Paid Employee Sick Leave Ordinance in Cook County and Chicago

Both Cook County and the City of Chicago have passed ordinances that require employers to provide employees with a certain amount of paid sick leave. In Cook County, the ordinance is called the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance. In the City of Chicago, the ordinance is called the City of Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. These ordinances are both in effect now, and the location of your chiropractic office will determine which ordinance you will be required to follow (if any).

The ordinances are very similar. Therefore, we have outlined the general requirements of the two ordinances below.

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Do these ordinances apply to my office?

Outside of Cook County:

We are unaware of any additional city or county ordinances that cover sick leave in counties or cities other than Cook County and the City of Chicago. If you are outside of Cook County, the remaining portion of this article does not apply to you.

Cook County:

The ordinance covers any employees who work for compensation, for a minimum of two hours in any two-week period, and/or physically present within Cook County. The ordinance does provide for some exceptions that include but are not limited to certain individuals under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, independent contractors, and individuals under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

City of Chicago:

Requires an employer who maintains a business facility within the City of Chicago and/or is required to obtain a business license to operate in the city is required to provide its employees with paid sick leave. Any employee who works at least 80 hours within any 120-day period is eligible for the required paid sick leave.

General Provisions of the Cook County Ordinance and City of Chicago Ordinance

Most of the ordinance provisions are similar:

• Accrual of Earned Leave: Under the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, employees accrue their sick leave over time worked. An employee earns 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked up to a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick leave earned in one year. As an alternative to calculating sick leave earned over time, the employer can provide 40 hours of paid sick leave at the beginning of a 12-month period to employees.
• Carry Over of Unused Benefits: Employers are required to allow the employees to carry over up to ½ of the sick leave earned or 20 hours of paid sick leave per 12-month period. However, employees are not able to use more than 40 hours of paid sick leave per 12-month period. Employers subject to the Family Medical Leave Act (i.e., 50 employers are more) have additional requirements regarding employee time carry over.
• Employee Uses of Sick Leave: Both ordinances allow for employees to use their time for ten different reasons that include but not limited to: the employee is physically or mentally ill, employee is a victim of domestic violence, employee’s family member is sick or ill, and an employee’s child’s school or place of care has been closed by a government official due to a
  public health emergency.
• Earliest Use Policy: Requires that employers allow an employee to use their paid sick leave no later than 180 days after the employee began working for an employer.
•  Notification Policy: Under both ordinances, employers are allowed to establish a notification policy for employee absences. In CookCounty, the Commission requires the policies to be in writing for both foreseeable and unforeseeable absences. Also, Cook County and the City of Chicago allow for the employer to require documentation signed by a licensed health care professional for an employee who has used their time for more than three consecutive work days (includes chiropractic physicians).
• Employee Replacement: Both ordinances prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to find their own work replacement during their absence.
• Recordkeeping: Employers are required to proper recordkeeping which includes but is not limited to employee information, the number of hours earned by an employee, and the number of hours used by an employee.
• Posting Notices: Employers are required to post notices in a prominent location. Posting notices for both ordinances can be found in the ICS Article “Required Posters and Information.”

Cook County Specific Information

Cook County has a much more detailed ordinance and can be even more complex when it comes to an office regulated by the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, the vast majority of our member offices are not covered under FMLA. Please call the ICS office if your office is covered by FMLA.

Additionally, in Cook County, several municipalities have opted out of the earned sick leave ordinance. Of the approximately 130 municipalities in Cook County, over 80 of them have opted out of the ordinance. Chiropractic physicians practicing in Cook County will need to contact either the Village Clerk or the City Clerk of the municipality of which they practice to find out if their municipality has opted out of the Cook CountyEarned Sick Leave Ordinance.

For more information, on the ordinance and to find the rules and regulations, please visit the website Cook County Earned Sick LeaveOrdinance.

For more information, on the ordinance and find the rules and regulations, please visit the City of Chicago Business Affairs and Consumer Protection website regarding Paid Sick Leave.