3 of this Chapter, and is compensated at the same rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, that the Covered Employee regularly earns during hours worked.
Employee means an individual permitted to work by an employer regardless of the number of persons the Employer employs.
Employer means:
(1) “Employer” means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, business trust, or any person or group of persons that gainfully employs at least one Covered Employee with a place of business within Cook County.
(2) The term “employer” does not mean:
- The government of the United States or a corporation wholly owned by the government of the United States;
- An Indian tribe or a corporation wholly owned by an Indian tribe;
- The government of the State or any agency or department thereof; or
- Units of local government.
Family and Medical Leave Act means the United States Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 USC § 2601 et seq. as currently in force and hereafter amended.
Family member means a Covered Employee’s child, legal guardian or ward, spouse under the laws of any state, domestic partner, parent, spouse or domestic partner’s parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the Covered Employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. A child includes not only a biological relationship, but also a relationship resulting from an adoption, step-relationship, and/or foster care relationship, or a child to whom the Covered Employee stands in loco parentis. A parent includes a biological, foster, stepparent or adoptive parent or legal guardian of a Covered Employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the Employee was a minor child.
Health Care Provider means any person licensed to provide medical or emergency services, including, but not limited to, doctors, nurses, and emergency room personnel.
- Cook County, IL Div. 1, Sec. 42-3. Earned sick leave
07/01/2017 – 07/01/2024
(a) General Provisions.
(1) Any Covered Employee who works at least 80 hours for an Employer within any 120-day period shall be eligible for Earned Sick Leave as provided under this Section.
(2) Unless an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise, upon a Covered Employee’s termination, resignation, retirement or other separating from employment, his or her Employer is not required to provide financial or other reimbursement for unused Earned Sick Leave.
(b) Accrual of Earned Sick Leave.
(1) Earned Sick Leave shall begin to accrue either on the first calendar day after the commencement of a Covered Employee’s employment or on the effective date of this Division, whichever is later.
(2) For every 40 hours worked after a Covered Employee’s Earned Sick Leave begins to accrue, he or she shall accrue one hour of Earned Sick Leave. Earned Sick Leave shall accrue only in hourly increments; there shall be no fractional accruals.
(3) A Covered Employee who is exempt from overtime requirements shall be assumed to work 40 hours in each workweek for purposes of Earned Sick Leave accrual, unless his or her normal work week is less than 40 hours, in which case Earned Sick Leave shall accrue based upon that normal work week.
(4) For each Covered Employee, there shall be a cap of 40 hours Earned Sick Leave accrued per 12-month period, unless his or her Employer sets a higher limit. The 12-month period for a Covered Employee shall be calculated from the date he or she began to accrue Earned Sick Leave.
(5) At the end of a Covered Employee’s 12-month accrual period, he or she shall be allowed to carry over to the following 12-month period half of his or her unused accrued Earned Sick Leave, up to a maximum of 20 hours.
(6) If an Employer is subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act, each of the Employer’s Covered Employees shall be allowed, at the end of his or her 12-month Earned Sick Leave accrual period, to carry over up to 40 hours of his or her unused accrued Earned Sick Leave, in addition to the carryover allowed under subsection 42-3(b)(5), to use exclusively for Family and Medical Leave Act eligible purposes.
(7) If an Employer has a policy that grants Covered Employees paid time off in an amount and a manner that meets the requirements for Earned Sick Leave under this Section, the Employer is not required to provide additional paid leave. If such Employer’s policy awards the full complement of paid time off immediately upon date of eligibility, rather than using an accrual model, the Employer must award each Covered Employee 40 hours paid time off within one calendar year of his or her date of eligibility.
(c) Use of Earned Sick Leave.
(1) An Employer shall allow a Covered Employee to begin using Earned Sick Leave no later than on the 180th calendar day following the commencement of his or her employment. A Covered Employee is entitled to use no more than 40 hours of Earned Sick Leave per 12-month period, unless his or her Employer sets a higher limit. The 12-month period for a Covered Employee shall be calculated from the date he or she began to accrue Earned Sick Leave. If a Covered Employee carries over 40 hours of Family and Medical Leave Act leave pursuant to subsection 42-3(b)(6) and uses that leave, he or she is entitled to use no more than an additional 20 hours of accrued Earned Sick Leave in the same 12-month period, unless the Employer sets a higher limit. A Covered Employee shall be allowed to determine how much accrued Earned Sick Leave he or she needs to use, provided that his or her Employer may set a reasonable minimum increment requirement not to exceed four hours per day.
