Happy New Year! Is your company in compliance with new laws? 

Every January, new laws hit the books in municipalities and states alike. That makes this a great time to check your practices and policies against your state’s current rules and regulations to make sure you’re in keeping with new laws now in effect under Illinois Employment Law. 

Did you know, as of January 1, eligible employees must be provided up to 40 hours of paid leave for whatever reason they’d like? This applies to all private employers and includes recordkeeping and notice requirements, to verify that all employees are aware of this PTO allotment and that they’re permitted to use it in full. Employers are not allowed to require workers to provide documentation or other proof of need to request this time given to them. 

On November 9, 2023, the city of Chicago amended its own paid leave ordinance, and now all city employees will earn paid and sick leave of up to 40 hours each, totaling 80 hours a year, effective July 1, 2024. 

Another key difference between the Chicago law and the state law, other than the number of hours provided each year, is that some Chicago employers might provide a payout of leave accumulated should an employee resign their position to take another job. That determination will depend on the company’s size. 

There’s another new law covering bereavement time following the loss of a loved one to violence, providing up to 12 weeks of unpaid, protected leave each year, to allow the grieving employee the ability to attend funeral or wake services, to make arrangements for those services and to grieve their loss. 

Starting January 1, companies with 250 or more full-time employees must offer up to 12 weeks unpaid leave to anyone who has lost a child due to suicide or homicide; smaller companies (50-249 employees) must provide full-time employees up to six weeks of leave. 

A few other changes worth noting: 

• Staffing agencies that provide temporary employees must provide safety training pertaining to any present hazards they might encounter at the work site. Additionally, as of April 1, 2024, temporary employees on a contract for longer than 90 days must receive pay and benefits, or the cash value of the same, equal to the lowest-paid employee directly hired by the company for which they are currently working. The company that contracts the temporary employee must provide their pay information in order to comply. 
• As of January 1, employees with 50 or more employees working at least 35 hours per week in Cook County and surrounding municipalities must provide pre-tax commuter benefits to make it easier for employees to purchase public transit passes with pre-tax dollars to reduce the cost; these benefits must be made available during the first pay period after the employee’s 120th day of employment (roughly four months).
• As of July 1, 2024, freelance workers who provide services totaling at least $500 must be paid all compensation due to them within 30 days of completing their contracted service. The law will prohibit negotiating lower compensation after the freelance/contract worker starts their project.
• Starting January 1, the Illinois Gender Violence Act will provide workers the ability to sue employers if their employees or other agents perform an act of gender-related violence in the workplace if the violent act stems from their employment.

There’s also a new requirement pertaining to electronic distribution of employee notices: For those employees who do not work onsite, employers must now provide email notification, or written information on the company’s website, with updates and summaries of changes to the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, Illinois Equal Pay Act, Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and the Illinois Child Labor Law to ensure all employees have equal access to this important information. 

One more note for next year — 2025 — to prepare for: All employers must disclose pay scale, benefits and other compensation in all job postings for positions that will be performed wholly in Illinois or report to a worksite in Illinois. Employers also must disclose any promotion opportunities within 14 days of externally posting an opportunity. 

If you’re scratching your head wondering how you can keep track of all of these changes and updates, Davis Staffing can help! By partnering with us, we can help you ensure compliance with all state, federal and municipal labor laws and keep your recordkeeping practices up-to-date. If you’d rather hire someone directly to handle those tasks for you, we can help you find a qualified candidate! Call Davis Staffing and know your business will be in full compliance in 2024.