Seyfarth Synopsis: The Illinois General Assembly will consider the proposed Healthy Workplace Act which, if passed into law, will require most Illinois employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees.

Illinois legislators have caught the paid sick leave bug that has been going around the Country. Sponsors from both chambers of the Illinois legislature have introduced a bill called the Healthy Workplace Act which, if adopted, will mandate paid sick leave for Illinois workers.

Under the proposed law (House Bill 2771/Senate Bill 1296), employees would be entitled to a minimum of five “paid sick days” each year to: (1) care for their own physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition, or seek medical diagnosis or care; (2) care for family member for the same reasons; (3) attend a medical appointment for themselves or family members; (4) miss work due to a public health emergency; or (5) miss work because the employee or a family member has experienced domestic violence abuse.

Employees would accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked. This includes FLSA-exempt employees, who would be deemed to work 40 hours each week for accrual purposes in most cases.

There is some potential for tension if and when the new law is passed.

For instance:

• Employees will be entitled to determine how much sick time they need to use, but employers will be allowed to set a “reasonable minimum increment” which cannot exceed four hours per day;
• Employers will also be able to ask for “certification” of the illness, injury, or health condition when employees take paid sick leave for three consecutive workdays. However, “[a]ny reasonable documentation” will suffice if it meets certain criteria;
• Employers must treat the health information of both employees and their family members confidentially, and cannot disclose this information without the employee’s permission;
• Paid sick days must be provided at the employee’s oral request, but if need for a sick day is foreseeable, the employee must give at least seven days’ notice before leave begins. If need for a sick day is not foreseeable, however, then employees should provide notice “as soon as is practicable”;
• And finally, while employers must not discriminate or retaliate against employees for using paid sick leave, they may discipline employees for abusing paid sick leave.

The Bill, which has accumulated dozens of co-sponsors in both houses, was presented for a second reading on March 29, 2017. Stay tuned for further developments.