Illinois employers should update their leave policies in light of the new bereavement law going into effect on January 1, 2023. On June 9, 2022, Governor Pritzker signed into law the Family Bereavement Leave Act (“FBLA”). The FBLA amends the Child Bereavement Leave Act (“CBLA”) and expands upon an employer’s obligations to provide unpaid bereavement leave to its employees.
While the CBLA only provided bereavement leave for the loss of a child, the FBLA provides bereavement leave for the death of any family member covered by the act, as well as time off due to certain losses related to pregnancy or adoption. Under the FBLA, a “covered family member” includes “an employee’s child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent.” The FBLA provides for up to ten work days of unpaid leave.
Employees are eligible to take time off of work to grieve under the FBLA if they are eligible employees under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires at least twelve months of employment and at least 1,250 hours worked within the previous twelve-month period. The FBLA cannot be used to take leave beyond the 12 weeks allowed under the FMLA.
Under the FBLA, employees can take bereavement leave for a covered family member in order to:
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