At its February meeting, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules pushed consideration of the Illinois Department of Labor's changes to its proposed rule for the implementation and enforcement of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA)
until its March 12th meeting.
Representative Ryan Spain, JCAR co-chair, politely recommended to the Department to pull the stakeholders together to discuss potential additional changes to achieve a final rule. He also suggested that IDOL engage Speaker Pro Tempore, Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, the original sponsor of the law, in those discussions.
After questioning the Department on their position regarding home rule units being preempted by the rule, Senator Don DeWitte challenged the IDOL position on the basis that the Illinois Constitution requires a specific preemption clause in the Act and a three-fifths vote by both the House and Senate. Neither occurred with the passage of the PLAWA.
Representative Curtis Tarver II questioned the Department about their outreach efforts on soliciting comments from minority businesses. He suggested that the Department needed to involve minority business organizations in the discussions going forward.
Additional webinars on the PLAWA are being held by the Department as follows:
- February 22 (Thursday) at 2PM CT
- March 7 (Thursday) at 10AM CT
- March 21 (Thursday) at 2PM CT
More information, including a previously recorded webinar and links to register, is available via this link.
Individuals with questions or comments may contact IDOL by email at DOL.PaidLeave@illinois.gov.