New Minimum Wage And Sick Leave Requirements Become Effective July 1 For Employers In Chicago And Cook County, Illinois

Beginning July 1, 2017, employers in the City of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois will be required to offer to their employees up to five days of paid sick leave per year. In addition to its adoption of sick leave requirements, Cook County has also adopted its own minimum wage ordinance which is also effective July 1, 2017 (Chicago enacted its minimum wage ordinance effective July 2015). Due to the inclusion of an opt-out provision, many municipalities within Cook County have affirmatively opted out of Cook County’s paid sick leave law and minimum wage requirements, meaning employers located within the boundaries of an opt-out municipality do not need to provide paid sick leave or comply with the County minimum wage requirements. However, even if you are located in an opt-out municipality, if you receive certain property tax incentives or conduct business with Cook County, you may still be required to follow the County ordinance or risk losing the tax incentive or business with the County. If your business is located in the City of Chicago, you must follow Chicago’s paid sick leave and minimum wage requirements. Both the City and County ordinances require notices to be posted and separately provided to covered employees. Additionally, the Chicago sick leave and minimum wage notices must be provided with the first paycheck issued to employees after July 1, 2017. The Cook County sick leave notice may be found here and the minimum wage notice here. The Chicago sick leave notice may be found here and the minimum wage notice may be found here. Please contact your servicing attorney to confirm whether or not the Cook County paid sick leave and minimum wage requirements apply to you and to ensure your business is prepared to comply with these new City and County requirements.