(2) A Covered Employee may use Earned Sick Leave when:
- He or she is ill or injured, or for the purpose of receiving medical care, treatment, diagnosis or preventative medical care;
- A member of his or her family is ill or injured, or to care for a family member receiving medical care, treatment, diagnosis or preventative medical care;
- He or she, or a member of his or her family, is the victim of domestic violence, as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, or is the victim of sexual violence or stalking as defined in Article 11, 12-7.3. 12-7.4. and 12-7.5 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012; or
- His or her place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or he or she needs to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency. For the purposes of this section, “public health emergency” is an event that is defined as such by a Federal, State or Local government, including a school district.
(3) An Employer shall not require, as a condition of a Covered Employee taking Earned Sick Leave that he or she search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which he or she is on Earned Sick Leave.
(4) If a Covered Employee’s need for Earned Sick Leave is reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require up to seven days’ notice before leave is taken. If the need for Earned Sick Leave is not reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require a Covered Employee to give notice as soon as is practicable on the day the Covered Employee intends to take Earned Sick Leave by notifying the Employer via phone, e-mail, or text message. The Employer may set notification policy if the Employer has notified Covered Employee in writing of such policy and that policy shall not be unreasonably burdensome. For purposes of this subsection, needs that are “reasonably foreseeable” include, but are not limited to prescheduled appointments with health care providers for the Covered Employee or for a family member, and court dates in domestic violence cases. Any notice requirement imposed by an Employer pursuant to this subsection shall be waived in the event a Covered Employee is unable to give notice because he or she is unconscious, or otherwise medically incapacitated. If the leave is one that is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act, notice shall be in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act.
(5) Where a Covered Employee is absent for more than three consecutive work days, his or her Employer may require certification that the use of Earned Sick Leave was authorized under subsection 42-3(c)(2). For time used pursuant to subsections (c)(2)(a) or (b), documentation signed by a licensed health care provider shall satisfy this requirement. An Employer shall not require that such documentation specify the nature of the Covered Employee’s or the Covered Employee’s family member’s injury, illness, or condition, except as required by law. For Earned Sick Leave used pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(c) a police report, court document, a signed statement from an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a victim services advocate, or any other evidence that supports the Covered Employee’s claim, including a written statement from him or her, or any other person who has knowledge of the circumstances, shall satisfy this requirement. The Covered Employee may choose which document to submit, and no more than one document shall be required if the Earned Sick Leave is related to the same incident of violence or the same perpetrator. The Employer shall not delay the commencement of Earned Sick Leave taken for one of the purposes in subsection 42-3(c)(2) nor delay payment of wages, on the basis that the Employer has not yet received the required certification.
(6) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit an Employer from taking disciplinary action, up to and including termination, against a Covered Employee who uses Earned Sick Leave for purposes other than those described in this Section.
(7) This Section provides minimum Earned Sick Leave requirements; it shall not be construed to affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater Earned Sick Leave benefits.
- Municipal Code of Chicago 6-105-010 Definitions.
06/01/2023 – 07/01/2024
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
“Construction industry” means any constructing, altering, reconstructing, repairing, rehabilitating, refinishing, refurbishing, remodeling, remediating, renovating, custom fabricating, maintenance, landscaping, improving, wrecking, painting, decorating, demolishing, and adding to or subtracting from any building, structure, highway, roadway, street, bridge, alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant, waterworks, parking facility, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development, real property or improvement, or to do any part thereof, whether or not the performance of the work herein described involves the addition to, or fabrication into, any structure, project, development, real property or improvement herein described of any material or article of merchandise. Construction shall also include moving construction related materials on the job site to or from the job site, snow plowing, snow removal, and refuse collection.
