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\u201cThis is about the workers in our great city. And every labor group, every workers rights group, 100% is in support of this effort,\u201d said Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), chair of the Committee on Workforce Development and the lead sponsor of the ordinance, during Thursday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paid leave proposal, which was first introduced in the council in July, originally called for 15 days of paid time off, unlimited rollover of unused leave, and required all businesses to compensate employees for any unused leave upon their termination. After months of negotiations between labor organizers and the business community, the ordinance was amended to 10 days of paid leave, reduced the required rollover days to two, and exempted small businesses \u2013 those with 50 employees or fewer \u2013 from being required to pay out any unused leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rodriguez said that the measure\u2019s sponsors \u201cworked closely with members of the business community\u201d to reach those and other compromises, including a one-year grace period for businesses to adjust to the mandate before facing private action from employees. The ordinance was passed out of the Workforce Development Committee on Nov. 2 by a 13-2 vote, and was initially scheduled for a final vote by the full city council on Tuesday. The vote was delayed to Thursday when several council members moved for deferment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is going to be an extra $1.3 billion in costs layered upon our employers when this goes into full effect, and there will be consequences for that,\u201d said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) on Thursday, one of the council members who moved to delay the vote two days prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Calling the vote \u201ca values statement\u201d for Chicago, Johnson shared similar sentiments when he joined supporters for a celebratory press conference<\/a> following the ordinance\u2019s passage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHere in Chicago, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to take care of themselves, their loved ones, to do it without the burden of financial instability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with the compromise amendments, the ordinance is still one of the most generous paid leave policies in the nation, and goes beyond an Illinois law<\/a> passed in March that guarantees workers across the state at least five days of paid leave. The state\u2019s Paid Leave for All Workers Act<\/a> also goes into effect on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reach of the ordinance beyond state requirements was one of the primary concerns for opponents of the ordinance, including Reilly, who believes Chicago\u2019s paid leave mandate will have a \u201cpronounced impact\u201d on businesses in so-called border wards \u2013 those adjacent to neighboring suburban municipalities where employers can operate under the state\u2019s less-burdensome paid leave requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But with more than enough support to pass, the ordinance sailed through City Council just over two hours after the meeting began, prompting cheers and celebration from the various pro-labor groups in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday was a huge victory. [This ordinance] is forward-thinking, it\u2019s protective, and it\u2019s truly good for workers and for businesses. Healthier workers make for healthier businesses,\u201d said Sharmili Majmudar, Executive Vice President of Policy, Programs, and Research at Women Employed, after Thursday\u2019s meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Women Employed is a Chicago-based non-profit that advocates for women in the workforce. Majmudar says that her organization has been pushing for more expansive paid leave policies \u201cfor decades\u201d and that Thursday\u2019s vote \u201crepresents the latest forward movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re just so happy for the workers who are now going to benefit from having, really, what all of us should have, which is the basic right to take care of ourselves and our families. And to do so without jeopardizing our income and our livelihood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0110.jpg\")
November 9, 2023. (Dominic Faria\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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