December 29, 2023
Changes to Chicago’s Paid Leave Ordinance
On December 6, 2023 we reported to you that the City of Chicago had passed the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) that significantly expanded employer requirements to provide paid leave to employees.
Shortly after that communication, on December 13, 2023, the City passed an amendment to the Ordinance that contained a number of revisions, including delaying the effective date of the Ordinance from January 1, 2024 to July 1, 2024. With the delayed effective date, the accrual of paid leave and paid sick time will begin on July 1, 2024, instead of January 1, 2024 with other deadlines in the previous ordinance being similarly delayed.
Although the effective date has been delayed six months, employers should take steps now to ensure compliance. Under the Ordinance, a few steps that employers still must complete include:
- posting a notice regarding the new leave requirements;
- adopting a policy (or revising a current policy) explaining paid time off and paid sick time leave rights and responsibilities; and
- ensuring that payroll practices are ready to begin the record-keeping requirements necessary under the ordinance.
Employers should also use the time provided by the delayed effective date to make strategic determinations regarding policy implementation such as whether the employer will frontload employee paid time (or implement an accrual process for paid leave) and whether it makes sense to maintain two separate policies or combine time-off policies into one uniform policy that would address both types of leave.
In sum, for employers with Chicago based employees, the delayed implementation of the Ordinance provides a time cushion that should be used to ensure a successful, compliant implementation of the Ordinance’s requirements. Employers should also be mindful and prepared for the Illinois Paid Leave for all Workers Act that also takes effect in January 2024 for those workers that are not Chicago based.
