Lost in all the hulabaloo about guns: the Illinois legislature has passed, and Governor Pritzker has signed, legislation requiring Illinois employers to provide their workers with an hour of paid sick time for each 40 hours worked, or five days per year. Read all about it in the Chicago Tribune of January 22nd and January 24th.
I’m sympathetic to the financial challenges facing many of our small businesses, but really this law is just common sense. As Senator Kimberly Lightford said, “Imagine you’re down with the flu, you have a bad cold or even COVID and you are one of these millions of people. You have to consider if you’re going to risk getting your co-workers sick or risk not being able to put food on the table. Why should a person have to think for just a second if they were (at) risk (of) losing their job or losing wages if they stay home to take care of themselves or a loved one? Don’t we think that should be a basic human right?”
The Tribune editorialized in favor of the law, noting, “A week’s paid leave? What took Illinois so long?” and noted that the bill was not opposed by the Illinois Association of Manufacturers.
Hurray Illinois Dems! This law will help keep us all healthy.