Business & Work

Paid leave for all workers

The Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA) requires most Illinois employers to provide employees with a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave during each 12-month period. If you are covered by this law, you may take paid leave for any reason. You are not required to provide a reason or documentation for the leave.

Covered employers and employees

PLAWA applies to most Illinois employers. The law does not apply to public school districts or park districts.

PLAWA covers both part-time and full-time employees. If you work part-time, you may accrue or earn less leave time than a full-time employee.

There are some employees who are not covered under the law, including:

• Employees as defined in the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or the Railway Labor Act,
• Temporary college or university student-employees,
• Certain short-term employees of an institution of higher learning,
• Employees in the construction industry who are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and
• Certain employees covered by collective bargaining agreements that provide shipment services.

PLAWA does not apply to properly classified independent contractors. 

PLAWA also does not apply to employees covered by local ordinances requiring paid leave. Depending on where you work, a local ordinance may apply. The City of Chicago and Cook County recently passed new paid leave ordinances. More information is included below.

How is the time earned and used?

Employees earn one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours in a 12-month period. You can use your paid leave 90 days after you start accruing hours. 

You should follow your employer's procedures for requesting leave. If the leave is not foreseeable, you should tell your employer as soon as possible.

You are not required to find a replacement worker for your leave.

You can carry over or roll over unused, accrued leave from one year to the next. Some employers may "front load" paid leave by giving you a full year's worth of leave at the beginning of the year. If your employer front loads paid leave, they do not have to carry over that leave.

An employer does not have to offer more than 40 hours of paid leave in a year, but they can choose to offer more.   

If you believe you were wrongly denied leave under PLAWA, you can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor. 

City of Chicago Paid Leave Ordinance

Any employee working in the city of Chicago for at least 80 hours within any 120-day period will earn paid leave and sick leave hours. Once you meet the 80-hour requirement, you will stay a covered employee as long as you work for your employer. Properly classified independent contractors are not eligible for paid time off benefits under the Chicago Paid Leave Ordinance.

For every 35 hours worked, you will earn at least:

• One hour of general paid leave, and
• One hour of paid sick leave.

Only hours worked within the city of Chicago count toward the accrual of paid leave and paid sick leave.

As an employee, you can earn up to 10 days of paid leave a year. The days will include 5 days of general paid leave and 5 days of paid sick leave. General paid leave can be used for any reason. An employer may not require the employee to provide documentation or certification of the need for use of paid leave. 

Employers may require you to confirm in writing that you used paid sick leave for permitted purposes. Also, an employer may require certification from a medical or service provider of the need for leave after you use three consecutive workdays of paid sick leave. But, an employer cannot require this before three consecutive workdays have passed. 

Unless an employer front loads paid leave hours, employees are allowed to carry over unused, accrued paid leave from one year to the next. Employees are allowed to carry over up to 16 hours of accrued but unused paid leave. Employees are allowed to carry over unused, accrued paid sick leave from one year to the next regardless of whether the time is front loaded or accrued. Employees are allowed to carry over up to 80 hours of paid sick leave.

These rules apply to all employers who have at least one employee working in the city of Chicago. It doesn’t matter if the employer is located in Chicago or not.

If your employer is covered under the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance and amending ordinance, then PLAWA will not apply.

If you leave your job or transfer outside of the city of Chicago, you may be eligible for a payout of your general paid leave, depending on the size of your employer. Employers with less than 50 employees are not required to pay. Medium-sized employers with 51-100 covered employees will need to begin paying out up to 16 hours of unused paid leave starting July 1, 2025.

Learn more on the City of Chicago's website. 

Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance

The Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance requires that employees in Cook County earn at least one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked. As an employee, you can earn and use up to 40 hours of paid leave in 12 months. Your employer can decide to provide more than 40 hours. The Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance applies in all municipalities within Cook County, except Chicago, unless a municipality has opted into PLAWA or has an equivalent ordinance.

Paid leave can be used for any reason. You don’t have to share your reason for taking time off with your employer. Your employer cannot retaliate against you for using your leave time.