CBS News reports that Illinois will soon have the nation’s most sweeping paid leave law, effective Jan 1 next year.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paid-leave-for-all-workers-illinois/
Expansive paid leave legislation, known as the Paid Leave For All Workers Act, requiring Illinois employers to give workers time off based on hours worked, to be used for any reason, is ready for action by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who said he will sign it. The Act passed both chambers of the Illinois legislature on January 10. — Source: CBS News.
Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., require employers offer paid sick leave via similar laws, although employees may only use it for health-related issues. What sets Illinois’ new legislation apart is workers won’t have to explain the reason for their absence as long as they provide notice in accordance with reasonable employer standards.
Maine and Nevada also allow workers to decide how to use their time, but substantial exemptions apply. Maine’s Earned Paid Leave law only applies to employers with more than 10 employees, and Nevada’s exempts businesses with less than 50. Illinois’ will reach nearly all employees and has no limit based on the business size. – CBS News
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The Illinois bill lets employers require seven days of notice from workers before taking time off, but only for time-off needs that are foreseeable, presumably excluding a worker’s or their child’s sickness. The measure protects workers from discipline or retaliation for using time off, and companies have limited ability to ask for documentation of the reason for the absence.
“Someone could call off on a Friday last minute and say, ‘I’m not coming in today. I decided to pick up and go to Vegas,’” and the employer would have little or no recourse, Mills-Gallan said. “The possibilities for misuse or abuse are endless.”
Employers are hoping for guidance from the Illinois Department of Labor to clarify how that provision would be applied and whether businesses will have any power to enforce the seven-day notice, she said.
From workers’ perspective, the limited notice requirement for unforeseeable time off is important, because without it taking time off for unexpected sickness or a child’s school closure would be difficult or impossible, Reddy said.
