As you may know, the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act takes effect on January 1, 2024. This Act will require most Illinois employers to provide covered employees, including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees, with up to 40 hours of paid leave per year which may be used for any reason. Among other requirements, the Act contains specific notice and roll-over provisions and requires that employees be permitted to take leave in no greater than two (2) hour increments. These statutory leave provisions are very different than those provided in many existing employer policies.
In light of this, employers should consider that there is a “grandfather” provision in the Act for existing leave policies if the policy allows all employees to take up to 40 hours of paid leave for any reason. Policies that are grandfathered in under the Act do not have to comply with other, possibly more stringent, notice and time increment requirements under that Act. As such, we are encouraging all employers to update their leave policies by December 31, 2023.
To be effective, we recommend that existing policies include specific language referencing the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act AND provide for all Illinois employees (including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary) to earn up to 40 hours of paid time off per year which can be taken for any reason. These revisions may vary depending on your current policy language. However, if an existing policy does not comply with these minimal requirements of the Act by December 31, 2023, the employer will likely have to comply with all provisions of the Act as of January 1, 2024.
Please note that we have been reviewing this legislation for some time, but only very recently has the Department of Labor issued applicable proposed Regulations and FAQs. If you have any questions about these new requirements or possible revisions to your current leave policy, please contact us.
