Last month, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed several new laws that will take effect in 2026. Here are the most important changes employers need to know.

• Governor Pritzker signed into law new employment–related enactments, such as the Workers’ Rights and Worker Safety Act.
• Existing laws, such as the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act, and the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Act, have been amended.
• Most notably, effective June 1, 2026, the new Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act will allow parents time off when their children are receiving care in hospitals’ neonatal intensive care units.

New Illinois Employment Laws

House Bill (HB) 2978 (Public Act 104-0259), or the “Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act,” establishes a requirement for employers to provide unpaid leave while an employee’s child is in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). An employer with sixteen to fifty employees must provide ten days of leave, while an employer with more than fifty employees must provide up to twenty days of leave.

Senate Bill (SB) 1976 (Public Act 104-0161), or the “Workers’ Rights and Worker Safety Act,” states that if, after April 28, 2025, a federal Occupational Safety and Health Act standard is revoked, repealed, or amended to become less effective in providing “safe and healthful employment and places of employment,” the Illinois Department of Labor “shall, as soon as practical … adopt a standard that incorporates the federal...

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