“Covered Employee” means an Employee who, in any particular two-week period, performs at least two hours of work for an Employer while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the City. For purposes of this definition, time spent traveling in the City that is compensated time, including, but not limited to, deliveries, sales calls, and travel related to other business activity taking place within the City, shall constitute work while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the City; however, time spent traveling in the City that is uncompensated commuting time shall not constitute work while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the City.
“Covered Employee” does not include any individual permitted to work:
(a) as a camp counselor employed at a day camp if the camp counselor is paid a stipend on a one time or periodic basis and, if the camp counselor is a minor, the minor’s parent, guardian or other custodian has consented in writing to the terms of payment before the commencement of such employment;
(b) while subject to subsection 4(a)(2) of the Minimum Wage Law, with the exception of the categories of Employees described in subsections 4(a)(2)(A) and 4(a)(2)(B) of the Minimum Wage Law, who shall be entitled to the Wages that their Employer shall otherwise pay under Section 6-105-020(b) and 6-105-030 above, whichever applies, as well as the overtime compensation described in Section 6-105-040; and
(c) for any governmental entity other than the City and its Sister Agencies.
(d) (i) All Domestic Workers, including Domestic Workers employed by Employers with fewer than four Employees, shall be Covered Employees.
(ii) in any of the following categories, though, Employees who work in the following categories shall be Covered Employees under Section 6-105-045: (A) as an outside salesman; (B) as a member of a religious corporation or organization; (C) at, and employed by, an accredited Illinois college or university at which the individual is a student who is covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended; (D) for a motor carrier and with respect to whom the U.S. Secretary of Transportation has the power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service under the provisions of Title 49 U.S.C. or the State of Illinois under Section 18b-105 (Title 92 of the Illinois Administrative Code, Part 395 – Hours of Service of Drivers) of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
Except as provided in (d)(i) and (d)(ii), “Covered Employee” does not include any individual permitted to work for an Employer who has fewer than four Employees.
“Domestic partner” means any person who has a registered domestic partnership, or qualifies as a domestic partner under Section 2-152-072 of this Code or as a party to a civil union under the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, 750 ILCS 75/1, et seq., as currently in force and hereafter amended.
“Domestic worker” means a person whose primary duties include housekeeping; house cleaning; home management; nanny services, including childcare and child monitoring; caregiving, personal care or home health services for elderly persons or persons with illnesses, injuries, or disabilities who require assistance in caring for themselves; laundering; cooking; companion services; chauffeuring; and other household services to members of households or their guests in or about a private home or residence, or any other location where the domestic work is performed.
“Employee” means an individual that performs work for an employer in the capacity of an employee, as distinguished from a contractor, determined pursuant to Internal Revenue Service guidelines.
“Employer” means a person who gainfully employs at least one Employee. For the purpose of counting Covered Employees for Section 6-105-020, numbers of Covered Employees will be aggregated if they are employed by members of a single unitary business group as defined for Illinois income tax purposes.
“Fair Labor Standards Act” means the United States Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq., as currently in force and hereafter amended.
“Family and Medical Leave Act” means the United States Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq., as currently in force and hereafter amended.
“Gratuities” and “Occupation” have the meanings ascribed to those terms in the Minimum Wage Law.
“Health care provider” means any person licensed to provide medical or emergency services, including, but not limited to, doctors, nurses, and emergency room personnel.
“Minimum Wage Law” means the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, 820 ILCS 105/1, et seq.
“Outside salesman” means an Employee regularly engaged in making sales or obtaining orders or contracts for services where most of such duties are performed away from his employer’s place of business.
“Paid Sick Leave” means time that is provided by an Employer to a Covered Employee that is eligible to be used for the purposes described in subsection 6-105-045(b) of this chapter, and is compensated at the same rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, that the Covered Employee regularly earns during hours worked.
“Sister Agency” means the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Transit Authority, the City Colleges of Chicago, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the Public Building Commission.
“Subsidized Temporary Youth Employment Program” means any publicly subsidized summer or other temporary youth employment program through which persons aged 24 or younger are employed by, or engaged in employment coordinated by, a nonprofit organization or governmental entity.
