The City of Chicago and Cook County have each passed “Paid Sick Leave” ordinances that go into effect July 1, 2017. 

Employers with employees in Chicago (but not other parts of Cook County) need only comply with the City of Chicago ordinance.  Employers with employees in Cook County municipalities other than Chicago need only comply with the Cook County ordinance, although certain Cook County municipalities have opted out of the Cook County ordinance (see list below of municipalities that have NOT opted out).  Employers with locations and employees in both Chicago and other Cook County municipalities would need to comply with both ordinances as applicable to specific employees.

We have been monitoring the ordinances for some time, but there has been a delay in the finalization of the interpretative rules by Cook County and the City of Chicago.  Cook County recently finalized its regulations (which are 46 pages long and more complex than anticipated), but the City of Chicago has not. We expect the City of Chicago to issue final rules within the next week.

Cook County Municipalities That Have NOT Opted Out
Barrington Hills (partly in Kane, Lake, and McHenry Counties)
Bensenville (partly in DuPage County)
Berwyn
Blue Island
Broadview
Brookfield
Burnham
Calumet City
Calumet Park
Chicago Heights
Chicago Ridge
Cicero
Country Club Hills
Countryside
Deer Park (partly in Lake County)
Deerfield (partly in Lake County)
Des Plaines
Dixmoor
Dolton
East Dundee (partly in Kane County)
Elmhurst (partly in DuPage County)
Evanston
Flossmoor
Ford Heights
Forest Park
Forest View
Frankfort (partly in Will County)
Franklin Park
Glencoe
Glenwood
Golf
Harvey
Hazel Crest
Hinsdale (partly in DuPage County)
Hometown
Indian Head Park
Inverness
Kenilworth
La Grange
Lansing
Lemont (partly in DuPage County and Will County)
Lyons
Markham
Matteson (partly in Will County)
McCook
Merrionette Park
Midlothian
North Riverside
Northfield
Oak Brook (partly in DuPage County)
Oak Park
Olympia Fields
Palos Hills
Park Forest (partly in Will County)
Park Ridge
Phoenix
Posen
Prospect Heights
Richton Park
Riverdale
Robbins
Roselle (partly in DuPage County)
Sauk Village (partly in Will County)
Schiller Park
Skokie
South Chicago Heights
South Holland
Steger (partly in Will County)
Stickney
Stone Park
Thornton
University Park (partly in Will County)
Westchester
Willow Springs (partly in DuPage County)
Wilmette
Winnetka

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