Work in Illinois or Chicago?
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK
ILLINOIS RIGHTS: Paid Leave | Equal Pay | Pregnancy Fairness | Sexual Harassment Protections | Worker Freedom of Speech
CHICAGO RIGHTS: Paid Leave | Full and Fair Wage | Fair Workweek | Domestic Worker Rights | Sexual Harassment Protections
You can’t access a right you don’t know you have. In just the last few years, we have won new and improved laws and protections for working people in Illinois and Chicago. Make sure you know your new rights! See below for information about a number of newly won rights—and what to do if your rights are violated.
DO YOU WORK IN ILLINOIS? Your Rights Include:
Paid Leave Rights:
As of January 1, 2024, most working people in Illinois, including full- and part-time workers, have the right to earn and use up to 5 days of paid time off for any reason—including to care for yourself or a family member, for medical appointments, to attend a school play, to take care of your mental health, or any other reason.
Equal Pay Rights:
Pay discrimination is Illegal, and in Illinois, employers cannot pay women less than men for the same or substantially similar work. Since 2019, employers cannot ask job candidates for their current or past wages or benefits and other compensation during the hiring process. We call this the No Salary History law. (Learn more.) And as of January 1, 2025, employers with 15 or more employees are required to include a pay range and general description of benefits in job postings. We call this the Salary Transparency law. (Learn more.)
Pregnancy Fairness:
It is illegal for an employer to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to provide reasonable, temporary accommodations to a person who is pregnant, recovering from childbirth, or has a medical or common condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. Reasonable accommodations include things like bathroom breaks, breaks for rest or water, a private space for pumping, help with manual labor, a chair to sit on, and more.
Sexual Harassment Protections:
You are protected from sexual harassment in the workplace, including any verbal or physical interaction with you that is sexual and that you do not want, a sexual suggestion or explicit language about sex that you do not want, a pattern of sexually discriminatory remarks, or an employer making decisions about you depending on whether you submit to sexual demands. Employers are responsible for addressing sexual harassment and are required to provide annual sexual harassment prevention trainings.
Worker Freedom of Speech:
As of January 1, 2025, employers cannot require employees to attend meetings that discuss religion or politics, when those discussions are not necessary for workers to complete their jobs.
DO YOU WORK IN CHICAGO? Your Rights Include:
Paid Leave Rights:
As of July 1, 2024, most full- and part-time working people in Chicago can now earn and use up to 5 days of paid time off for any reason, in addition to the 5 days a year of paid sick time that workers were already entitled to earn and use.
Full and Fair Wage:
Chicago recently passed an ordinance that will phase out the subminimum wage for tipped workers over 5 years, starting on July 1, 2024. That means that people in Chicago who work in tipped industries will ultimately earn Chicago’s full minimum wage with tips on top.
Fair Workweek:
Employers in Chicago are required to provide their workers with 2 weeks advance notice of schedules, 10 hours of rest between shifts, compensation for last-minute schedule changes, and an offer of extra hours to part-time employees before hiring additional help.
Domestic Worker Rights:
Domestic Workers in Chicago have a right to earn minimum wage, paid sick days, and overtime pay; to have one day off per week; and to be free from sexual harassment. In addition, all nannies, care workers, home cleaners, and other domestic workers in Chicago have the right to a written contract.
Sexual Harassment Protections:
In addition to the Illinois protections, as of 2022, employers in Chicago are required to provide bystander intervention training and specialized sexual harassment prevention trainings to those who supervise other people. All employers in the city of Chicago must have a written policy on sexual harassment.