Last updated: 2026-09-21.
Statewide MandateHow Illinois's real statutory thresholds apply to specific employer profiles. Each section re-frames the state law above for one audience — the underlying figures never change, only the lens does.
For employers with fewer than 15 employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Size note: Your obligation turns on the threshold "1 employee". The Compliance Checker applies your headcount automatically. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For employers with 50 or more employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Size note: Your obligation turns on the threshold "1 employee". The Compliance Checker applies your headcount automatically. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For restaurant, café, and food-service operators: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including restaurants & food service, use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For retail stores, shops, and chains: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including retail employers, use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For clinics, hospitals, and healthcare staffing: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including healthcare employers, use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For hr teams onboarding new employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Size note: Your obligation turns on the threshold "1 employee". The Compliance Checker applies your headcount automatically. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For restaurant and food-service operators with fewer than 15 employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including small restaurants (under 15 employees), use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For restaurant groups and chains with 50 or more employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including large restaurants & chains (50+ employees), use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For retail stores and shops with fewer than 15 employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including small retail (under 15 employees), use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For retail chains with 50 or more employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including large retail & chains (50+ employees), use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For clinics and healthcare practices with fewer than 15 employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including small healthcare (under 15 employees), use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
For hospitals and healthcare systems with 50 or more employees: Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. 2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County. Source: https://labor.illinois.gov/; retrieved 2026-09-21.
Industry note: The law is industry-neutral — all covered employers, including large healthcare systems (50+ employees), use the same statewide thresholds: 1 employee, accrual 1 hour per 40 hours worked, cap 40 hours per year. Use the Compliance Checker to apply your headcount to the correct rule.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Statewide mandate | Yes |
| Employer threshold | 1 employee |
| Accrual rate | 1 hour per 40 hours worked |
| Max accrual / year | 40 hours per year |
| Paid or unpaid | paid |
| Carryover | Yes |
| Qualified reasons | Any reason (no disclosure required) |
| Effective date | Jan 1, 2024 |
| Official source | https://labor.illinois.gov/ ↗ |
These cities/counties in Illinois have their own sick leave rules that may exceed the state standard. Each links to a dedicated page with the full local breakdown.
| Locality | Employer threshold | Accrual | Max | Paid/Unpaid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 1 employee | 1 hour per 40 hours | 40 hours/year (or 5 paid days frontloaded) | paid |
| Cook County | 1 employee | 1 hour per 40 hours | 40 hours/year | paid |
Unlike federal law, Illinois guarantees paid leave to every employee from the first day of work. There is no nationwide federal paid sick-leave mandate for private employers — the COVID-19 emergency rule (FFCRA) expired at the end of 2020 (and its narrow 2021 extension ended in 2022), and the proposed federal Healthy Families Act has not passed. The only federal floor is the unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA, 29 U.S.C. § 2601), which covers only employers with 50 or more employees and eligible workers (1,250 hours in 12 months) for up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health conditions. Illinois's Paid Leave for All Workers Act (820 ILCS 192, effective Jan 1, 2024) applies from the first employee, accrues from day one, pays for the time off, and — uniquely — lets employees use it for any reason without disclosing why. That is a far broader entitlement than the federal baseline.
Illinois is the only Midwestern state with a statewide any-reason paid leave law. Its neighbors have no comparable statewide mandate: Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri have no general paid sick-leave law. Among the handful of 'any-purpose' states nationally, Nevada (SB 312) requires roughly 1 hour per 52 hours for employers with 50 or more Nevada employees, while Maine requires 1 hour per 40 hours for employers with more than 10. Illinois's 1-in-40 accrual for all employers sits at the generous end. Chicago and Cook County ordinances predate and exceed the state floor, so multi-site employers must apply the stricter local standard where it applies.
| Year | Change |
|---|---|
| 2023 (eff. Jan 1, 2024) | Paid Leave for All Workers Act enacted (820 ILCS 192, P.A. 102-1143; Gov. Pritzker signed Mar 2023). First Midwest any-reason paid leave: covers all employers, 1 hr/40 hrs, up to 40 hrs per 12-month period. |
| 2024 (eff. Apr 30, 2024) | Illinois Department of Labor administrative rules took effect, clarifying frontloading, denial for operational necessity, and complaint handling. |
| 2026 | No statutory change to PLAWA; IDOL continues compliance assistance and investigates every complaint. |
Employers in Illinois most often trip on the items below. Amounts are typical statutory ranges — confirm the current figure with the state labor department before acting.
| Violation | Typical penalty / fine | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Denying or interfering with earned paid leave | 820 ILCS 192/35 — civil penalty of not less than $2,500 per violation, paid into the Paid Leave for All Workers Fund; the affected employee may also recover the value of denied leave. IDOL Leave Rights Division enforces. | Common with 'use-it-or-lose-it' policies or refusing leave used for a non-sick reason. |
| Failure to post the required notice | $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for each subsequent violation (192/20, 192/35). | The IL DOL poster must be displayed and provided to employees. |
| Retaliation or disciplining an employee for using leave | Prohibited; remedies under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (back wages, damages). Employers may not lower hours or deny advancement because an employee used leave. | Requiring an employee to find their own replacement is also barred. |
Use the button below to print or save a one-page compliance summary for Illinois. It includes the state law table and any local ordinances above.
Yes. Illinois requires paid sick leave for 1 employee. Accrual is 1 hour per 40 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year, with carryover Yes.
Employees accrue 1 hour per 40 hours worked. The max accrual is 40 hours per year.
2 locality(-ies) have ordinances stricter than state law: Chicago, Cook County.
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