Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Paid Leave topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Deerfield board exempts park and school districts from Cook County paid-leave rule
Summary
The Village of Deerfield voted to opt its park district and local school districts out of a Cook County paid-leave ordinance, siding with the park district's request that county rules — which do not match a state exemption — could create staffing, safety and accounting problems for seasonal employees.
The Village of Deerfield Board of Trustees on April 7 adopted an ordinance opting Deerfield Park District and local school districts out of the Cook County paid-leave requirement, a move the Park District sought to avoid operational and safety problems for seasonal staff.
Ann Marie Flaherty, executive director of the Deerfield Park District, told trustees the issue arose after the State of Illinois enacted a paid-leave act in March 2023 that specifically exempted park and school districts but Cook County later adopted a county-level paid-leave ordinance that did not include the same exemptions. "We were reaching out to the village to ask for exemption for this paid leave requirement," Flaherty said. She warned the county rule, as applied to parks, could force multiple seasonal lifeguards or camp counselors to take leave at once and "we would not be able to have the pools open" if replacements meeting required safety certifications were not available.
Flaherty said exempting district employees is partly an accounting/administrative concern for organizations that operate across county lines and partly a safety issue for programs that rely on certified seasonal staff. She estimated the Park District's additional annual cost from complying with the county rule would be "between 10 and $40,000 a year." Flaherty said park districts and school districts in most neighboring municipalities had already secured similar exemptions from their municipalities.
Trustees asked clarifying questions about the ordinance's duration and whether adoption would stand until Cook County changed its rules; staff said the village's local ordinance would remain in place unless the board chose to change it or county requirements were amended. The board moved and approved the ordinance by roll call; recorded yes votes included Trustee Oppenheim, Mayor Daniel C. Shapiro, Trustee Benton and Trustee Goldstone.
The action uses the village's home-rule authority to reconcile differences between the state law exemption and Cook County's ordinance, according to staff. The board's approval means Deerfield Park District and local school districts will not be subject to the Cook County paid-leave requirement as long as the village ordinance remains in effect or until the county revises its ordinance.
