FAQs & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Most workers who live in Illinois will now be eligible. However, some industries are excluded from the law, like school and park districts, as well as some college and university employees.
If you work in Chicago or Cook County, you might be eligible for different paid leave rights. Check out our city information for more. County information is coming soon.
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For every 40 hours you work, you can earn 1 hour of paid leave to be used in the future. Workers can earn up to 40 hours/5 paid days off a year. So, if you work 40 hours a week, you will earn 1 hour of paid leave each week. If you work 20 hours, it will take 2 weeks to earn 1 hour of paid leave.
While you will begin earning your leave on January 1, 2024 (or whenever you are hired), your employer is allowed to make you wait up to 90 days before you can use the leave.
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You can use paid leave for any reason. Maybe you need to take care of yourself or a friend or family members. Maybe you want to catch your child’s school play. Maybe you want to take a vacation. No matter the reason, you can use your earned paid leave!
Your employer cannot retaliate against you for taking your time off. They also cannot make you find a replacement.
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If the reason you are taking your paid leave is foreseeable—like a vacation or planned appointment—your employer can require up to 7 days of notice. If you need to take leave suddenly or unexpectedly, your employer may require notice as soon as possible before the start of your shift. Make sure you know your employer’s policy on notice.
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If you work in Chicago or Cook County, you might be eligible for different paid leave rights. Download our fact sheet to learn which rights apply to you, and check out our city website for more on your rights in Chicago.
Resources
No matter where you work in Illinois, you have a right to some form of paid leave as of January 1, 2024. Download our fact sheet (descargue nuestra hoja informativa en español) to understand what kind of leave you quality for and how to use it!
These reports demonstrate that paid sick days are a public health imperative, an economic necessity, and a moral obligation.
Enacting Paid Sick Leave in Illinois: The COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights the Need for Paid Sick Leave
According to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal, paid sick leave costs little to employers, but has substantial economic and public health benefits.
Work sick or lose pay?: The high cost of being sick when you don’t get paid sick days
This report from the Economic Policy Institute found that a lack of paid sick days deprives workers of the money they need for basic necessities.
Chicago Working Families Task Force report
The report from the Working Families Task Force, which recommended paid sick days and helped usher in paid sick days in the city and county.
