(A) General provisions.
(1) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply.
EMPLOYER and EMPLOYEE. As used in this chapter, shall have the same meanings as in 820 ILCS 192/10.
PAID SICK LEAVE. Time that is provided by an employer to an employee that is eligible to be used for the purposes described in division (A)(2) of this section, and is compensated at the same rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, that the covered employee regularly earns during hours worked.
(2) Paid sick leave.
(a) General provisions. Upon an employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment, the covered employee’s employer is not required to provide financial or other reimbursement for unused paid sick leave.
(b) Accrual of paid sick leave.
1. Paid sick leave shall begin to accrue either on the first calendar day after the commencement of a covered employee’s employment or January 1, 2024, whichever is later.
2. For every 160 hours worked after a covered employee’s paid sick leave begins to accrue, the covered employee shall accrue one hour of paid sick leave. Paid sick leave shall accrue only in hourly increments; there shall be no fractional accruals.
3. A covered employee who is exempt from overtime requirements shall be assumed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes of paid sick leave accrual, unless the covered employee’s normal work week is less than 40 hours, in which case paid sick leave shall accrue based upon that normal work week.
4. For each covered employee, there shall be a cap of 12 hours paid sick leave accrued per 12-month period, unless the employer sets a higher limit. The 12-month period for a covered employee shall be calculated from the date the covered employee began to accrue paid sick leave.
5. At the end of a covered employee’s 12-month accrual period, the covered employee shall be allowed to carry over to the following 12-month period half of the covered employee’s unused accrued paid sick leave, up to a maximum of 12 hours.
6. If an employer has a policy that grants employees paid time off in an amount and a manner that meets the requirements for paid sick leave under this section, the employer is not required to provide additional paid leave. If such employer’s policy awards the full complement of paid time off immediately upon date of eligibility, rather than using an accrual model, the employer must award each employee 12 hours paid time off within one calendar year of the employee’s date of eligibility.
7. Unused paid sick leave shall be retained by the employee if the employer sells, transfers, or otherwise assigns the business to another employer and the employee continues to work in the city.
(c) Use of paid sick leave.
1. An employer shall allow an employee to begin using paid sick leave no later than on the 180th calendar day following the commencement of the employee’s employment. An employee is entitled to use no more than 12 hours of paid sick leave per 12-month period, unless the covered employee’s employer sets a higher limit. The 12-month period for an employee shall be calculated from the date the employee began to accrue paid sick leave. Within these limitations, employee shall be allowed to determine how much accrued paid sick leave the employee needs to use, provided that the employer may set a reasonable minimum increment requirement not to exceed four hours per day.
2. An employee may use paid sick leave when:
a. 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 use disorders;
b. A member of the employee’s family is ill, 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 use disorders.
3. An employer shall not require, as a condition of an employee taking paid sick leave, that the employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is on paid sick leave.
4. If an employee’s need for paid sick leave is reasonably foreseeable, an employer may require up to seven days’ notice before leave is taken. If the need for paid sick leave is not reasonably foreseeable, an employer may require an employee to give notice as soon as is practicable on the day the employee intends to take paid sick leave by notifying the employer.
5. Where an employee is absent for more than three consecutive work days, the employee’s employer may require certification that the use of paid sick leave was appropriate; documentation signed by a licensed health care provider shall satisfy this requirement. An employer shall not require that such documentation specify the nature of the employee’s or the employee’s family member’s injury, illness, or condition, except as required by law.
6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an employer from taking disciplinary action, up to and including termination, against an employee who uses paid sick leave for purposes other than those described in this section.
(d) This section provides minimum paid sick leave requirements; it shall not be construed to affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater paid sick leave benefits.
(3) Application to collective bargaining agreements. Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of work in excess of the applicable minimum standards of the provisions of this subchapter.
(4) Violation; penalty. Any employer who violates this subchapter or any rule promulgated thereunder shall be subject to a fine of not less than $150 nor more than $300 for each offense. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense to which a separate fine shall apply.
(5) Retention of records. Each employer shall maintain for at least three years, or for the duration of any claim, civil action, or investigation pending pursuant to this chapter, whichever is longer, a record of each employee’s name and addresses, hours worked, and records necessary to demonstrate compliance with this subchapter. Failure to maintain these records shall create a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this subchapter for the periods for which records were not retained for each employee. Each employer shall provide each employee a copy of the records relating to such employee upon the employee’s reasonable request.
(B) Pursuant to the city’s home rule authority, the city hereby declares that all employers within the city are, with respect to all employees within the city, exempt from the requirements of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (820 ILCS 192/1 et seq.).
(Ord. 2023-09, passed 12-11-2023)