An Illinois law taking effect Jan. 1 will guarantee nearly all workers in the state the right to 40 hours of paid leave each year that can’t be denied by their employers, leaving local governments that run police, fire and public works departments rushing to exempt themselves to avoid even the remote possibility of empty shifts.
The Paid Leave for All Workers Act signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last March is forecast to give about 1.5 million workers the right they don’t currently have to that amount of paid time off.
The announcement was publicly applauded by a number of legislators and civic leaders. While their comments focused on the benefit to those employees receiving this right for the first time, they didn’t reflect the specific concern suburban municipalities and fire protection districts have been trying to address this fall.
Those officials argue such a law should not have included such essential workers already benefiting from generous paid-leave allowances through collective bargaining agreements funded by property and/or consumer taxes.
The bill already excluded school and park districts, as well as independent contractors and construction and parcel delivery workers covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Many municipal officials believe their not being excluded must have been an oversight, but one with potentially dire consequences for their residents.
“We run a public safety business,” Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig said. “That’s not acceptable.”
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