New Chicago Paid Leave And Paid Sick Leave Rules Finalized, Effective July 1

Earlier this month, the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection published the final rules supporting Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance. Both the ordinance and the rules go into effect on July 1, 2024, and will require employers to annually provide up to 40 hours of Paid Leave and up to 40 hours of Paid Sick Leave to covered Chicago employees. Below, we highlight key provisions in the final rules that employers should keep in mind while updating their paid leave policies in anticipation of the July 1 compliance date.

Definition of a benefit year

The final rules define "benefit year" as the 12 consecutive-month period that an employer sets for an employee to receive Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave benefits. Employers are permitted to set different dates for each employee (e.g., based on the anniversary date of employment) or synchronize all covered employees to have benefits granted at the same time (e.g., based