Beginning June 1, 2026, Illinois law will require many employers to provide unpaid, job‑protected leave to eligible employees while their child is receiving care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Here’s a quick look at these new protections and how they may apply to your workplace.

Who is covered?

Under the new requirements, employers with 16 or more employees in total must provide this leave. The amount of leave depends on employer size:

• Employers with 16–50 employees must provide up to 10 days of unpaid NICU leave.
• Employers with 51 or more employees must provide up to 20 days of unpaid NICU leave.

What does the leave provide?

During qualifying NICU leave an employee’s job and benefits are protected, they must be reinstated to their prior position or a substantially equivalent role upon return. There must be no loss of benefits from when leave began.

An employee’s group health insurance coverage must be maintained on the same terms as if they were actively working.

The law does not require employers to pay wages during this NICU leave. However, employees may be able to use available paid time off or other leave benefits in coordination with this unpaid leave.

How this interacts with other leave laws

In addition to this new NICU leave, employees may have other rights under:

• Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – which may provide unpaid, job‑protected leave for serious health conditions and for bonding with a new child.
• Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act – if an employer offers sick leave, employees must be allowed to use at least the amount of sick leave they would earn in six months to care for certain family members, including for illness, injury, medical appointments, or personal care.
• Other state and local leave laws – for example, Illinois’ paid leave requirements and any applicable city or county paid leave rules.

Protections and enforcement

Employers must comply with these new requirements and ensure no retaliation or adverse treatment occurs because an employee takes or requests NICU leave. Penalties for violations can be significant, including financial penalties per affected employee (up to $5,000 per employee under the statute).

Next Steps

Employers should review their leave practices and total employee count to determine how this new regulation applies to their business, draft and distribute communications and policies to employees, and begin monitoring for situations which may warrant the new type of leave. If you need assistance with any of these steps, The Employer Group can assist you!

This information does not constitute legal advice.