Illinois to provide sick leave benefits to employees caring for relatives

Illinois will officially implement the Employee Sick Leave Act on January 1, 2017. The new act requires employers to grant sick pay for employees whose immediate family members find themselves ill. This new policy can also be thought of as the “kin care” law.

The intention of the law is to complement the one recently passed in Chicago, which provides the same level of sick pay benefits for employees. A similar law is pending in Cook County. The Employee Sick Leave Act provides benefits for family members including an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, sibling, parent, in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent. In other words, if any of these family members are sick, an employee can take time off from work and collect sick pay benefits from their employer, with the understanding that the employee is taking time off to care for the afflicted family member.

Our employment lawyers in Austin at The Melton Law Firm can provide legal assistance to those who were treated unfairly at their workplace. Speak with a qualified member of our legal team by calling our offices today at (512) 330-0017.