08-18-2026
Illinois has enacted a number of changes to its employment laws that are essential for employers operating in that state.
Civil Rights Safeguard Act
What it does: Codifies disparate impact liability for discrimination claims explicitly into the state’s Human Rights Act (HRA).
What it means: Employers may be held civilly liable for neutral requirements, policies, or methods that disproportionately impact individuals based on a protected characteristic, citizenship status, family responsibilities, work authorization status, arrest record, or conviction record. It also means the Illinois Department of Human Rights can actively enforce this express provision.
Employers should review facially neutral policies, including hiring criteria, screening procedures, testing requirements, promotion standards, and disciplinary policies for disproportionate impacts on protected groups. Where such policies do create a disproportionate impact, employers should be prepared to assert their business necessity and address whether reasonable alternatives exist.
Menopause Equity and Care Act
What it does: Prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of “menopause-related conditions,” which includes “perimenopause, menopause, and associated medical or symptomatic conditions.”
What it means: Employers will have to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with menopause-related conditions, such as flexible scheduling, modified work hours, and temperature- or climate-adjusted workplaces. The Act also covers group health insurance policies for employers with more than 25 employees, requiring coverage for annual menopause or perimenopause health visits.
Paid Leave for Jury Service
What it does: Requires all Illinois employers to provide eligible employees with job-protected leave for jury service. Beginning January 1, 2027, employers with at least 26 employees must “compensate eligible employees at their regular rate of pay for time serving on jury duty.”
What it means: Illinois employers are prohibited from firing, intimidating, or coercing employees because of their jury duty or required attendance in court. The statute defines eligible employees as those who have not been disqualified from sitting on juries and have been summoned for jury duty by an Illinois court.
Volunteer Emergency Workers Receive More Job Protections
What it does: Provides job protection for volunteer emergency workers who take time off to perform their volunteer duties
What it means: Beginning January 1, 2027, the Volunteer Worker Job Protection Act prohibits employers from firing or otherwise penalizing volunteer emergency workers for performing their service. Employers cannot penalize workers who are absent or late to work because they responded to an emergency. Moreover, employers cannot require volunteer emergency workers to use vacation time or other compensatory time for time spent responding to emergencies or participating in training.