Leave - Illinois

Jury duty

Illinois law doesn’t require private employers to pay employees on jury duty.

Voting

Illinois law requires employers to give employees time off to vote.

For general and special elections or at any election at which propositions are submitted to a popular vote, employees are allowed two hours to vote (excluding lunch and rest periods). Employees must give notice before the day of election. The employer can specify the two hours the employee can use to vote. This time off for voting doesn’t apply if there are two consecutive hours between the time of opening and the time of closing of the polls and the employee is not employed on the job. State law says that employers may not reduce an employee's compensation for taking time off to vote, so employees must continue to be paid if taking time off to vote.

Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act

Illinois law requires all employers to give employees time off who are victims of domestic, sexual, or gender violence, any crime of violence, including homicide, sex offenses, bodily harm, harassing and obscene communications, terrorism, armed violence.

Employees are covered if:

• The work is to be performed within IL, not when the work is sporadically performed in IL for an employer outside IL.
• The work is to be performed outside IL, but the employer is in IL or a contract for hire was entered into in IL.

Employees are not covered if the work is done but their permanent workstation was outside IL and most of the work was performed outside IL.

Reasons for leave

Employees may take VESSA leave to:

• Seek medical attention or counseling services related to domestic or sexual violence or crimes of violence;
• Obtain services from a victim services organization;
• Obtain psychological or other counseling;
• Obtain legal assistance; or
• Participate in safety planning.

Effective 1/1/24, employees may also take up to two weeks of VESSA leave to:

• Attend the funeral or alternative to funeral or wake of a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence;
• Make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence; or
• Grieve the death of a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence.

Leave for these latter reasons must be completed within 60 days after the date on which the employee receives notice of the death of the victim.

The protections also apply to employees with family household members who are such victims. A “family household member” includes a spouse, parent, child, other person related by blood or by present or prior marriage, other person who shares a relationship through a son or daughter, people jointly residing in the same household, a party to a civil union, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or any other person related by blood or by present or prior marriage or civil union, or any other person who shares a relationship through a child, or any other individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship as determined by the employee.

Leave entitlement

Employers with 1 – 14 employees need to provide up to four workweeks of leave during any 12-month period. This does not exceed leave allowed under the federal FMLA.

Employers with at least 15 but not more than 49 employees must provide up to eight weeks of leave during any 12-month period.

Employers with 50 or more employees must provide up to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period.

If an employee is entitled to leave under IL Family Bereavement Leave Act, leave under VESSA does not entitle the employee to more leave.

If an employee is not entitled to leave under the IL Family Bereavement Leave Act, leave under VESSA will be deducted from, and is not in addition to, the total amount of leave time to which an employee is entitled.

Benefit coverage is to continue during the leave.

Reinstatement

Employees who take VESSA leave are entitled, on return from such leave, to be restored to the position held when the leave began; or to an equivalent one with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Notice/certification

The employee must provide the employer with at least 48 hours of advance notice of the intention to take leave, unless impracticable.

The employer may require the employee to provide certification. This applies only if the employee had possession of such documentation.

The employee gets to choose which document to provide.

Effective 1/1/24, if the leave was due to the death of a victim, employees may satisfy the certification requirement by providing the employer with a death certificate, published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or government agency, documenting that a victim was killed in a crime of violence.

Employers may request only one document during the same 12-month period.

Use of paid leave

An employee who is entitled to take paid or unpaid leave (including family, medical, sick, annual, personal, or similar leave) pursuant to federal, state, or local law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an employment benefits program or plan may elect to substitute any period of such leave for an equivalent period of leave provided due to domestic or sexual violence. The employer may not, however, require the employee to substitute available paid or unpaid leave for these absences.

Protections

Employers may not discriminate against employees who need such leave and must make reasonable accommodations to known limitations resulting from being a victim of domestic, sexual, gender violence, or any violent crime, in addition to a family or household member being a victim. The nondiscrimination provisions apply also to applicants and employees who are perceived to be crime victims.

Any exigent circumstances or danger facing the employee or his or her family or household member must be considered in determining whether the accommodation is reasonable.

Information obtained must be kept in the strictest confidence by the employer.

Emergency workers

Illinois laws require employers to give employees time off for duties as volunteer emergency workers.

In municipalities with a population of at least 3,500, employers must not terminate their employees who are volunteer emergency workers when they are absent from or late to their employment in order to respond to an emergency. The time missed need not be compensated. Employees must make reasonable effort to notify their employer of their absence or tardiness. Employers may request a written statement from the supervisor or acting supervisor of the governmental entity that the volunteer emergency worker serves.

Employers may not discipline an employee if he or she responds to an emergency phone call or text message during work that requests his or her volunteer emergency services. Employers may, however, have and enforce workplace policies governing the use of cell phones.

Violation of this law may result in a civil action. Note: The law covers volunteer emergency workers, including firefighters, EMTs, ambulance drivers or attendants, and first responders.

Civil Air Patrol leave

Illinois employers with between 15 and 50 employees must provide up to 15 days of unpaid leave for employees to perform a Civil Air Patrol mission. If you have more than 50 employees, you must provide up to 30 days of unpaid leave.

The employee needs to provide at least 14 days’ notice of the leave if it will last five or more consecutive workdays. Employers may require certification from the proper authority to verify the leave.

The employee is entitled to be restored to his or her position at the end of leave.

The employer must make it possible for the employee to continue his or her benefits at the employee's expense.

Family military leave

Under Illinois law, employers with 15 to 49 employees (including independent contractors) must provide up to 15 days of unpaid family military leave to an employee who is the spouse, parent, child, or grandparent of a person called to military service lasting longer than 30 days. Employers with 50 or more employees must provide up to 30 days of unpaid leave. For employers with 50 or more employees, the number of days of leave is to be reduced by the number of days of leave provided under the federal FMLA for qualifying exigency. Employees are eligible if they have worked at least 12 months for the employer, and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave is to begin.

The employee must give at least 14 days advanced notice of the intended leave if the leave will last five or more consecutive workdays. If the leave is to last less than five days, the employee must give the employer advanced notice, as is practicable. The employer may require certification from the military authority to verify the leave.

Employees are not to take this leave unless all accrued vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave, and other leave has been exhausted.

The employer must make it possible for employees to continue benefits at the employee’s expense.

Violation of this law may result in a civil action.

Blood donation

Illinois law requires employers with 51 or more employees to allow employees up to one hour off every 56 days to donate blood. More time off may be allowed or required if authorized by the employer or a collective bargaining agreement. The employee must be a full-time employee who has been employed by the employer for at least six months. The employee must obtain approval for time off from the employer. The employer may require medical documentation of the leave before providing approval.

Donation leave (state employees)

Illinois law requires time off with pay for state employees who donate an organ, bone marrow, blood, or blood platelets.

Employees may take the leave if they have been employed by an agency for a period of six months or more and choose to donates an organ, bone marrow, blood, or blood platelets.

On request, a participating employee may be entitled to organ donation leave with pay. An employee may use up to 30 days of organ donation leave in any 12-month period to serve as a bone marrow donor, up to 30 days of organ donation leave in any 12-month period to serve as an organ donor.

Employees may take up to:

• One hour to donate blood,
• 1.5 hours to donate double red cells, and
• 2 hours to donate blood platelets.

The frequency of the blood donation times are in accordance with appropriate medical standards established by the American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers, the American Association of Blood Banks, or other nationally-recognized standards.

Employees must obtain obtain approval from the agency. An employee may not be required to use accumulated sick or vacation leave time before being eligible for organ donor leave.

“Agency” means any branch, department, board, committee, or commission of state government, but does not include units of local government, school districts, or boards of election commissioners.

School conference and activity leave

The Illinois School Visitation Rights Act requires employers of 50 or more individuals in Illinois to permit parents and guardians who are unable to meet with educators because of a work conflict the right to an allotment of time during the school year to attend necessary educational or behavioral conferences at the school their children attend. This leave does not have to be paid.

To be eligible, the employee must have worked for at least six consecutive months immediately preceding a request for leave and for an average number of hours per week equal to at least one-half the full-time equivalent position in the employer’s job classification during those six months. “Employee” does not include an independent contractor.

An employer must grant up to eight hours of leave during any school year, no more than four hours of which may be taken on any given day, to attend school conferences or classroom activities if these activities cannot be scheduled during non-work hours. However, no leave may be taken unless the employee has exhausted all accrued vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave, and any other leave that may be granted to the employee, except sick leave and disability leave.

The employee must provide the employer with a written request for leave at least seven days in advance. In emergency situations, no more than 24 hours’ notice shall be required. The employee must consult with the employer to schedule the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.

An employee may choose to make up the time on a different day or shift as directed by the employer, but cannot be required to make up the time. Employers shall make a good-faith effort to permit an employee to make up the time. A reasonable opportunity does not include the scheduling of make-up time that would require the payment of overtime wages. However, if unpaid leave conflicts with the unreduced compensation requirement for exempt employees, an employer may require the employee to make up the leave hours within the same pay period.

Upon completion of school visitation, the school will provide documentation of the visitation. The parent or guardian must submit the verification to the employer. Failure to submit the verification within two working days subjects the employee to the standard disciplinary procedures for unexcused absences.

No employer is required to grant school visitation leave if doing so would result in more than five percent of the employer’s workforce or five percent of an employer’s workforce shift taking school conference or activity leave at the same time.

Pregnancy accommodations

All Illinois employers must allow for reasonable accommodations for any medical or common condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, unless they can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship. Such accommodation could include time off to recover from conditions related to childbirth, as well as leave necessitated by pregnancy, childbirth, or medical or common conditions resulting from pregnancy or childbirth.

After such time off, the employee must be reinstated to her original job or to an equivalent position, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship.

Employers cannot require an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided.

Undue hardship is an action that is prohibitively expensive or disruptive when considered in light of factors such as the nature and cost of the accommodation needed, the overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved, the number of persons employed at the facility, the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of the accommodation, the overall financial resources of the employer, and the type of operation of the employer.

Child bereavement leave (until 1/1/23)

Employers with 50 or more employees are to provide up to two weeks (10 work days) of unpaid bereavement leave to:

• Attend the funeral or alternative of a child,
• Make arrangements necessitated by the death of a child, or
• Grieve the death of a child.

A child includes a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild; legal ward; or a child of a person standing in loco parentis.

The employee is to complete the leave within 60 days of the notice of the death, and provide at least 48 hours' advance notice of the leave unless not reasonable and practicable.

You may require reasonable documentation such as a death certificate, a published obituaty, or other written verifiation of death, burial, or memorial service.

In the event of more than one child in a 12-month period, an employee is entitled to a total of up to six weeks of bereavement leave during the 12-month period.

Sick leave

Under the IL Employee Sick Leave Act, if an employer provides for unpaid sick leave due to an employee’s personal illness, injury, or medical appointment, employees are entitled to use that leave due to an illness, injury or medical appointment of a child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent. This includes taking family members to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine. The leave is to be taken on the same terms as it would for the employee’s own injury or illness.

An employment benefit plan or paid time off policy does not include long-term disability, short-term disability, insurance policy, or other comparable benefit plan or policy.

Employers may limit the use of personal sick leave for the new reasons to an amount not less than the personal sick leave that would be earned or accrued during six months at the employee’s then current rate of entitlement. For employers who base personal sick leave benefits on an employee’s years of service instead of annual or monthly accrual, such employer may limit the amount of sick leave to half of the employee’s maximum annual grant.

If an employer provides for paid time off that would otherwise provide the same benefits as the IL Employee Sick Leave Act, it would not need to modify the policy.

In April 2021, the governor signed legislation (HB 158) to expand ESLA to include “personal care.” Personal care means activities to ensure that a covered family member’s basic medical, hygiene, nutritional, or safety needs are met, or to provide transportation to medical appointments, for a covered family member who is unable to meet those needs by themselves. It also means being physically present to provide emotional support to a covered family member with a serious health condition who is receiving inpatient or home care.

The law does not extend the maximum period of FMLA leave.