What New Laws are Coming to Illinois in 2026?

New year, new laws! In our 2026 annual legislative digest for Illinois’ small business community, we highlight six new developments in employment law. These laws make the following changes:

• Changes to Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (IWTA)
• New Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act
• Amendments to Illinois Human Rights Act
• Amendments to Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act
• Amendments to Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act
• Amendments to the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA)

Please note: This post covers only some of the new legislation taking effect this year and, while these laws certainly affect small businesses, there may be others as well.

Changes to The Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (IWTA)

The Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (IWTA) (link here) protects employees from overly strict employer confidentiality agreements. It states that employees must be allowed to (1) make certain truthful statements about employer activities and (2) engage in “concerted activity”. This law has been amended to provide employees more protections.

There are a few pieces to these amendments:

First, the new amendments expand the types of statements that are protected from confidentiality agreements. Generally, employers can’t prevent employees from truthfully talking about “unlawful employment practices”. Specifically, this now also includes wage and hour violations, safety concerns, and other regulatory matters, in addition to harassment and discrimination.

Second, the amendments expand the definition of “concerted activity”, a protected activity that employees have the right to engage in. “Concerted activities” now includes any activity for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. So employers can’t ban employees from working together, in any way, to bring up concerns regarding workplace conditions, discussion of wages, or safety concerns.

Third, employers cannot have employment contracts that:

• shorten the applicable statute of limitation;
• apply non-Illinois law to an Illinois employee’s claim; or
• require a location outside of Illinois to adjudicate an Illinois employee’s claim.

Fourth, the amendments also restrict how an employer can include confidentiality provisions in any severance/settlement agreement that a former or prospective employee is asked to sign. Specifically, the agreement must:

• not prohibit future or prospective concerted activity related to workplace conditions;
• be supported by separate “consideration” (something given to the employee, typically money) specifically for the confidentiality provision apart from that provided for a release of claims; and
• not unilaterally state that promises of confidentiality are the preference of the employee.

Finally, the IWTA now allows employees who show their employer violated the IWTA to seek higher payouts than before. This includes consequential damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

Employers should review any employment agreement and severance agreement templates as well as their policies and practices to ensure compliance with these rules. This new law takes effect January 1, 2026.

New Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act

This new Illinois law (link here) allows for leave time for a parent with children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This law applies to all employers with 16 or more employees. Employers with 16 to 50 employees must provide up to 10 days of unpaid, job-protected leave for employees whose child is admitted to a NICU. Employers with 51 or more employees must provide up to 20 days.

This leave is in addition to any Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave that the employee may be entitled to. And unlike FMLA, there are no requirements surrounding time in service or employment status, such as full-time or part-time, so it is available to more employees. Employers are permitted to require verification of the NICU admission but cannot require disclosure of any confidential medical information.

This law takes effect June 1, 2026.

Amendments to Illinois Human Rights Act

The Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) (link here) has expanded its protection to cover AI use. Effective January 1, 2026, the IHRA will prohibit employers from using AI that subjects employees to discrimination on the basis of a protected class. The definition of “AI” is very broad and includes “a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers … how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments,” and includes “generative” AI.

This law covers all employment decisions, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, or the terms, privileges, or conditions of employment.

Employers should look for additional guidance from the Illinois Department of Human Rights as the act gives them authority to create rules around these amendments.

Amendments to Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act

The Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act (link here) has been amended to clarify that employers must provide nursing mothers with paid leave breaks to express milk for one year following their child’s birth. These paid leave breaks are in addition to any breaks the employer already generally provides to their employees. Employers cannot require the employee to use paid leave or otherwise reduce any compensation to the employee as result of their using this paid leave. This law applies to employers with more than 5 employees and goes into effect January 1, 2026.

Amendments to Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act

Amendments to the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act (link here) extend the required paid leave for purposes of organ donation to part-time employees. Previously, it only applied to full-time employees. This law applies to employers with 51 or more employees and will apply to any employee who works any number of hours for an employer. The Act allows for up to 10 days of leave for an employee donating an organ. It takes effect January 1, 2026.

Amendments to the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA)

Employers that have policies restricting the use of electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops, and tablets should review their policies to make sure they are compliant with new amendments to the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) (link here). These amendments will take effect January 1, 2026. Many employers have policies that restrict the use of these devices for personal activities. HB1278 requires an employer to allow employees to use such devices 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. The amendments also require employers to allow the employee to access such recordings.

Employers should review any company device policies in place and make sure that they have specific exemptions for this type of recording and access.

What should my business do to prepare for these new laws?

There is a wide array of laws that apply to Illinois employers, and these laws are constantly changing. It can be time consuming and often overwhelming to navigate. If you have questions about any of these new laws or something that has come up for your business, or you want to get your employment procedures and policies in order, you can read more about what we recommend based on your business needs. You are also welcome to contact G & G Law, and our attorneys will be happy to help.

• How do I protect my business as an employer?
• What employment laws apply to small businesses?
• What do I need to know before I hire my first employee?
• Where do I start incorporating these employment laws into my policies?
• What other kinds of leave do employers need to provide?
• How can I stay updated on future changes to the law?

Get in Touch!