Given the lengthy list of expanded employee protections passed in 2025, Illinois employers are encouraged to review and update their policies, procedures and employee agreements—in both form and practice—for compliance with all the new requirements
In just one day, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed into law over 200 bills passed by the Illinois General Assembly. More than a dozen new and amended laws create new employee rights and expand obligations for Illinois employers, most of which became effective immediately or will take effect by January 1, 2026.
Illinois joins several other states that have recently taken legislative action to freeze employee protections by relying on definitions or terms provided under federal laws or regulations as they existed in early 2025. The new law states that if a federal wage-and-hour or coal miner safety law, regulation or guidance changes in a manner that reduces the employee protections provided to Illinois employees, then Illinois state agencies with enforcement responsibilities must revise or adopt Illinois regulations or guidance so that they revert to the more protective 2025 version of the federal laws. Agencies can continue to take action to further protect employees and must report to the Legislature any actions taken to comply with the new law’s requirements.
Effective June 1, 2026, Illinois employers must provide covered employees with job-protected, unpaid leave if the employee has a...
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