“Subsidized Transitional Employment Program” means any publicly subsidized temporary employment program through which persons with unsuccessful employment histories and/or members of statistically hard-to-employ populations (such as formerly homeless persons, the long-term unemployed, and formerly incarcerated persons) are provided temporary paid employment and case-managed services under a program administered by a nonprofit organization or governmental entity, with the goal of transitioning program participants into unsubsidized employment.
“Tipped Employee” has the meaning ascribed that term in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Municipal Code of Chicago 6-100-010 Definitions
06/01/2023 – 07/01/2024
For purposes of this title, the following definitions apply:
“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection or the Commissioner’s designee.
“CPI” means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers most recently published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.
“Department” means the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
“Domestic Worker” means a person whose primary duties include housekeeping; house cleaning; home management; nanny services, including childcare and child monitoring; caregiving, personal care or home health services for elderly persons or persons with illnesses, injuries, or disabilities who require assistance in caring for themselves; laundering; cooking; companion services; chauffeuring; and other household services to members of households or their guests in or about a private home or residence, or any other location where the domestic work is performed.
“Family member” means a Covered Employee’s child, ward, legal guardian, parent, spouse under the laws of any state, domestic partner, spouse or domestic partner’s parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the Employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. A child includes not only a biological relationship, but also a relationship resulting from an adoption, step-relationship, and/or foster care relationship, or a child to whom the Employee stands in loco parentis. A parent includes a biological, foster, step-parent or adoptive parent or legal guardian of an Employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the Employee was a minor child.
“Gender-affirming care” shall have the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 6-20-020.
“Reproductive health care” shall have the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 6-20-020.
“Wage” means compensation due an Employee by reason of employment.
- Municipal Code of Chicago 6-130-005 Title, scope, and purpose
06/01/2023 – 07/01/2024
This Chapter 6-130 shall be known as the “Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance.· All Covered Employees shall have the right to time away from work paid by their Employers. This chapter shall be liberally construed in favor of providing Chicago workers with the greatest amount of Paid Leave or Paid Sick Leave from work and employment security.
- Municipal Code of Chicago 6-130-010 Definitions
06/01/2023 – 07/01/2024
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
“Commission” has the meanings ascribed to this term in the Sales Representative Act, 820 ILCS 120.
“Construction industry” means any constructing, altering, reconstructing, repairing, rehabilitating, refinishing, refurbishing, remodeling, remediating, renovating, custom fabricating, maintenance, landscaping, improving, wrecking, painting, decorating, demolishing, and adding to or subtracting from any building, structure, highway, roadway, street, bridge, alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant, waterworks, parking facility, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development, real property or improvement, or to do any part thereof, whether or not the performance of the work herein described involves the addition to, or fabrication into, any structure, project, development, real property or improvement herein described of any material or article of merchandise. Construction shall also include snow plowing, snow removal, and refuse collection.
“Covered Employee” means an Employee who, in any particular two-week period, performs at least two hours of work for an Employer while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the City. For purposes of this definition, time spent traveling in the City that is compensated time, including, but not limited to, deliveries, sales calls, and travel related to other business activity taking place within the City, shall constitute work while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the City; however, time spent traveling in the City that is uncompensated commuting time shall not constitute work while physically present within the geographic boundaries of the City. Covered Employee includes all Domestic Workers regardless of whether they work as employees, independent contractors, sole proprietors, or partnerships. Covered Employee includes any Employee of the City and its Sister Agencies, but does not include any individual permitted to work for any other governmental entity.
“Employee· means an individual that performs work for an employer in the capacity of an employee, as distinguished from a contractor, determined pursuant to Internal Revenue Service guidelines. Elected officials are not Employees. “Employee” does not include an employee as defined in the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 351 et seq.)
“Employer” means a person who gainfully employs at least one Employee.
“Gratuities· and “Occupation” have the meanings ascribed to those terms in the Minimum Wage Law.
“Health care provider” means any person licensed to provide medical or emergency services, including, but not limited to, doctors, nurses, and emergency room personnel.
