As Deadline Looms, More Cook County Sick Leave Opt Outs

The end is near. Cook County political subdivisions have just one more month, until July 1, to opt out of the county Earned Sick Leave Ordinance. Add five more to the nix list: Berkeley, Harwood Heights, Niles, Northbrook and Summit.

About three dozen of the approximatley 130 municipalities within the county –almost 30%–have opted out. More will do so before the County ordinance’s July 1, 2017 effective date.

I have listed the Cook County “opt-outs” on the PSL Laws and Resources page of my blog, just below the link to the Cook County Ordinance.

Cook County enacted the ESL Ordinance in October 2016. Generally, it requires covered employers to allow employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. My posts about that Ordinance are here and here.

Twelfth Nix of the Cook County Sick Leave Ordinance

A dozen Cook County municipalities have nixed the Cook County’s Earned Sick Leave Ordinance. Wheeling is the most recent to opt-out. The Village Board’s discussion and vote on that issue begin at 51:30 of the meeting video.

Simultaneous with opting out of the sick leave ordinance, these municipalities also opted out of the County’s ordinance increasing the minimum wage. Each municipality opted out by enacting a conflicting ordinance, i.e., generally, an ordinance requiring employers to comply with state and federal regulations on minimum wage and sick leave and negating compliance with the county ordinances on these topics.

As the Earned Sick Leave Ordinance’s July 1, 2017 effective date nears, I anticipate that numerous other municipalities will opt out. Three–Bartlett, Elk Grove and Rolling Meadows–have informally decided to opt out and will be voting on formal opt-out ordinances within the next ten days.

I have listed the Cook County “opt-outs” on the PSL Laws and Resources page of my blog, just below the link to the Cook County Ordinance.

Cook County enacted the ESL Ordinance in October 2016. Generally, it requires covered employers to allow employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. My posts about that Ordinance are here and here.

Palos Park Village Nixes Cook County Earned Sick Time Ordinance

Palos Park Village last week opted out of the Cook County Earned Sick Time Ordinance, joining ten other municipalities that have already done so.  Palos Park opted out of the County minimum wage ordinance as well.  I have listed the Cook County “opt-outs” on the PSL Laws and Resources page of my blog. They are listed just below the link to the Cook County Ordinance.

As the July 1 effective date of the Cook County Ordinance draws near, I anticipate more opt-outs. I am watching about a dozen other municipalities that may consider doing so.

Ten Nix, Clock Ticks on Cook County Sick Leave Ordinance

The Village of Streamwood is the tenth municipality to nix the Cook County (IL) Earned Sick Leave Ordinance.  The Village ordinance adopted unanimously last week negates  the County’s minimum wage and paid sick leave ordinances. I anticipate more opt-outs during the remaining 80 days prior to the County Ordinance’s July 1, 2017 effective date.

Others that have opted out are Barrington, Bedford Park, Elmwood Park, Mount Prospect, Oak Forest, River Forest, Rosemont, Schaumburg and Tinley Park.

Cook County enacted the ESL Ordinance in October 2016. Generally, it requires covered employers to allow employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. My posts about that Ordinance are here and here.

Elmwood Park Rejects Cook County Sick Leave Law

Elmwood Park is the eighth municipality to opt out of the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Law. On March 20, the Village Trustees passed an Ordinance to opt out of the County’s sick leave and minimum wage ordinances.

The other muncipalities to have done so are Barrington, Bedford Park, Mount Prospect, Oak Forest, River Forest, Rosemont and Tinley Park. I anticipate more opt outs before the County Ordinance’s July 1, 2017 effective date.

Cook County enacted the ESL Ordinance in October 2016. Generally, it requires covered employers to allow employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. My posts about that Ordinance are here and here.

 

Sixth Nix of Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance

The Village of Bedford Park is the sixth Cook County political subdivision to opt out of complying with the County’s Earned Sick Leave Ordinance. The Village’s trustees concluded that imposing the paid sick leave requirement on its businesses is not in the Village’s best interests.  See Ordinance No. 17-1533 here. Barrington, Mount Prospect, Oak Forest, Rosemont and Tinley Park have already opted out of the Cook County Ordinance. My posts about those opt outs are here, here, here and here.

