Illinois regularly updates its employment laws to incorporate the ever-changing needs of its workforce by expanding work leaves, increasing reporting requirements, or responding to new technologies. 2026 will be no different, as many significant legal changes are on the horizon that address these demands and more. Below we outline the most important changes of which both employers and employees should be aware. Unless otherwise indicated, these changes will take effect as of January 1, 2026.
- Work Devices Can Be Used to Document Violence (VESSA)
The Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (“VESSA”) was passed in 2003 and permits job-protected unpaid leave for workers who are experiencing, or whose family members are experiencing, domestic, sexual, gender, or other violence. The length of permitted leave depends on the size of the employer. Additionally, employers must allow reasonable accommodations for workers engaging in activity protected by VESSA and they have a duty to post a notice of employment rights under the law. Workers have a duty to abide by all reasonable employer policies and to perform their essential job duties, including under any accommodations made in the workplace.
The act has been amended numerous times, including in 2019 to cover gender-based violence, in 2022 to expand the definition of “family or household member,” and in 2024 to apply to any violent crime. In August 2025, Illinois once again expanded the law to take effect in 2026. VESSA now allows workers to use their work-issued devices to record violence that they or their household members experience and to bar employers from restricting or removing use of devices solely because they were used to document violence. Employers must allow workers access to recordings and cannot discriminate against, harass, or retaliate against workers for using the devices for VESSA-protected activity.
- Safeguarding Workers’ Rights and Safety
Federal law protects workers’ safety under the Occupational Safety and Health Care Act (“OSHA”). In August 2025, Illinois passed the Illinois Workers’ Rights and Worker Safety Act to safeguard these federal protections. Under this act, if any 2025 federal OSHA standard is repealed, revoked, or amended in a way that reduces protections of workers’ rights or safety, the Illinois Department of Labor will adopt a standard equivalent to the 2025 federal protection prior to the repeal, revocation, or amendment. In addition, the Illinois Workers’ Rights and Safety Act prohibits Illinois state agencies from amending current protections so they are less stringent than the federal 2025 OSHA standards.
- Several Additions to the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act
One of the most significant changes to labor law in 2026 will be the amendments to the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (“IWTA”). As we have indicated previously, this act requires sexual harassment training in the workplace and governs various components of employment contracts. There are six key 2026 amendments:
- Expanded definition of “unlawful employment practices”: The previous definition was limited to “unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation,” but now includes any practice that is made unlawful under the Illinois Human Rights Act, Title VII, or any other state or federal rule or law governing employment, including those that are enforced by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, and the National Labor Relations Board. This expanded definition is notable in that it includes wage claims, safety issues, and collective bargaining matters.
- Addition of “concerted activity”: An employee’s right to engage in “concerted activity” is now explicitly protected from any contract prohibiting or restricting such a right. “Concerted activity” is defined as "activities engaged in for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection as provided in the National Labor Relations Act” and can include such things as discussions among employees regarding compensation and working conditions.
- Expansion of prohibited unilateral contract terms: “Any unilateral agreement with the purpose or effect of preventing an employee from engaging in concerted activity” is now barred. In practice, this will generally apply to employment agreements and severance agreements. A “unilateral agreement” is generally defined as non-negotiable agreements, including clauses and waivers that employees or prospective employees are required to accept in order to obtain or retain employment. Additionally, employers may not unilaterally shorten statutes of limitation, apply non-Illinois law to Illinois employees, or require adjudication outside of Illinois.
- Required mutual agreements and expanded employee acknowledgments: An employment contract must explicitly confirm the employee’s right to “participate in a proceeding related to unlawful employment practices, including any litigation brought by any federal, state, or local government agency or any other person who alleges that the employer has violated any state, federal, or local law, regulation or rule.” The clause must also include acknowledgement of the employee’s right to “engage in concerted activity to address work-related issues.”
- New confidentiality requirements in separation/settlement agreements: For employee separation and settlement agreements, employers are now required to (1) provide any consideration for confidentiality provisions separately from any consideration provided for a general release of claims, and (2) document that confidentiality is the employer’s preference without doing so unilaterally by including a clause in the contract. The amendment also provides that employers are not permitted to contract for confidentiality regarding future concerted activity related to workplace conditions.
- Expansion of recoverable damages: The amendments also provide an expansion of recoverable damages for current, former, or applicant employees who decide to pursue litigation. This includes consequential damages and reasonable attorney’s fees.
These amendments to the IWTA reiterate that it is important for employers to do their homework on what may constitute “unlawful conduct” outside of the traditional employment examples, such as harassment and discrimination. Workplace safety, wage and compensation, and labor rights/ collective activity issues are a few examples of the new and expansive definition of “unlawful activity.”
There seems to be an increased focus on protecting collective action (i.e., “concerted activity”). Employers must make sure all their contracts and covenants are in accordance with the NLRA, while also having a heightened awareness to allow union organizing. Any contract that deters or prohibits this type of conduct will likely invalidate the contract and leave the employer vulnerable to an increase in potential damages.
- Paid Breaks for Nursing Mothers
Employers with 100 or more employers will now be required to provide paid break time for nursing mothers. These breaks must be paid at the employee’s regular rate of compensation unless doing so would create an “undue hardship” as defined in the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”). The IHRA defines “undue hardship” as “prohibitively expensive or disruptive” when considered in light of specified factors including, among other things, the financial resources of the employer, the size of the employer, and the impact on operations. Employers are also prohibited from requiring employees to use paid leave for breaks or from otherwise reducing a nursing employee’s compensation during the break time.
- Revised Equal Pay Requirements
Illinois passed the Illinois Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) in 2003, and its goal is to ensure that employers do not pay employees who are doing the same or substantially similar work differently due to their sex, or their race if the lesser-paid employee is African-American.