“Intern” means a student, or an individual who has been a student within the last four months, of any institution of secondary or higher education, or enrolled on a full or part-time basis in a course or program of academic, business, or vocational instruction: (i) who is employed as an entry-level employee; (ii) who works fewer than 700 hours annually; and (iii) whose work is geared towards academic studies or provides vocational experience.
“Medium Employer” means an Employer with between 51 and 100 Covered Employees, inclusive. For the purpose of counting Covered Employees for this chapter, numbers of Covered Employees will be aggregated if they are employed by members of a single unitary business group as defined for Illinois income tax purposes.
“Minimum Wage Law” means the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, 820 ILCS 105/1, et seq.
“Paid Leave” means time that is provided by an Employer to a Covered Employee that is eligible to be used pursuant to Section 6-130-030 and is not Paid Sick Leave.
“Paid Sick Leave· means time that is provided by an Employer to a Covered Employee that is eligible to be accrued and used in the manner prescribed by Section 6-130-030.
“Seasonal” means employment of less than 120 calendar days in any year, that is set for a defined duration of time expected to be repetitive on a yearly basis.
“Sister Agency” means the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Transit Authority, the City Colleges of Chicago, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the Public Building Commission.
“Small Employer” means an Employer with 50 or fewer Covered Employees. For the purpose of counting Covered Employees for this chapter, numbers of Covered Employees will be aggregated if they are employed by members of a single unitary business group as defined for Illinois income tax purposes.
- Municipal Code of Chicago 6-130-020 Requirement to provide paid leave and paid sick leave
06/01/2023 – 07/01/2024
(a) General provisions.
(1) Any Covered Employee who works for an Employer shall be eligible for Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave as provided under this chapter.
(2) Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave shall be compensated at the same rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, that the Covered Employee regularly earns during hours worked. Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave for a Covered Employee who is not exempt from the overtime requirements of the Minimum Wage Law shall be calculated by dividing the Covered Employee’s total Wages by the Covered Employee’s total hours worked in the full pay periods of the prior 90 days of employment. Wages under this subsection do not include overtime pay, premium pay, Gratuities, or Commissions. However, the minimum hourly pay shall not be less than the base hourly wage, the federal minimum wage, the Illinois Minimum Wage, or the Chicago Minimum Wage, whichever is higher. Where a Covered Employee is engaged in an Occupation in which Gratuities have customarily and usually constituted part of the remuneration, the Covered Employee’s Employer shall pay the highest of the federal minimum wage, the Illinois Minimum wage or the full Chicago minimum wage, as provided in Section 6-105-020, for Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave.
(3) An Employer shall provide payment for Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave used by a Covered Employee no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period after the paid time off was taken.
(4) Unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement, upon a Covered Employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment, or whenever a Covered Employee ceases to meet the definition of Covered Employee as a result of transferal outside of the geographic boundaries of the City to be considered a Covered Employee, the Employer shall pay the monetary equivalent of all unused, accrued Paid leave as part of the Covered Employee’s final compensation at the Covered Employee’s final rate of pay and no employment contract or employment policy shall provide for forfeiture of earned Paid Leave upon separation from employment. However, a Small Employer shall not be required to pay out unused Paid Leave upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment, or whenever a Covered Employee ceases to meet the definition of Covered Employee as a result of transferal outside of the geographic boundaries of the City to be considered a Covered Employee. For Medium Employers, the payout of unused Paid Leave required under this section shall be limited to a maximum of 16 hours of Paid Leave until December 31, 2024, unless the Medium Employer sets a higher limit. On and after January 1, 2025, Medium Employers shall be required to pay the monetary equivalent of all unused, accrued Paid Leave as part of the Covered Employee’s final compensation at the Covered Employee’s final rate of pay. A Covered Employee may request payout of their unused Paid Leave after not receiving a work assignment for 60 days. Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive or otherwise limit a Covered Employee’s right to final compensation for promised and earned vacation time or paid time off, as provided under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and rules promulgated thereunder. Other than as part of a collective bargaining agreement, no employment contract or employment policy shall provide for forfeiture of earned Paid Leave or Paid Sick Leave when the Employer is no longer subject to the requirements of this chapter and the Covered Employee no longer works in the City. Unless an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise, upon a Covered Employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment, the Covered Employee’s Employer is not required to provide financial or other reimbursement for unused Paid Sick Leave.
