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The measure passed in January 2023 and took effect last month.
It mandates that every employee in the state gets up to 40 hours
of paid leave a year, or one hour of leave for every 40 hours
worked.
Starting on March 31, or 90 days following commencement of
employment, the Illinois Department of Labor announced workers
can begin using their earned time off for any reason “without
the requirement of providing documentation to their employer.”
Business groups largely opposed the measure.
During a Joint Committee on Administrative Rules hearing last
week, state Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, told the department
it did poor outreach to minority business groups.
“And that’s a problem. Because the diversity of this state
should be reflective of your outreach,” Tarver said.
Tuesday, the Illinois Municipal League’s Brad Cole promoted
legislation to exempt municipalities.
“We think that this is something, not unlike all the private
businesses and other entities out there, it’s going to have a
financial impact,” Cole said. “Also, just the administrative
impact on local governments. Some of these communities are very
small. They don’t have the big back office to do stuff and it’s
going to be tough to comply. We’re trying to comply
nonetheless.”
Cole said the department improperly changed the law through rule
making.
During JCAR’s hearing last week, the Illinois Department of
Labor said municipalities had to approve paid leave before Jan.
1 to be exempt.
State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, said to expect a fight.
“I can’t speak for IML but from what I can read in their
concerns, they have every intention of challenging this at every
level,” DeWitte said.
The rules for the act are on hold until JCAR meets next month.
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