In June 2025, Illinois expanded the law so that it now applies to any private employer with 100 or more employees in Illinois, regardless of EEO-1 filing status. Any business subject to the EPA must submit employee wage data to the Illinois Department of Labor that includes a list of employees separated by gender, race, and ethnicity. This data must also include the county in which each employee works and the date they started working for the business. Alongside this data, businesses must submit a certification that their average compensation for female and minority employees is not consistently below the average compensation for male and non-minority employees.
- Day Care Workers Must Get Criminal Background Checks
The Child Care Act of 1969 outlines requirements needed to license and monitor child care facilities in Illinois. In August 2025, Illinois amended the Child Care Act of 1969 to require employees or volunteers of a day care center, day care home, or group day care home to undergo a criminal background check every five years. Day care centers, day care homes, and group day care homes may hire, on a probationary basis, any employee or volunteer who authorizes a criminal background check after they receive “a qualifying result.”
- Expansion of the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA)
The Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) prohibits, among other things, unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in employment. It also directs the work of the Illinois Department of Human Rights (“IDHR”), which accepts and investigates charges of discrimination made under the IHRA. Following the governor’s signature of Senate Bill 2487 in August 2025, changes to the IHRA surrounding investigative procedure and monetary penalties will now take effect in the new year. Changes signed into law in August of 2024 related to the use of zip codes and A.I. in employment decisions will also take effect as of January 1, 2026.
- Fact-finding conferences no longer mandatory
Traditionally, the IDHR would hold “fact-finding conferences,” rather detailed meetings between an IDHR investigator and the complainant and respondent parties. As of 2026, these conferences are no longer automatically scheduled and mandatory for all open charges. Rather, the IDHR will decide to hold a conference at its discretion when it deems so helpful. Further, parties may jointly request a conference in writing within 90 days of a charge being filed, but they must also agree to allow the IDHR an additional 120 days to complete its investigation. Fact-finding conferences often entail a time commitment and cost, but they also can help yield additional facts and insight into allegations. Parties will need to decide early on whether a conference would prove helpful for them or not.
- New civil penalties
Employers also face new civil penalties in the new year “to vindicate the public interest.” For a first violation, penalties can reach up to $16,000 per act per aggrieved party. A second violation within 5 years can require up to $42,500, and two or more violations within 7 years can accrue up to $70,000. If a current and prior violation were committed by the same person, the penalties for multiple violations could apply even if the prior violation occurred outside of the established timeframes. The Illinois Human Rights Commission, the adjudicative body under the IHRA, has the authority to impose these penalties and they would accrue to the state, not to the complaining party.
- Use of zip codes in employment decisions
Signed into law in 2024 and taking effect in 2026, employers are barred by the IHRA from using zip codes as a proxy for any protected class under the law. Given the highly racially segregated nature of Chicago and other cities in Illinois, a zip code could easily be used, for example, as a filter in recruitment software, thereby tossing out applicants of one race or ethnic background. The same could be used to filter out neighborhoods that identify largely as LGBTQ. As of 2026, using zip codes in this way, or in any discriminatory manner in employment, will be illegal.
- Use of A.I. in employment decisions
Employers will also be barred from using artificial intelligence in employment decisions that has the effect of discriminating against a protected class under the IHRA. This prohibition covers the entire employment relationship, from recruiting to promotion to discipline and termination. If discrimination occurs as a result of using A.I., employers may be liable even if the discriminatory effects were unintended. Further, employers have an affirmative duty to inform job seekers and employees of their use of A.I. for any employment-related functions.
- Family Military Leave Expanded
The Illinois Family Military Leave Act was enacted to ensure family members of active duty military personnel who are on deployment have the opportunity to spend time with their service members without adverse consequences from their employer. In August 2025, Illinois renamed this act to the Miliary Leave Act and expanded its scope.
Under the Military Leave Act, qualifying employees can use up to eight hours of paid leave per calendar month, up to a total of 40 hours per calendar year, to participate in a funeral honors detail. This only applies to employers with 51 or more employees, and to employees who are trained to participate in a funeral honors detail and who are either 1) retired or active members of the armed forces or a member of the reserve component, or 2) an authorized provider of funeral honors detail or a registered member of an organization that is an authorized provider.
- Leave for Organ Donation Expanded
Previously, only full-time employees received leave under the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act. Starting January 1, 2026, employers with 51 or more employees must allow part-time employees to take leave for organ donation. The wording of the amendment is a bit ambiguous regarding blood donation, but likely the intent was to offer leave for both activities to part-time employees. We may have to wait for additional guidance to understand its scope.
Part-time employees covered by the new law must be compensated at their daily average rate of pay, which can be calculated based on the two months of employment preceding the leave. Employees may take up to 10 days of leave in any 12-month period.
- Work Leave for Neonatal Intensive Care
Under the newly enacted Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (“NICLA”), many employers will be required as of June 1, 2026 to provide unpaid leave while an employee’s child is in the NICU. Employers with 16-50 employees must provide 10 days of leave, and employers with 50 or more employees must provide 20 days of leave. Leave under this act is separate from FMLA leave (if applicable for employers) and must be taken only after FMLA leave is exhausted. Employers may not require the use of paid time off (“PTO”) to cover this leave, but employees may themselves opt to use PTO for it.
The leave can be taken intermittently or continuously, and employers may establish a minimum increment of time in which leave may be used, as long as the increment is no greater than two hours. The NICLA prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who take leave or otherwise support employees who do so.
Violations of the law will be able to be filed in court by an employee or reported to the Illinois Department of Labor (“IDOL”). Penalties can accrue up to $5,000 per affected employee. The IDOL will likely issue guidance on how employers should manage this leave.