Chicago recently passed Ordinance No. O2021-2182, implementing wage theft protections and expanding paid sick leave use.

JUL 5, 2021 | Wage Theft Protections. Employers are now liable for wage theft for failing to timely pay employees for any work performed, any paid time off (e.g., paid sick leave), and contractually required benefits. Employers now must pay 5% of any underpayments for each month they remain unpaid (as required by recent Illinois HB 118, effective July 9th). These penalties are in addition to failure to comply with Chicago paid sick leave requirements. A Covered Employee may file a claim with the Office of Labor Standards or in a civil action, but not both.

AUG 1, 2021 | Paid Sick Leave Expansion. Employees will now be able to use paid sick leave for the following reasons:

• The employee’s own or family member’s mental or behavioral issues, including substance abuse disorders.
• The employee’s family member’s order to quarantine, or to care for a family member whose school, class, or place of care is closed due to a public health emergency.
• Victim of domestic violence or sex offense includes stalking, aggravated stalking, and cybers talking.
• To obey an order from the city, state, or healthcare provider to stay home, isolate, or quarantine due to a communicable disease.

Action Items

The New York City Biometric Identifier Information Law requires commercial establishments—such as retail stores, food and drink establishments, and entertainment venues—that collect customer “biometric identifier information” to post signage stating as such, and strictly prohibits selling or sharing such data, except with law enforcement. Financial institutions and government agencies, employees, and agents are exempt from the signage requirement, but are likewise prohibited from selling biometric data.

Businesses are that are required to post signage have a 30-day notice and cure provision for a violation. Individuals may file a claim for noncompliance only after giving a business notice of the claimed violation and allowing the business 30 days to state in writing that the appropriate signage has been posted and no future violations will occur. Nevertheless, covered businesses should look to post the required signage as promptly as possible.

Action Items