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TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Finance Department
Human Resources Department
Law Department
DATE: October 23, 2023
SUBJECT:
Paid time-off policies for City employees.
PURPOSE:
To affirm the City's paid time-off policies as set forth in the respective pay plans and collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time-to-time.
BACKGROUND:
The City offers its permanent full and part-time employees a variety of benefits, including significant paid time-off. These benefits are established by the City Council from time-to-time through annual authorization of the executive and non-exempt pay plans as in its periodic approval of collective bargaining agreements with the various unions who represent City employees.
In the closing days of the previous General Assembly, lawmakers passed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which was signed into law as Public Act 102-1143 with a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024. Among other things, the Act provides for significant sanctions for employers who do not comply with its requirements, does not distinguish between classifications of personal time off (vacation, sick, etc.) and does not appear to take into consideration the possibility of multiple employees exercising their rights under the Act simultaneously.
DISCUSSION:
The administrative burdens created by this Act are significant for any employer but are particularly arduous for local governments that have an obligation to render services to the public in accordance with statutory requirements. Perhaps, it is for this reason that the General Assembly saw fit to exempt park districts and schools from the Act's requirement - though it does not explain the narrowness of the exception.
Notably, the Act does not expressly preempt the authority of home rule units to regulate matters within their own government or affairs or to jointly exercise any such power concurrently with the State, nor does it apply to an "employer that is covered by a municipa...
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