Illinois passed the Employee Sick Leave Act ("ESLA") in 2017, requiring all employers with at least one employee working in Illinois to provide their employees with up to five sick days per year, depending on the employer size and yearly revenue. The Act enables employees to use their accrued sick leave for the authorized purposes, including seeking medical care, attending to a sick family member, being absent due to domestic or sexual violence, and school meetings for a child, among others.
Under the law, employers cannot retaliate or discriminate against employees for using their sick leave, nor can they require employees to find a replacement worker for their shift or work overtime to make up for time missed. Moreover, employers must provide notice of an employee's entitlement to the ESLA, inclusive of the number of days to which they are entitled, and the operative conditions entitling employees and their accrual rate.
There are some exceptions to the required provision of sick leave under the Act. For instance, if a collective bargaining agreement is in place, it may permit employees to waive their rights set forth in the Act, provided that they mutually agree to other leave provisions. Furthermore, employers can provide paid personal days instead of sick days, in which case those days would be subject to the same restriction as those given under the Act.
In conclusion, employers in Illinois have legal obligations to provide their employees with up to five paid sick days per year based on the number of employees and their yearly revenue. They cannot retaliate or discriminate against employees for using their sick leave, nor can they make replacement workers mandatory. Employers must also provide notice of the employees' rights to the ESLA. Exceptions such as collective bargaining agreements or having paid personal days may modify the employers' legal obligations regarding employee sick leave.
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