Paid Sick Leave Policy
(Cook County)

Summary

This template is a paid sick leave policy that governs employees' entitlement to sick leave in Cook County, Illinois. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate clauses. Cook County maintains a sick leave ordinance which allows covered employees who work at least 80 hours for an employer within any 120-day period to be eligible for earned sick leave. See Cook County, Illinois Code of Ordinances Sec. 42-3(a)(1). Covered employee means any employee who, in any particular two-week period, performs at least two hours of work for an Employer while physically present within the geographic boundaries of Cook County. See Cook County. Cook County, Ill., Code § 42-2. This is specifically important to note because employees not located in Cook County may be subject to other sick leave ordinances. An employer is any entity or person, excluding government agencies, employing at least one covered employee, and maintaining a place of business within Cook County. Cook County, Ill., Code § 42-2. Employers must post—in a conspicuous place at every facility where covered employees work—a notice advising employees of their rights to paid sick leave. Cook County, Ill., Code § 42-6(a). Employers are also required to provide written notice of employees' rights to paid sick leave to new hires. Cook County, Ill., Code § 42-6(b). Recently, the state of Illinois adopted the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. This act marks a substantial increase for leave to which employees are entitled. However, the act does not "apply to any employer that is covered by a municipal or county ordinance" in effect as of January 1, 2024 that requires employers to provide any form of paid leave. Therefore, employees in Cook County will still be subject to the Cook County ordinance. This template is intended for private employers and may be included in an employee handbook or distributed as a standalone policy. Its language has been customized to comply with Cook County and federal law. As a result, the text of this template differs from the non-jurisdictional Paid Sick Leave Policy (with Acknowledgment). For a full listing of key content covering leaves for employees, see Leaves for Employees Resource Kit. For a full listing of key content covering employee handbook considerations, see Employee Handbook Resource Kit. For more information on Illinois and Cook County laws concerning paid sick leave, see Leave Law (IL), Leave Law (Chicago/Cook County), and Paid Sick Leave State and Local Law Survey (Private Employers). For information on drafting paid sick leave policies, see Sick Leave Policies: Key Drafting Tips, Paid Sick Leave Policies Checklist (Best Drafting Practices for Employers), Paid Time Off (PTO) Policies: Key Drafting Tips, and Attendance, Time-Off, and Leave of Absence Policies: Best Drafting and Administration Practices. For another model sick leave policy, see Sick Leave Policy. For a paid leave policy that is not limited to sick days, see Paid Time Off (PTO) and Sick Days Policy.