(5) During any period a Covered Employee takes Paid Leave or Paid Sick Leave under this chapter, the Employer shall maintain coverage for the Covered Employee and any family member under any group health plan for the duration of such leave at no less than the level and conditions of coverage that would have been provided if the Covered Employee had not taken the leave. The Employer shall notify the Covered Employee that the Covered Employee is still responsible for paying the Covered Employee’s share of the cost of the health care coverage, if any.
(6) No Employer shall interfere with, deny, or change an Employee’s work days or hours to avoid providing eligible Paid Leave or Paid Sick Leave to a Covered Employee. An Employer shall not use its absence-control policy to count paid time off as an absence that triggers discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, or any other adverse activity. Subject to rules promulgated by the Commissioner, no Employer shall constructively discharge or terminate an Employee and then treat such termination as a voluntary termination to avoid a violation of or providing benefits under this chapter. As used in this section, “constructive discharge” means the voluntary termination of employment by a Covered Employee because of a situation created by an act or omission of the Employer that an objective, reasonable person would find so intolerable that voluntary termination is the only reasonable alternative, including by the intentional reduction in hours to avoid a violation of or providing benefits under this Chapter.
(b) If a Covered Employee accrued Paid Sick Leave prior to January 1, 2024, and the Employer’s existing paid time off policy does not comply with the requirements of this chapter, on January 1, 2024, any Paid Sick Leave that the Covered Employee is entitled to roll over from one 12-month period to the next shall be transferred to Paid Sick Leave under Section 6-130-030.
(c) An Employer shall not. as a condition of a Covered Employee taking Paid Sick Leave or Paid Leave, require that the Covered Employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the Covered Employee is on leave.
(d) All unused Paid Sick Leave and Paid Leave shall be retained by the Covered Employee if the Employer sells, transfers, or otherwise assigns the business to another Employer and the Employee continues to work in the City.
(e) If a Covered Employee is transferred to a separate division, entity, or location, but remains employed by the same Employer, the Covered Employee is entitled to all Paid Sick Leave and Paid Leave accrued at the prior division, entity, or location and is entitled to use all such leave as provided in this chapter
- Municipal Code of Chicago 6-130-030 Paid sick leave and paid leave
06/01/2023 – 07/01/2024
(a) An Employer shall provide Paid Sick Leave and Paid Leave to all Covered Employees under this section. If an Employer has a policy that grants Employees Paid Leave or Paid Sick Leave in an amount and a manner that meets or exceeds the requirements of this chapter, the Employer is not required to provide additional Paid Leave or Paid Sick Leave.
(b) Accrual.
(1) Starting on January 1, 2024, or on the first calendar day of a Covered Employee’s employment, a Covered Employee’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave shall begin to accrue.
For every 35 hours worked after a Covered Employee’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave begins to accrue, the Covered Employee shall accrue at least one hour of Paid Leave and one hour of Paid Sick Leave. Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave shall accrue only in hourly increments; there shall be no fractional accruals. However, if an Employer offers its Employees more hours of Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave than the minimum requirements of this chapter, such Employer may credit the applicable Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave time on a monthly basis, instead of accruing at the rate above. A Covered Employee who is exempt from overtime requirements under this Code shall be assumed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes of Paid Sick Leave and Paid Leave accrual, unless the Covered Employee’s normal work week is less than 40 hours, in which case such paid time off shall accrue based upon that normal work week. An Employer shall issue a written policy explaining the rate of Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave accrual.
(2) For each Covered Employee, there shall be a cap of 40 hours of Paid Leave and 40 hours of Paid Sick Leave accrued per 12-month period, unless the Employer sets a higher limit. The 12-month period for a Covered Employee shall be calculated from the date the Covered Employee began to accrue Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave.
(c) Carryover
(1) At the end of a Covered Employee’s 12-month accrual period, the Covered Employee shall be allowed to carry over to the following 12-month period up to 16 hours of Paid Leave and 80 hours of Paid Sick Leave.
