With the start of the new year tomorrow, a number of new Illinois labor laws will take effect, expanding worker protections and benefits statewide.
According to Capitol News Illinois, one new law provides unpaid leave for employees whose newborns require care in a neonatal intensive care unit. Workers at businesses with 16 to 50 employees will now be eligible for up to 10 days of unpaid leave, while larger employers must provide up to 20 days.
Another measure places limits on the use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, and promotions, when the technology results in discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or age.
Additional labor-related changes include expanded paid time off for individuals participating in military funeral honors, as well as paid leave for part-time employees who serve as organ donors. Other new labor laws address documenting domestic violence in the workplace, improving transparency requirements, military honors provisions, and updates to unemployment benefits.
Beyond labor laws, nearly 300 new Illinois laws will take effect Thursday. Among the most notable is the elimination of the state’s 1 percent grocery tax. However, more than half of Illinois cities and towns have already approved ordinances establishing their own local grocery taxes.
Other new laws cover a wide range of issues, including hotel soap distribution, removing squatters, drinking water protections, firefighter safety equipment, lift-assist fees, stadium funding, public official privacy, rewilding initiatives, reservation app regulations, paid time off for breast milk pumping, naloxone availability in libraries, police training on sexual assault, and regulations aimed at predatory towing practices.
State officials say the changes reflect a broad effort to update Illinois law across public safety, worker rights, and consumer protections as the new year begins.