Cook County enacted the ESL Ordinance in October 2016. Generally, effective July 1, 2017, it requires covered employers to allow employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. My posts about that Ordinance are here and here.

More than 5 million people live in Cook County. It is the second most populous county in the nation.

 

Yet Another Opt Out from Cook County Paid Sick Leave Ordinance

The City of Oak Forest has joined the villages of Barrington and Rosemont in opting out of the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance. Oak Forest enacted its superseding ordinance last week. Since each opt out warrants an asterisk to the county ordinance, there are now three asterisks.

Noting that the Cook County paid sick leave ordinance places an “undue burden” on Oak Forest employers, Oak Forest affirmed that employers must comply with federal and state employment laws and guidelines concerning paid sick leave. To remove any doubt, the ordinance adds that “no additional obligations with regard to paid leave….including without limitation, any additional obligations adopted by the Court of Cook Board of Commissioners, shall apply within the City Oak Forest.” The City Council Agenda Memo and text of Ordinance No. 2015-06-0545O is here.

The City of Oak Forest has approximately 28,000 residents and is about 24 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

 

Cook County Paid Sick Law Gets Rosemont Asterisk, Its Second

The Village of Rosemont, Illinois yesterday became the second Cook County municipality to pass an ordinance to supersede the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance, according to a newspaper report. Barrington was the first to do so.

Cook County passed its Earned Sick Leave Ordinance in October 2016; it becomes effective on July 1, 2017.  The county is the second most populous county in the nation and consists of about 130 municipalities. The Village of Rosemont has a population of about 4,000 residents and is near O’Hare Airport. Barrington enacted its superseding ordinance in November.

As I noted in a post about the Barrington ordinance, it is no surprise that a Cook County municipality would enact an ordinance to supersede the Cook County PSL law. Prior to Cook County’s passing its ordinance, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office expressed its view that the county did not have authority to enact such an ordinance and that where there is a conflict between a county and municipality ordinance, the municipal ordinance prevails.

Add the Rosemont asterisk to the Cook County Ordinance. Now there are two. There will likely be more.

Cook County Paid Sick Leave Gets Barrington Asterisk

Here’s a new one. A paid sick leave patchwork within a paid sick leave patch! Well, why not?

In October 2016, Cook County passed its Earned Sick Leave Ordinance, which goes into effect on July 1, 2017. Cook County, the second most populous county in the nation, has within it about 130 municipalities, one of which is the Village of Barrington, a village of about 10,000 residents. Last week, Barrington passed an ordinance to negate the Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance within Barrington’s boundaries. A report of that legislative action is here. As a result, any reference to Cook County’s being a PSL jurisdiction should have an “except for Barrington” asterisk.

Barrington’s ordinance recites that where there is a conflict between a county ordinance and a municipality ordinance, the latter shall prevail. It then proceeds to create a conflict with the Cook County ordinance, essentially negating it. The ordinance states, in pertinent part:

“No additional obligations with regard to paid sick leave, or minimum hourly wages, including without limitation, any additional obligations by ordinance adopted by the County of Cook Board of Commissioners, shall apply to employers located within the Village, except those required by federal and/or State laws and regulations as such laws and regulations may exist from time to time.”

That a Cook County municipality would enact an ordinance to create a conflict with the Cook County PSL law comes as no surprise. As I had posted earlier, during the 14 months prior to the October 5 ordinance vote, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office issued three opinion letters expressing its view that the county did not have authority to enact such an ordinance and that where there is a conflict between a county and municipality ordinance, the municipal ordinance prevails. A report then said that four municipalities were considering enacting legislation to conflict with the Cook County PSL ordinance, one of which was Barrington.

I suspect Barrington will not be the only municipality to opt out of the Cook County PSL ordinance. I suspect we will be adding more asterisks soon.