(2) The Employer does not need to pay the Covered Employee for any unused Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave lost as a result of not being able to be carried over from one 12-month period to the next. However, if an Employer denies a Covered Employee approval of their Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave in a manner that prohibits such Covered Employee from meaningfully having access to such paid time off, despite such Employee complying with applicable Employer policies, such Employer must increase that Covered Employee’s permissible carry over to include carryover of any such denied Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave.
(d) Use. Employers shall allow Covered Employees to use accrued Paid Sick Leave no later than on the 30th calendar day following the commencement of the Covered Employee’s employment. Employers shall allow Covered Employees to use accrued Paid Leave no later than on the 90th calendar day following the commencement of the Covered Employee’s employment. Unless obligated by a City, State, or federal law, a Covered Employee may choose whether to use Paid Sick Leave or Paid Leave prior to using any other leave provided by the Employer or by City, State, or federal law. Where the City is the Employer, this subsection 6-130-030(d) shall not apply.
(e) Minimum Increment. Covered Employees shall be allowed to determine how much accrued Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave the Covered Employee needs to use, provided that the Employer may set a reasonable minimum increment requirement not to exceed four hours of Paid Leave per day or two hours of Paid Sick Leave per day. If a Covered Employee’s scheduled workday is less than the minimum increments above, the minimum increment of time shall not exceed the Covered Employee’s regular scheduled workday.
(f) Front-loading. Employers may choose to immediately grant Covered Employees 40 hours of Paid Leave or 40 hours of Paid Sick Leave or both on the first day of employment or the first day of the 12-month accrual period. If an Employer chooses to immediately grant Covered Employees 40 hours of Paid Leave or 40 hours of Paid Sick Leave on the first day of employment or the first day of the 12-month accrual period, the Employer is not required to provide additional paid time off of such type of paid time off frontloaded to the Employee. If an Employer grants 40 hours of Paid Leave on the first day of employment or the first day of the 12-month accrual period, then the Employer is not required to carryover an Employee’s unused Paid Leave hours to the subsequent 12-month period.
(g) Unlimited Paid Time Off. Instead of following an accrual model, Employers may choose to immediately grant Covered Employees on the first day of employment, or the first day of the 12-month accrual period, unlimited hours of paid time off that may be used for any reason. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (g), all requirements and benefits regarding Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave in this chapter shall apply. If an Employer grants unlimited paid time off on the first day of employment or the first day of the 12-month accrual period, then the Employer is not required to carryover an Employee’s unused paid time off to the subsequent 12-month period. If a Covered Employee’s need for paid time off is reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require up to seven days’ notice before paid time off is taken. If the need for paid time off is not reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require a Covered Employee to give notice as soon as is practicable on the day the Covered Employee intends to take paid time off by notifying the Employer, which may include by telephone, e-mail, or other means. An Employer may not require a Covered Employee to obtain preapproval from the Employer before using the paid time off. Unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement, upon a Covered Employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment, or whenever a Covered Employee ceases to meet the definition of Covered Employee as a result of transferal outside of the geographic boundaries of the City to be considered a Covered Employee, the Employer shall pay the monetary equivalent of 40 hours of paid time off minus the hours of paid time off used by the Covered Employee in the last 12-month period before the Covered Employee’s date of separation from employment as part of the Covered Employee’s final compensation at the Covered Employee’s final rate of pay. If the Covered Employee used more than 40 hours of paid time off in the last 12-month period before the Covered Employee’s date of separation from employment, the Covered Employee will not owe the Employer compensation. No employment contract or employment policy shall provide for forfeiture of earned paid time off upon separation from employment.
(h) Paid Leave Policies. A Covered Employee may use Paid Leave for any reason of the Covered Employee’s choosing. An Employer may not require a Covered Employee to provide a reason for such leave and may not require them to provide documentation or certification as proof or in support of the leave. An Employer may establish reasonable policies for the use of Paid Leave to:
(1) require a Covered Employee to give reasonable notice, which may not exceed seven days before using such Paid Leave;
(2) require a Covered Employee to obtain reasonable preapproval from the Employer before using Paid Leave for the purpose of maintaining continuity of Employer operations subject to rules promulgated by the Office of Labor Standards; and
(3) adopt rules specific to Interns, City-employed Seasonal workers, or Office of Emergency Management and Communications staff that manage City traffic, and such rules are not required to comply with this chapter.
