with, deny or alter an employee’s work hours or days to avoid providing the required paid leave. Regarding an employee’s unused, accrued paid leave, under the PLFAW, if employers frontload the paid leave on the first day of employment or the first day of a designated 12-month period, they will not be required to carry over the employee’s unused paid leave to the next 12-month period. An employer may also require employees to use the paid leave before the end of the 12-month period. If, however, the employer uses the accrual method, then accrued, unused and earned paid leave would be permitted to be carried over to the next 12-month period. Also, under the PLFAW, employers will not be required to pay employees accrued, unused paid leave when the employee separates from employment (e.g., terminates, resigns, retires), provided the employer has not credited PLFAW leave to an employee’s paid time off bank or employee vacation account. Finally, if an employer rehires a separated employee within 12 months of separation, the employee’s earned paid leave has to be reinstated. The PLFAW will be enforceable by the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL), with specific record-keeping requirements which must be maintained for a specific time period, and conspicuous posting obligations, with penalties for non-compliance by the employer. Employers will also be prohibited from undertaking adverse action against employees for the exercise of their rights. In addition to IDOL enforcement against violations, employees may seek damages, attorneys’ fees and expert witness fees and penalties against employers. Your dealership should review existing paid leave policies prior to January 1, 2024, and consult with private counsel and human resources advisors about the PLFAW. If the dealership has in place a policy that provides at least 40 hours of paid leave, the employer may not be required to modify the policy, but that policy must offer an employee the option, at the employee’s discretion, to take paid leave for any reason. Julie A. Cardosi is Principal of the private firm, Law Office of Julie A. Cardosi, P.C., of Springfield, Illinois. She has practiced law for over 35 years and represents the business interests of franchised motor vehicle dealers throughout Illinois. Formerly in-house staff legal counsel for the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association, she concentrates her private practice in the areas of dealership compliance matters, transfers of ownership, mergers and acquisitions, franchise law, commercial real estate transfers, dealership employment and other areas impacting day-to-day dealership operations. She has also served as former Illinois Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Chief of the Consumer Fraud Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office. The material discussed in this article is for general information only and is not intended as legal advice and should not be acted upon as such. Dealers should consult their own private legal counsel for application to their specific circumstances. For more information, Julie can be reached at jcardosi@autocounsel.com, or at 217-787-9782, ext. 1. 1. Illinois Senate Bill 0208, 102nd Illinois General Assembly. 2. Excludes Illinois school districts under the Illinois School Code and Illinois park districts under the Illinois Park District Code. Also, does not apply to employers covered by a municipal or county ordinance in effect as of 1/1/24 requiring any form of paid leave to employees. 3. Employees classified as “exempt” from the overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act are considered to work 40 hours in each workweek for purposes of paid leave accrual unless their regular workweek is less than 40 hours. Paid leave begins to accrue on the employee’s first day of employment, or on January 1, 2024, whichever date is later. Employers can require that employees wait the later of 90 days from their start date, or 90 days from January 1, 2024, to begin using earned paid leave. 16 Illinois Automobile Dealer News
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw