Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed paid-leave legislation March 13, mandating that all employees are entitled to paid time off. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2024.
Essentially, any worker in the state is entitled to at least 40 hours of paid leave per 12-month period and allowed to begin using their time after 90 days of employment. The 40 hours can be granted all at once or accrued at one hour per every 40 hours of work.
“Today, we will become the third state in the nation to require paid time off, and the first among the largest states,” Pritzker said in a statement.
Starting on March 31, 2024, or 90 days after starting at a job, workers can begin using their earned time off for any reason without the requirement of providing documentation to their employer under the Paid Leave for Workers Act.
This new law applies to every employee working for an employer in Illinois but excludes independent contractors. The city of Chicago and Cook County have an existing paid sick leave ordinance in place; employees and employers there are subject to those ordinances.
Illinois Farm Bureau anticipates the Illinois Department of Labor in the coming months will provide details and interpret how the requirements will work.