Legislation proposed by Illinois Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Chicago Heights, would provide for all workers in Illinois to have paid sick leave.
Her proposal, Senate Bill 1296, has moved to the Senate floor after passing out of the Senate Labor Committee the week of March 27. If approved, Illinois would become the eighth state to require some form of paid sick time.
Hutchinson’s proposal calls for up to five paid sick days per year for full-time and part-time employees. Workers would accrue an hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked.
“Under this plan, employers would have more productive workers with reduced transmission of disease and reduced turnover,” said Wendy Pollack, director of the Women’s Law and Policy Project at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.
“Nearly every industrialized country acknowledges that a healthier workforce is better for families and businesses alike,” Hutchinson said. “With increased inaction in Washington, it is important now more than ever for states like Illinois to step up and advance common sense policies that protect families.”