Cook County Sick Leave & Minimum Wage Laws: Cities Overwhelmingly Against
Cook County Cities Pull Out of County Law
When Chicago and Cook County passed their sick leave law last year, which also raised minimum wage across the Country, few would have predicted the staggering response by the towns and cities within Cook County. Cook County has a unique law that allows individual political subdivisions, in other words towns and cities, to opt out of county laws individually.
As a result over 100 of the County’s 132 municipalities have opted out of the new sick leave law that took effect on July 1st. Most of those have opted out only in the last 2 months prior to the law taking effect and several others within days of the new law becoming effective.
Overview of the New Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Law.
Illinois currently has a minimum wage of $8.25 per hour. Under the new law, minimum wage in Cook County rose to $10 an hour on July 1st. It is scheduled to rist $1 an hour until the year 2020, when it will rise according to the Consumer Price Index.
The Sick Leave provisions of the law provide 1 hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked. Employees are able to earn up to 5 days of paid sick leave to care for themselves or a family member who is sick. The law is short and leaves many questions of application unanswered for businesses, many of which are still unanswered even after the County released its revised rules in June.
Cities Opting Out of Sick Leave and Minimum Wage
To date, 108 municipalities have opted out of minimum wage and sick leave requirements imposed by the county. These municipalities are:
Alsip – June 5, 2017
Arlington Heights – May 1, 2017
Barrington – November 15, 2016
Bartlett – April 18, 2017
Bedford Park – January 12, 2017 Sick Leave Only
Bellwood – March 2017
Bensenville – June 2017 Sick Leave Only
Berkeley – May 16, 2017
Blue Island – June 27, 2017
Bridgeview – June, 2017
Broadview – June 2017
Brookfield – June 2017
Buffalo Grove – May 15, 2017
Burbank – June 2017
Burnham – June 13, 2017
Burr Ridge – April 24, 2017?
Calumet City – July 2017
Calumet Park Village June 8, 2017
Chicago Heights – June 2017
Chicago Ridge- June 2017
Cicero – July 20, 2017 Minimum Wage Only
Country Club Hills – June 26, 2017
Crestwood – June 2017
Des Plaines City – June 19, 2017
Deer Park – July 20 2017
Dixmoor – July 13, 2017
East Dundee – July 17. 2017
East Hazel Crest – April 2017
Elgin – June 2017
Elk Grove – April 25, 2017
Elmwood Park – March 20
Evergreen Park – April 17, 2017
Flossmoor- June 2017
Forest Park – June 12, 2017
Forest View – July 2017
Franklin Park – June 19, 2017
Glenview – June 16, 2017
Glenwood – July 10, 2017
Golf – June 2017
Hanover Park – May 2017
Harvey – July 2017
Harwood Heights – May 2017
Hazel Crest – July 2017
Hickory Hill – April 2017
Hillside – June 2017
Hinsdale – June 2017
Hodgkins – June 2017
Hoffman Estates – May 2017
Hometown – June 27, 2017
Homewood May 23, 2017
Indian Head Park – May 11, 2017
Inverness – June 2017
Justice – June 2017
La Grange Park – June 2017
La Grange Village- June 26, 2017
Lansing – June 22, 2017
Lemont – June 2017
Lincolnwood – June 2017
Lynwood – May 2017
Lyons – May 23, 2017
Markham – July 2017
Matteson – July 2017
Maywood – May 16, 2017
Melrose Park – May 8, 2017
Merrionette Park – July 2017
Midlothian – June 2017
Morton Grove – June 2017
Mount Prospect – February 7, 2017
Niles – May 23, 2017
Norridge – May 2017
North Riverside – June 19, 2017
Northbrook – May 23, 2017
Northlake – June 2017
Oak Forest – December 13, 2016
Oak Lawn – May 2017
Orland HIlls – June 2017
Orland Park – June 5, 2017
Palatine – April 2017
Palo Heights Feb 7, 2017
Palos Hills – June 2017
Palos Park April 10, 2017
Park Forest – July 17, 2017
Park Ridge – June 19, 2017
Posen – June 13, 2017
Prospect Heights – June 2017
Richton Park – June 2017
River Forest – March 13, 2017
River Grove – June 2017
Riverside – April 20, 2017
Rolling Meadows – May 2017
Roselle – June 26, 2017
Rosemont – December 14, 2016
Sauk Village – July 2017
Schaumburg – March 28, 2017
Schiller Park – June 1, 2017
South Barrington – May 2017
South Chicago Heights – June 2017
South Holland – June 2017
Steger – June 2017
Stickney – June 2017
Stone Park – July 2017
Streamwood April 6, 2017
Summit Village – May 15, 2017
Thornton – June 2017
Tinley Park – February, 2017
Westchester – July 2017
Western Springs – May, 2017
Wheeling April 17, 2017
Willow Springs – June 2017
Wilmette – June 2017
Worth – June 2017
Final Decision, Unless. . .
Although it would appear that once cities and villages choose to comply with the Cook County minimum wage and sick leave ordinance or to opt out of it, that is the end of the story. However, Despres Schwartz and Geoghegan, a public interest law firm, has issued a memo stating that non-home rule municipalities are liable to lawsuits if they opt out of the county law. In other words, the courts have yet to determine if non-home rule towns have a right to opt out. Some of the villages and cities that have opted out of the Cook County minimum wage are not home-rule political subdivisions. One example is Broadview.
Businesses, especially those in non-home rule cities should closely monitor if Cook County or any individual employee or other file suit against the non-home rule entities regarding the minimum wage in cook county.
Let SwipeClock Help
Businesses located anywhere in Cook County must be aware of the geographical lines in which the minimum wage changes and the parts of the county in which sick leave laws are in place. These businesses have to comply with multiple conflicting City and County ordinances defining Sick leave accrual and usage laws.
Additionally, these businesses have to also comply with Federal Overtime Laws, the Family Medical Leave Act and any other national or local laws that are enacted. SwipeClock provides a comprehensive array of workforce management and time tracking tools that can help businesses to more easily stay in compliance with local and national laws.
Records are effortlessly kept for years and accrual is automatically tracked and reported to employees according to the state and city laws. Additionally, with geo-timekeeping clocks, businesses can effortlessly track time worked in specific cities to ensure compliance.
Written by Annemaria Duran. Last updated on July 28, 2017
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