2026 brought amendments to existing legislation, as well as the creation of new
legislation to continue to afford both employers and employees additional rights
and guidelines.
Whether you are an employee of a small company, or the
employer of a hundred, understanding your duties, responsibilities and rights
is crucial to a productive and effective work environment. The following are
notable law changes that became effective January 1, 2026.
Public Act 104-0171
This new legislation amends the Victims’ Economic
Security and Safety Act. Under the new amendment, employers must allow
employees to use employer-issued devices to document or communicate an act
of violence against themselves or a family member. Employers must also make
available any of these recordings or data to the employee for use in legal
proceedings. If the employee is incapacitated, certain family members must be
granted access to this data by the employer.
Public Act 104-0193
This amendment to the Employee Blood and Organ
Donation Leave Act expands leave for organ donation to include part-time
employees, allowing them to take up to 10 days of leave in a 12-month period
for organ donation. This act also requires employers to compensate part-time
employees while on leave for organ donation based on their average daily pay
over the previous two months.
Public Act 104-0320
This act amends the Workplace Transparency Act,
further restricting the use of confidentiality and similar provisions in
employment, separation, and settlement agreements. This amendment expands
employee protections by prohibiting agreements limiting workers from engaging
in concerted activity about workplace issues and requiring additional
safeguards for enforceable confidentiality terms.
Public Act 103-0804
This amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act
regulates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment decisions. Under
this amendment, it is a civil rights violation for employers to use AI in a way
that results in discrimination (including the use of proxies like Zip Codes) and
requires employers to notify employees when AI is being used in employment related
decisions.
Public Act 104-0259
This creates the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave
Act. Under this act, employees of an employer with 16 to 50 employees shall be
entitled to use a maximum of 10 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave
while any child of the employee is a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit.
An employee of an employer with 51 or more employees shall be entitled to use
a maximum of 20 days. After an employee returns from leave under this act,
the employee shall be reinstated to his or her former position or a substantially
equivalent position with no loss of benefits held or accrued prior to leave.
Public Act 104-0076
This act amends the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace
Act, providing that an employer shall provide 30 minutes of paid break time
each time they need to express breast milk during the first year after a child’s
birth, replacing the “reasonable break time” standard. Should additional time
be needed, employees may use other paid breaks or meal periods, and
employers must continue to provide paid break time unless doing so would
create an undue hardship.
