The Chicago City Council has approved an ordinance (Ordinance No. O2021-2182) that will amend and expand the city’s paid sick leave law. The changes take effect August 1, 2021.
Background:
Chicago requires all employers with at least one covered employee to provide paid sick leave. To be considered a covered employee, the employee must:
· Work within the city for at least two hours in any two-week period; and
· Work at least 80 hours for an employer within any 120-day period.
Covered employees generally are entitled to accrue at least one hour of leave for every 40 hours of work. Employers may cap accrual at 40 hours per 12-month period.
Under existing law, covered employees may use paid sick leave in the following circumstances.
· The employee, or a family member, is ill or injured, or for the purpose of receiving medical care, treatment, diagnosis, or preventive medical care.
· The employee, or a family member, is the victim of domestic violence or a sex offense; or
· The employee’s place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
· The employee 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.
Existing Notice and Poster Requirements:
Existing law also requires employers to post a notice advising employees of their rights under the ordinance The notice must also be provided to covered employees with their first paycheck and then each year with a paycheck issued within 30 days of July 1.
Employers must post the notice through their usual communication methods for such notices, whether by paper or electronically. When posting a paper notice, the notice must be printed on and scaled to fill a sheet of paper that measures eleven inches by seventeen inches.
Similarly, the notice employers provide with the first paycheck must also be printed on and scaled to fit a sheet of paper that measures eight and a half inches by eleven inches. However, where covered employees are enrolled in direct deposit and do not receive a “paycheck” but have the option to review their pay stubs electronically, employers may provide the notice to covered employees through the employers’ usual methods of electronic communication.
All notices must be posted in English and any language(s) spoken by employees at the facility who are not proficient in English and in which the Department has provided non-English language notices.
Ordinance No. O2021-2182:
The new ordinance amends and expands the reasons employees may use paid sick leave. Effective August 1, 2021, covered employees may use the leave for the following purposes:
· The 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 abuse disorders.
· A family member is ill or 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 abuse disorders.
· The employee, or a family member, is the victim of domestic violence, sex offense, or human trafficking.
· The employee’s place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
· The employee needs to care for a family member whose school, class, or place of care has been closed.
· An 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 employee:
o To stay at home to minimize the transmission of a communicable disease,
o To remain at home while experiencing symptoms or sick with a communicable disease,
o To obey a quarantine order issued to the employee, or
o To obey an isolation order issued to the employee
Wage Theft:
The ordinance also establishes that wage theft is prohibited under city law. Wage theft includes the non-payment of any wages required for work performed, paid time off (whether required by law or contract), and employee benefits (required by contract). Employees may seek redress for wage theft by filing a claim with the Office of Labor Standards or in a civil action. Employers that are found to have violated the law would be liable for unpaid wages as well as damages. In the required notice that employers are required to post and provide to employees, information on the ability to seek redress for wage theft must be included.
New Notice and Poster Requirements:
The amendments retain the current requirement to post and distribute a notice of rights under the ordinance. However, the notice / poster has been revised to inform covered employees of their ability to seek redress for wage theft.
Compliance Recommendations:
Employers with employees working in Chicago should update leave policies and forms to comply with the amendments. Employers must also post and provide a revised notice effective August 1, 2021 to covered new hires and then redistribute the notice each following year with a paycheck issued within 30 days of July 1. Our onboarding application has been updated to include the updated notice. A copy of the poster/notice can be found here.
Please contact your dedicated service professional with any questions.