A number of new employment laws will go into effect for Illinois employers on January 1, 2026.

These laws impact leave, payroll programs, unemployment, and employment decisions, among other things.

Below is a short summary of some key laws that will take effect on January 1. If you have questions, please reach out to the NFIB Illinois office.

• HB 1278 (Didech) – Amends the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act. Forbids employers from discriminating against employees for use of employer-issued equipment to record domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence committed against the employee or a family or household member of the employee. Employers must grant employees access to any recordings or digital documents/communications on the device relating to any such violence.
• HB 1616 (Syed) – Amends the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act. Expands the act so that part-time employees who donate organs qualify for the act’s leave provisions. The act applies to employers with 51 or more employees. Employees can only use the leave after obtaining approval from the employer.
• HB 3094 (Mah) – Amends the Transportation Benefits Program Act. Exempts union contractors from the requirements of the act. Extends the program to part-time employees.
• HB 3200 (Hoffman) – Amends the Unemployment Insurance Act. Creates a three-year pilot program for individuals who voluntarily leave employment due to a mental-health disability. The disability must be certified by a licensed and practicing psychiatrist. Permits the Department of Employment Security to pursue liens to recover money fraudulently received by applicants. Makes other changes.
• HB 3638 (Williams) – Amends the Workplace Transparency Act. Expands the act to include labor-law issues. Permits employees to recover consequential damages for violations.
• HB 3773 (Andrade) – Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Makes it a human-rights violation to use artificial intelligence (AI) for employment decisions to discriminate against protected classes under the Human Rights Act. Contains notification requirements for employers.
• SB 212 (Fine) – Amends the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act. Rewords the section dealing with breaks for nursing mothers. Specifies that an employer cannot require an employee to use paid leave during a break to express breast milk.
• SB 2487 (Johnson) – Amends the Human Rights Act. Imposes a civil penalty to “vindicate the public interest” on businesses that violate the provisions of the Human Rights Act.