Background
Effective August 1, 2021, Chicago has made amendments to its paid sick leave ordinance, expanding the covered reasons for taking paid sick leave and creating new wage theft protections.
Summary
The amended law allows employees to take leave for the following reasons:
- The employee is ill or injured or receiving professional care, including preventative care, diagnosis, or treatment for medical or behavioral issues, including substance abuse disorders.
- A member of the employee’s family is ill, injured, or ordered to quarantine, or the employee needs to care for a family member receiving professional care, including preventative care, diagnosis, or treatment for medical or behavioral issues, including substance abuse disorders.
- The employee, or a member of the employee’s family, is the victim of domestic violence, sexual offense, or trafficking
- The employee’s place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or the employee needs to care for a family member whose school, class, or place of care has been closed.
In addition, the amendments create a new basis to take paid leave:
- Obeying an isolation or quarantine order from a government or public health office or medical provider requiring employees to:
- Remain at home while experiencing symptoms of a communicable disease
- Remain at home to minimize transmission of a communicable disease
The amendments also penalize employers that fail to provide paid sick leave. Employees are now allowed to bring claims of wage theft against their employers; noncompliance with the law is considered wage theft and is subject to a civil action or administrative enforcement.
Employers Next Steps
- Employers must include the New Employees Right to Redress in their required workplace posting on paid sick leave and minimum wages. If you are an HRK e-update poster client for Illinois, you should have already received the update notification from Poster Elite. If you have a remote workforce, you should email this poster, and then once you are physically back at work, display it in your workplace.
- If you are a Full-Service or Virtual HR client and would like our assistance with updating your policy, please email us.
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This content is provided with the understanding that HR Knowledge is not rendering legal advice. While every effort is made to provide current information, the law changes regularly and laws may vary depending on the state or municipality. The material is made available for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice or your professional judgment. You should review applicable laws in your jurisdiction and consult experienced counsel for legal advice. If you have any questions regarding this content, please contact HR Knowledge at 508.339.1300 or email us.
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