Illinois to Require Job-Protected Leave for Parents with Newborns in Intensive Care
Beginning June 1, 2026, Illinois employers with at least 16 or more employees will be required to provide unpaid parental leave to employees with a child who is a patient in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (Act) into law on August 15, 2025 . Under the Act, Illinois employers with 16 to 50 employees must provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave for employees with a child who is a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) . Employers with 51 or more employees must provide employees with a child in the NICU with up to 20 days of unpaid leave. The Act does not apply to employers with 15 or fewer employees. Eligible employees may choose to take NICU leave continuously or intermittently. For intermittent leave, employers can set the minimum increment of time that must be taken, so long as the increments are two hours or less. However, employees eligible for leave under the federal F amily and Medical Leave...