Chicago workers get 80 hours: 40 sick + 40 any-reason. Paid out on termination.
Chicago has the most generous paid leave structure in the Midwest. The Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance, effective July 1, 2024, requires employers to provide TWO separate banks: 40 hours of paid sick leave (for medical, safe leave reasons) AND 40 hours of paid leave for any reason (similar to PLAWA but more generous). Medium and large employers must pay out unused paid leave at termination — a stronger requirement than PLAWA.
Chicago Dual-Bank Paid Leave
Tracks two separate accrual buckets: paid sick leave (covered reasons only) and paid leave (any reason). Manages termination payout per employer size threshold.
What those rules do as Chicago workers accrue and use leave.
The hero card configuration: Flag on dual balance display, Critical on termination payout, Avoid on retaliation patterns.
Every Chicago worker's paystub displays both balances: paid sick leave (with covered reasons) and paid leave (any reason). The two buckets are tracked separately and cannot be co-mingled.
For employers with 51+ Chicago employees ("medium" or "large"), Teambridge blocks offboarding close until paid leave bucket payout is processed. Sick leave is NOT subject to payout.
Schedule reductions, hour cuts, or other adverse actions following recent paid leave or sick leave usage surface for compliance review. Chicago has separate retaliation penalties under the Ordinance.
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Two banks, two rule sets, one termination obligation.
Chicago's ordinance is structurally complex because it operates two parallel leave types with different purposes, different usage rules, and different payout obligations. Both banks accrue at 1 hour per 35 worked.
Two separate banks
The Ordinance creates two distinct leave types: Paid Sick and Safe Leave (40 hrs) for covered medical, family care, and safe-leave reasons; and Paid Leave (40 hrs) for any reason. Workers accrue both simultaneously at 1 hour per 35 worked. Total potential annual accrual is 80 hours combined. Employers cannot co-mingle the buckets.
Coverage threshold
Workers performing at least 2 hours of work per 2-week period within Chicago city limits are covered. Coverage applies to workers regardless of full-time, part-time, seasonal, or temporary status.
Teambridge runs both buckets, both rule sets, and the termination gate.
Chicago's structure is the most complex paid leave ordinance in the Midwest. Teambridge handles the dual accrual and the size-tiered payout obligation.
Both banks at 1/35.
Every 35 hours worked accrues 1 hour into each bucket simultaneously. Total accrual is 2 hours per 35 worked. Front-load alternative also supported.
Reason determines bucket.
When a worker requests leave, the reason routes to the right bucket. Medical/safe reasons draw from Sick Leave first; any-reason requests draw from Paid Leave first. Workers can choose between buckets when both apply.
Size-tiered by employer.
At termination, Teambridge calculates the paid leave balance owed (sick leave is NOT included). For medium/large employers, the payout is added to final pay. For small employers, no payout is required.
Workflow blocks until payout processed.
For employers required to pay out, the offboarding workflow cannot close until the paid leave balance is included in final pay. Audit trail captures the calculation.
Still evaluating? Get a free Illinois compliance audit.
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