On December 14, 2023, the Cook County Board of Commissioners (“Board”) passed the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which converts the pre-existing Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance into an ordinance requiring general paid leave. Under the previous Earned Sick Leave Ordinance, employers were required to provide 40 hours of earned sick leave per year to all employees in Cook County. Starting on December 31, 2023, the new Paid Leave Ordinance will instead require employers to provide 40 hours of paid leave to be used for any reason.

The new Ordinance is modeled after the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA). Because the Board enacted this change prior to January 1, 2024, however, employers that are covered by this new Ordinance remain covered by this local law only, and not the PLAWA. This article outlines the key provisions of the new Ordinance and provides a side-by-side comparison of the differences between the Cook County Ordinance and the PLAWA.

Parallel Provisions

The Ordinance aligns with the PLAWA in the following key respects:

• Accrual Rate, Cap, & Carryover: Employees are entitled to accrue paid leave at a rate of at least one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours accrued in a year. Employers must allow carryover of unused time from one year to the next.¹ 

• Frontload: Instead of accruing time as work is performed, employers may frontload 40 hours of paid leave on the first day of the benefit year. Employers that frontload at least 40 hours of paid leave are relieved of the obligation to carry over unused time from one year to the next.

• Minimum Increment of Use: Employers may set a minimum increment of use of no more than two hours.

• Waiting Period: Employers may limit use of paid leave until an employee’s 90th day of employment.  Moreover, unless an employer decides to be more generous, employees are not entitled to use time under either law until 90 days following the effective date – March 30, 2024, for Cook County and March 31, 2024, for Illinois, respectively.

• Advance Notice: Employers may require up to seven days’ advance notice of a foreseeable need for paid leave and notice as soon as practicable for unforeseeable use of paid leave.

• Documentation: Employers may not require documentation for the use of paid leave.

• Existing Policy Exemption: Employers may use their pre-existing PTO-policies for compliance without modifying that policy if it: (1) provides employees with at least 40 hours of paid leave per year, which (2) can be used for any reason.

• Exemption for Employees Covered by Current CBA: Neither law affects the validity or changes the terms of a valid collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in effect on December 31, 2023. Following that date, the requirements of the PLAWA and the requirements of the Ordinance can be waived in a bona fide CBA if the waiver is set forth explicitly in the agreement in clear and unambiguous terms.

• Payout: As under the PLAWA, the new Cook County Ordinance states that employers are not required to pay employees for unused paid leave upon separation from employment. However, employers should consult with legal counsel to ensure they harmonize the Cook County provisions with their obligations to pay unused, earned paid time off under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act upon separation.

Key Differences

The new Ordinance is distinct from the PLAWA in a few key respects:²

Next Steps

The new Cook County Ordinance adds a new layer of complexity to Illinois’ ever-changing paid leave landscape, with little over two weeks left in the calendar year before these changes will take effect. The Cook County Commission on Human Rights (“Commission”) – the agency tasked with enforcement of this new Ordinance – is expected to engage in formal rulemaking over the coming months. Employers should monitor the Commission’s website, which has already been updated to reflect the change, for updated notices and informal guidance before December 31.