Cook County Adopts Its Own Paid Leave Ordinance Covering School Districts, Community Colleges, Park Districts, and Units of Local Government
Cook County Adopts Its Own Paid Leave Ordinance Covering School Districts, Community Colleges, Park Districts, and Units of Local Government
Dec 28, 2023
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On December 14, 2023, the Cook County Board of Commissioners adopted a Paid Leave Ordinance, which closely mirrors the State’s Paid Leave for All Workers Act. The Paid Leave Ordinance requires Cook County employers to provide employees with up to 40 hours of paid leave during a 12-month period on an accrual or frontload basis. While the State’s Paid Leave for All Workers Act expressly excludes school districts and park districts, Cook County’s Paid Leave Ordinance does not. The Cook County Commission on Human Rights, the agency tasked with enforcing the Paid Leave Ordinance, recently confirmed that the Paid Leave Ordinance does not exempt school districts, community colleges, park districts, or units of local government, and that the intention of the Paid Leave Ordinance is to cover municipal employees as well private sector employees.
The Paid Leave Ordinance takes effect on December 31, 2023, however the County’s enforcement of the Ordinance will not begin until February 1, 2024. Also, similar to State law, the Paid Leave Ordinance grandfathers collective bargaining agreements in effect on or before January 1, 2024, until they next expire, at which time they either need to comply with the Paid Leave Ordinance or include express waiver language.
The Cook County Government website indicates that the County will provide updated notices and FAQs prior to January 1, 2024. Further, the County will adopt interpretive and procedural rules for its enforcement of the Paid Leave Ordinance in early 2024.
Similar to Cook County’s Earned Sick Leave Ordinance which took effect on July 1, 2017, home rule municipalities may opt out of the Paid Leave Ordinance. Many home rule municipalities opted out of the Earned Sick Leave Ordinance on behalf of all employers operating within their territorial limits.
Please contact your Robbins Schwartz attorney to discuss strategies to address the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance. In the meantime, Robbins Schwartz will continue to provide updates as notices, FAQs, and proposed rules as they become available.