(i) Paid Sick Leave Policies.
(1) A Covered Employee may use Paid Sick Leave when:
(A) the Covered Employee is ill or injured, or for the purpose of receiving professional care, including preventive care, diagnosis, or treatment, for medical, mental, or behavioral issues, including substance use disorders;
(B) a Covered Employee’s family member is ill, injured, or ordered to quarantine, or to care for a family member receiving professional care, including preventive care, diagnosis, or treatment, for medical, mental, or behavioral issues, including substance use disorders;
(C) the Covered Employee, or a Covered Employee’s family member, is the victim of domestic violence, as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, or a sex offense, defined here as any conduct proscribed in Article 11 and Sections 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012, or trafficking in persons as defined in Section 10-9 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/10-9); or
(D) the Covered Employee’s place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or the Covered Employee needs to care for a family member whose school, class, or place of care has been closed.
(E) a Covered Employee obeys an order issued by the Mayor, the Governor of Illinois, the Chicago Department of Public Health, or a treating healthcare provider, requiring the Covered Employee to:
(i) stay at home to minimize the transmission of a communicable disease;
(ii) remain at home while experiencing symptoms or sick with a communicable disease;
(iii) obey a quarantine order issued to the Covered Employee;
(iv) obey an isolation order issued to the Covered Employee.
(2) If a Covered Employee’s need for Paid Sick Leave is reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require up to seven days’ notice before leave is taken. If the need for Paid Sick Leave is not reasonably foreseeable, an Employer may require a Covered Employee to give notice as soon as is practicable on the day the Covered Employee intends to take Paid Sick Leave by notifying the Employer, which may include by telephone, e-mail, or other means. For purposes of this subsection, needs that are “reasonably foreseeable” include, but are not limited to, prescheduled appointments with health care providers for the Covered Employee or for a family member, and court dates in domestic violence cases. Any notice requirement imposed by an Employer pursuant to this subsection shall be waived in the event a Covered Employee is unable to give notice because the Covered Employee is unconscious, or otherwise medically incapacitated.
(3) Where a Covered Employee is absent for more than three consecutive work days, the Covered Employee’s Employer may require certification that the use of Paid Sick Leave was authorized under subsection 6-130-030(i}(1). For time used pursuant to subsections 6-130-030(i)(1)(A) or (B), documentation signed by a licensed health care provider shall satisfy this requirement. For Paid Sick Leave used pursuant to subsection 6-130-030(i){1 )(C), a police report, court document, a signed statement from an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a victim services advocate, or any other evidence that supports the Covered Employee’s claim, including a written statement from the Covered Employee or any other person who has knowledge of the circumstances, shall satisfy this requirement. The Covered Employee may choose which document to submit, and no more than one document shall be required if the Paid Sick Leave is related to the same incident of violence or the same perpetrator. An Employer shall not require such documentation or require that such documentation specify the reason for the Covered Employee using Paid Sick Leave before receiving notice that a Covered Employee will be absent for a third consecutive day, except as required by law. It shall be a rebuttable presumption that an Employer has violated this section whenever an Employer requires documentation before receiving notice that a Covered Employee will be absent for a third consecutive day and using Paid Sick Leave. The Employer shall not delay the commencement of Paid Sick Leave taken for one of the purposes in subsection 6-130-030(i)(1), nor delay payment of Wages, on the basis that the Employer has not yet received the required certification.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an Employer from taking disciplinary action, up to and including termination, against a Covered Employee who uses Paid Sick Leave for purposes other than those described in subsection 6-130-030(i)(1).
(j) This Section 6-130-030 provides minimum Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave requirements; it shall not be construed to affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater Paid Sick Leave benefits, Paid Leave benefits, or both, and provides less restrictive access to those benefits.
