FAQ

Eligible employees can take up to a maximum of 18 weeks of leave. Pregnant employees can take an additional 9 weeks of healthy pregnancy leave.

The bill covers any employee in Illinois who has earned a minimum of $1,600 in a 12-month period. Eligible employees may work for one or more employers. Self-employed workers can elect coverage. Most gig workers are also eligible.

Employers and employees share a premium contribution of 1.12% of wages, with employers paying 60% of the cost.

A person can use leave:

● For their own serious health condition;
● To care for an ill family member;
● To care for a new child, including a new adoption, foster care placement, or legal ward;
● For reasons related to military service; and
● For reasons related to domestic or sexual violence.

Employees earn 90% of their weekly wage, up to a cap. The cap is set at $1,200 for the first few years of the program, and eventually is equal to the average weekly wage in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Labor, through a new Division of Paid Family and Medical Leave.

Family member means an employee's child, spouse, party to a civil union, parent, or any other individual related by blood, marriage, or civil union or whose close relationship with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

Paid family and medical leave has tremendous benefits to new parents, working women, small businesses, the Illinois economy, low-paid workers, and more. See more about the benefits on our Resources page.

Paid family and medical leave is usually measured in weeks, while paid sick leave is measured in days. Paid family and medical leave is meant to address longer-term, serious illnesses or to bond with a new child. Paid sick leave is for short-term sickness like the flu, colds, doctor’s appointments, and similar. Depending on the employer, an employee may be able to roll their paid sick leave over from year to year until it functions like paid family and medical leave, but it is not the same. Amassing enough sick leave requires careful planning, good health, and a tremendous amount of luck--but that’s not how life works. A paid family and medical leave insurance program allows people to take leave when they need it.