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New Laws for 2021: Vaccine Anti-Retaliation Ordinance (Chicago)

 

On April 21st, the Chicago City Council passed the Vaccine Anti-Retaliation Ordinance (“Ordinance”) which establishes protections for Chicago workers that take time off work to get their vaccine.

The Ordinance requires employers in the city to allow workers to take time off to obtain their vaccine without retaliating against them in regard to their terms and conditions of employment.  Notably, this Ordinance applies regardless of whether the worker voluntarily chooses to get a vaccine or whether the employer requires it.

It is important to recognize that the Ordinance does not require employers to pay workers for the time off to get the vaccine (unless the employer mandates it.)  However, employers are required to allow workers to use any paid time off for time spent getting the vaccine during work hours.  With that being said, it is at a worker’s sole discretion whether or not to use paid time off to get the vaccine (as workers could instead simply choose not to be paid for this time spent getting the vaccine during work hours rather than using paid time off); employers are prohibited from required the use of paid time off.

For employers in the city that mandate getting the vaccine, they are required to pay workers for the time spent getting the vaccine (if the vaccine is during a work shift), at a worker’s regular rate of pay capped at four hours/vaccine dose.  These employers are prohibited from requiring workers to use paid time off as an alternative to paying them their regular rate of pay.

For Chicago employers that run afoul of the Ordinance, they could be subject to fines ranging from $1,000 - $5,000/violation.


For additional information:  https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/provdrs/health_protection_and_response/news/2021/april/city-council-passes-vaccine-anti-retaliation-ordinance-that-prov.htmlhttps://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/provdrs/health_protection_and_response/news/2021/april/city-council-passes-vaccine-anti-retaliation-ordinance-that-prov.html

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