820 ILCS 192/15 — Illinois Code / Chapter 820 / Act 192 / Section 15
Section 15
Status: in_force

(820 ILCS 192/15) Sec. 15. Provision of paid leave. (a) An employee who works in Illinois is entitled to earn and use up to a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave during a 12-month period or a pro rata number of hours of paid leave under the provisions of subsection (b). The paid leave may be used by the employee for any purpose as long as the paid leave is taken in accordance with the provisions of this Act. (b) Paid leave under this Act shall accrue at the rate of one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave or such greater amount if the employer provides more than 40 hours. Employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)) shall be deemed to work 40 hours in each workweek for purposes of paid leave accrual unless their regular workweek is less than 40 hours, in which case paid leave accrues based on that regular workweek. Employees shall determine how much paid leave they need to use; however, employers may set a reasonable minimum increment for the use of paid leave not to exceed 2 hours per day. If an employee's scheduled workday is less than 2 hours per day, the employee's scheduled workday shall be used to determine the amount of paid leave. (c) An employer may make available the minimum number of hours of paid leave, subject to pro rata requirements provided in subsection (b), to an employee on the first day of employment or the first day of the 12-month period. Employers that provide the minimum number of hours of paid leave to an employee on the first day of employment or the first day of the 12-month period are not required to carry over paid leave from 12-month period to 12-month period and may require employees to use all paid leave prior to the end of the benefit period or forfeit the unused paid leave. However, under no circumstances shall an employee be credited with paid leave that is less than what the employee would have accrued under subsections (a) and (g) of this Section. (d) The 12-month period may be any consecutive 12-month period designated by the employer in writing at the time of hire. Changes to the 12-month period may be made by the employer if notice is given to employees in writing prior to the change and the change does not reduce the eligible accrual rate and paid leave available to the employee. If the employer changes the designated 12-month period, the employer shall provide the employee with documentation of the balance of hours worked, paid leave accrued and taken, and the remaining paid leave balance. (e) Paid leave under this Act may be taken by an employee for any reason of the employee's choosing. An employee is not required to provide an employer a reason for the leave and may not be required to provide documentation or certification as proof or in support of the leave. An employee may choose whether to use paid leave provided under this Act prior to using any other leave provided by the employer or State law. (f) Employees shall be paid their hourly rate of pay for paid leave. However, employees engaged in an occupation in which gratuities or commissions have customarily and usually constituted and have been recognized as part of the remuneration for hire purposes shall be paid by their employer at least the full minimum wage in the jurisdiction in which they are employed when paid leave is taken. This wage shall be treated as the employee's regular rate of pay for purposes of this Act. (g) Paid leave under this Act shall begin to accrue at the commencement of employment or on the effective date of this Act, whichever is later. Employees shall be entitled to begin using paid leave 90 days following commencement of their employment or 90 days following the effective date of this Act, whichever is later. (h) Paid leave under this Act shall be provided upon the oral or written request of an employee in accordance with the employer's reasonable paid leave policy notification requirements which may include the following: (1) If use of paid leave under this Act is foreseeable, the employer may require the