City Council delays start of new paid time off requirements for Chicago workers until July
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Barely a month after expanding paid time off requirements for Chicago workers, the City Council on Wednesday voted to delay implementation of the new law by six months.
On Nov. 9, the City Council voted 36-12 to provide up to five days of paid sick leave a year and five days of paid time off for any other reason annually. Those requirements were set to go into effect on Dec. 31, 2023, but on Wednesday, alderpeople voted unanimously to push back the start date for expanded time off until July 1, 2024.
Until the new paid time off requirements begin, Chicago employees will still be eligible for previously existing paid sick leave rules, which allow workers to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, or about five days a year.
In pushing back the expansion of paid leave, the city also agreed to delay a provision granting workers the right to sue employers over violations of the ordinance until July 1, 2025. In addition, between July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2026, employers would be given a 16-day "cure period" to fix any problems with paid leave requirements before a lawsuit could be filed.
The City Council also approved a measure requiring that employees work at least 80 hours within any 120-day period before the paid leave requirements kick in for them. Once a worker reaches that threshold, they would be covered by the paid leave requirements for as long as they work for the same employer. That provision was added to avoid having the paid leave rules apply to out-of-town workers who are only visiting Chicago to work at trade shows or conventions.
The city's leading business groups have opposed the paid leave requirements, particularly rules mandating most employers pay out workers for unused vacation time.
Employers would not be required to pay out for any workers' unused sick leave when they leave the job. As for other paid time off, small employers with 50 or fewer workers would not have to pay out unused paid time off, and employers with 51 to 100 workers would have to pay out up to two days of unused paid time off in 2024, and all unused paid time off starting in 2025. Employers with more than 100 workers would have to pay out any unused paid time off when employers leave the job as soon as the new requirements go into effect.
Once the new rules go into effect next July, violations of paid sick leave or other paid time off requirements could result in fines between $500 and $3,000 per violation per day.
