Paid Leave for All Workers Act FAQ

Public school districts organized under the School Code are exempt from the Act. A private school, not organized under the school code, is not exempt from the Act. (See 820 ILCS 192/10.)

Yes, employers located in jurisdictions that have opted out of a local paid leave law or ordinance are required to comply with the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act.

An employer who already offers paid leave benefits that meet the minimum requirements of the Act does not have to add additional time.

The Act doesn’t distinguish between part time, full time, or seasonal employees. Both full-time and part-time workers are covered by this Act.

Yes, an employer may front-load paid leave time by giving a full year’s worth of leave that meets the minimum requirements of the Act to an employee at the beginning of the year.

Yes, an employer may require their employees to accrue paid leave time based on number of hours worked, at a rate of one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked.  

Notably, while a part-time worker might not accrue the full 40 hours of leave provided for in the law by the end of the year, they might accrue fewer hours of leave, based on the number hours they’ve worked.   

Example: Employee A works 15 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. They will accrue 19.5 hours of paid leave annually.  (15 times 52 = 780 hours worked per year. 780 divided by 40 = 19.5 hours of paid leave.) 

The Act takes effect January 1, 2024. Accrual begins upon beginning employment or January 1, 2024, whichever is later. However, employees are entitled to begin using the accrued paid leave after 90 days.   

The first day employees could take off time that has accrued since January 1, 2024 would be March 31, 2024. 

Example: The Paid Leave for All Workers Act takes effect January 1, 2024. Six months later, Employee B starts a new job on July 1, 2024, and works 40 hours per week. They start accruing paid leave on their first day (July 1) but must wait 90 days (until September 29, 2024) before taking any of their accrued paid leave. 

Example: Employee C has worked for their employer since 2019 but did not previously get paid time off. Employee C will begin accruing paid time off beginning January 1, 2024 (the effective date of the Act.)  

Employees (including but not limited to those commonly known as “salaried employees”) who are exempt from the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)) shall be deemed to work 40 hours in each workweek for purposes of paid leave time accrual if they regularly work 40 or more hours in a workweek. If such employee’s regular workweek is less than 40 hours, their paid leave time accrues based on the number of hours in their regular workweek.

An employer may only make an employee repay borrowed accrued leave if that policy is disclosed in the employer’s written paid leave policy and the employee agrees to that policy in writing prior to taking any leave. All payroll deductions must comply with the requirements of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.

No, an employer may not make an employee repay paid leave time that was frontloaded at the beginning of the 12-month period. Benefits that have already been provided may not be retroactively diminished. 

Yes, an employer can choose to provide leave in smaller, proportional, increments, as long as the rate of benefit is at least 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked. 

To determine whether a specific employer’s unlimited PTO policy is compliant with this Act would require a fact-specific analysis upon complaint or formal investigation. One factor the Department would consider in such analysis would be whether the employee in question actually did, or had the ability to, freely take the full 40 hours in a year, consistent with the Act and the Rules.  Another factor would be whether the employees were paid their normal rate of pay for time they took off. This is not an exhaustive list of factors the Department may consider.

Employers of day and temporary laborers are not exempted from the Act. Employers should consider their obligations under the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act and the principles of joint employment. 

PLAW does not require payout of unused leave unless the leave is credited to the employee’s paid time off bank or employee vacation account; however, employers should additionally consider their vacation payout obligations under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.