Chicago Grants Employees 10 Days of Paid Leave, Twice as Much as the Rest of Illinois

Chicago companies will soon be required to provide their employees with twice as many paid vacation days as those in the rest of Illinois, according to a new ordinance passed by the City Council on Thursday, November 9.

Despite strong opposition from the city's business community, Mayor Brandon Johnson was able to secure his latest progressive victory a couple of days later than expected due to a parliamentary maneuver by Council opponents that postponed a vote originally scheduled earlier this week.

Mandatory Ten Days of Paid Time off Annually

With a vote of 36 to 12, the Council approved an ordinance mandating that beginning in the new year, all Chicago employers provide their workers with ten days of paid time off annually, as reported by NBC Chicago.

Chicago's legislation is one of the most comprehensive in the country. It exceeds the state's paid leave policy that will compel firms to give five days of paid leave beginning next year.

The city has also mandated that businesses with 100 or more employees must compensate departing employees for up to seven days of unused time. Companies with 51 to 100 employees have two years to begin compensating leaving workers for wasted vacation time, while those with 50 or fewer employees are excluded from the policy entirely.

A Step Toward Workplace Equity

(Photo : KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
Cashiers ring up groceries for customers at the Local Market Foods store in Chicago, Illinois, on April 8, 2020.

Mayor Johnson hailed the move as a values statement and a means toward more workplace equality.

"A values statement that says that here in Chicago, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to take care of themselves, their loved ones and to do it without the burden of financial instability," he stated during a press conference, according to Chicago Sun-Times.

After lengthy talks with business, retail, and restaurant trade organizations who remain strongly opposed to the costly requirement, Johnson and his progressive Council peers compromised on ten days off. Originally, they were pushing for a mandatory 15 days off.

Some have expressed concern that the ordinance's implementation may lead to higher prices for customers. In response to this concern, Johnson said, "What is the cost of workers not being able to show up every single day, and not have the protection of not just time off, but wages, benefits?"

Nevertheless, he announced that the Council would revisit the proposals of Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) at a later date. The Council has put out a proposal to investigate these modifications, which include allowing businesses 30 days to remedy a violation before employees may bring a lawsuit.

While Ervin supported the legislation, Reilly voted against it and used a parliamentary technique to postpone a vote together with Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd).

On the Council floor, Reilly said that he has received agitated phone calls from business owners who are concerned about the possibility of a "jackpot of litigation."