Illinois does not have a paid family leave insurance program that replaces your wages during an extended family or medical absence. What the state does have is the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which lets most employees earn up to 40 hours of paid time off each year that can be used for any reason, including caring for a sick relative or bonding with a new child. Chicago and much of Cook County layer on stronger local rules. A bill to create a true paid family and medical leave insurance program has been introduced in Springfield but has not become law.
What Illinois Paid Leave Actually Covers
Since January 1, 2024, most employees in Illinois earn one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to at least 40 hours in a 12-month period.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 192/15 – Provision of Paid Leave The law applies to employers of all sizes, including nonprofits and religious organizations.2Illinois Department of Labor. Paid Leave for All Workers Act FAQ
You can use the time for anything. A doctor’s appointment, a child’s school event, a mental health day, bonding with a newborn, sitting with a parent after surgery. Your employer cannot ask why you’re taking the leave and cannot require documentation.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 192 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act Leave accrues from day one but cannot be used during your first 90 days on the job. After that, you can take it in blocks as small as two hours. For foreseeable absences, employers can require seven days’ notice; for emergencies, you just follow whatever reasonable notice policy the employer has in writing.
That flexibility is the point. But 40 hours is 40 hours. It works for short-term needs and won’t cover a six-week parental leave, chemotherapy, or an extended caregiving stretch. A paid family leave insurance system, of the kind operating in about a dozen states, typically provides several weeks or months of partial wage replacement funded through payroll contributions. Illinois has nothing like that at the state level.
Workers Who Aren’t Covered
The law reaches most private-sector workers and many public employees, including state and local government workers. Several categories are excluded:
- Railroad and airline employees covered by the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or the Railway Labor Act
- School district employees under the Illinois School Code
- Park district employees under the Park District Code
- College students in part-time, temporary jobs with the school where they’re enrolled
- Short-term higher education workers employed for less than two consecutive calendar quarters with no expectation of rehire
- Construction workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement
- Delivery and transportation workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement with a national or international parcel and freight employer
- Independent contractors
Workers in other unionized industries are covered by default, but the union and employer can negotiate a clear waiver in the collective bargaining agreement.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 192 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act Domestic workers are specifically covered, including those working as independent contractors.2Illinois Department of Labor. Paid Leave for All Workers Act FAQ
Chicago Gives You More
Chicago has its own ordinance that is more generous than the state law, and if you work in the city, the city’s rules govern in practice. You qualify by working at least 80 hours in Chicago within any 120-day period.4City of Chicago. Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave
Chicago splits leave into two buckets: general paid leave usable for any reason, and paid sick and safe leave reserved for medical, safety, and public health situations. You earn one hour of each type for every 35 hours worked, meaning a Chicago worker accrues at nearly twice the state rate and gets a separate sick bank on top.4City of Chicago. Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave
If you use sick and safe leave for more than three consecutive workdays, your employer can ask for a doctor’s note. General paid leave carries no such documentation requirement. Employers who violate the ordinance face fines of $500 to $1,000 per offense.
Cook County and the Opt-Out Problem
Cook County’s Earned Sick Paid Leave Ordinance covers employees working within the county but outside Chicago city limits. You accrue one hour of earned sick leave for every 40 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year, with up to 20 hours carrying over.5Cook County. Cook County Earned Sick Paid Leave Ordinance No. 24-0583
The complication: more than 100 municipalities within Cook County have opted out of the ordinance.6Cook County. Municipalities That Follow Cook County Earned Sick Leave If your workplace sits in an opt-out town, the county rule doesn’t apply, though the statewide Paid Leave for All Workers Act still does. Check with your municipality or the Cook County Commission on Human Rights to confirm which rules govern your workplace.
Longer Family or Medical Absences
Forty hours won’t get you through a new baby, cancer treatment, or a parent’s long recovery. For those situations, Illinois workers rely on unpaid, job-protected leave.
Federal FMLA
The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for the birth or adoption of a child, a serious health condition, or to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. You must work for an employer with at least 50 employees within 75 miles and have 12 months and 1,250 hours of service. Your employer must restore you to the same or an equivalent position when you return.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act
Your employer can require you to use accrued paid leave concurrently with FMLA, so the two run together rather than back-to-back. Once your paid hours run out, the remaining FMLA weeks are unpaid unless your employer offers additional paid benefits or you carry short-term disability insurance.
VESSA
If you or a family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or another violent crime, the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for medical treatment, legal proceedings, counseling, safety planning, and relocation. If a family or household member is killed by a violent crime, VESSA adds up to two weeks of bereavement leave.8Illinois Department of Labor. Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA)
These laws protect your job. They do not replace your wages, which is the gap a paid family leave insurance program would fill.
Getting Paid Out for Unused Leave
Whether you get paid for unused leave when you leave a job depends on how your employer set up its policy. If the employer merged paid leave from the Act into an existing vacation or PTO bank, unused time must be paid out at separation to the same extent as vacation pay under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. If the employer kept the paid leave in a separate bank, no payout is required.9LII / Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 56 Section 200.460 – Determining Payout of Paid Leave Upon Separation from Employment
Chicago’s rules add another wrinkle. Employers with 51 or more covered employees must pay out accrued general paid leave at separation, up to a maximum of 56 hours. Smaller Chicago employers don’t have to pay it out. Sick and safe leave never has to be paid out regardless of employer size, unless a collective bargaining agreement says otherwise.10City of Chicago Office of Labor Standards. FAQ Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave
If you aren’t sure how your employer treats accrued time, ask HR in writing. That documentation matters if a dispute develops over your final paycheck.
If Your Employer Denies Leave or Retaliates
The Paid Leave for All Workers Act prohibits employers from firing, demoting, disciplining, or otherwise punishing employees for using their leave. Employers cannot count leave use as a negative factor in performance reviews or attendance policies.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 192 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act
You have three years to file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor. An employee complaint can result in the employer owing underpaid wages, compensatory damages, and a penalty between $500 and $1,000. The Department can also impose a separate civil penalty of $2,500 per violation.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 820 ILCS 192 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act You can file online, by email to DOL.LeaveRights@illinois.gov, or by mail to the Department’s Chicago office.11Illinois Department of Labor. File a Workplace Complaint Before filing, pull together pay stubs, any written communications about your leave request, and your employee handbook.
Is Paid Family Leave Coming to Illinois?
House Bill 3483, introduced in the 2025–2026 session, would create a Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program administered by a new division within the Illinois Department of Labor. As drafted, premium collection would begin January 1, 2027, and benefits would become available starting January 1, 2028.12LegiScan. Illinois HB3483 – 2025-2026 104th General Assembly The bill has not been enacted, and its final terms, including benefit amounts, duration, and contribution rates, could change during the legislative process.
Until something like HB3483 passes, the 40 hours under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act is the only state-guaranteed paid time most Illinois workers have for family or medical needs. Beyond that, your options are FMLA’s unpaid protections, whatever paid benefits your employer voluntarily offers, and short-term disability insurance if you carry it.