Cook County Ordinance 16-O-35 grants up to 5 paid sick days per year, but the same suburbs that opted out of the county minimum wage in 2017 also rejected this paid-leave mandate.
The Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance, passed in 2016 and effective July 2017, requires covered employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave per 40 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year. Workers can use leave for personal illness, family care, domestic violence recovery, or public-health closures. Roughly the same 70 suburbs that opted out of the minimum wage also opted out of paid leave. Unincorporated Cook and opt-in municipalities are covered. Note: Illinois enacted the Paid Leave for All Workers Act effective January 2024, providing 40 hours statewide, which now sets a floor even in opt-out suburbs.
Non-compliant covered employers owe restitution of unpaid sick time plus civil penalties up to $500 per violation. Complaints go to Cook County Commission on Human Rights or Illinois Department of Labor.
See how Evanston's paid leave preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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