HR by the Numbers: Thresholds for Employer Coverage

Employers are subject to an increasing variety of labor and employment laws on the federal, state, and local levels, depending on the number of employees they employ. Some of these laws only require larger employers, say with 50 or more employees, to comply. Other laws apply to employers with only one employee. Given recent developments in labor and employment laws, employers may wish to review whether certain laws apply to them based on their current employee counts and whether they have appropriate policies and practices in place to comply with them. Below is a summary of certain federal and Illinois laws that may be of interest. They are organized by size of employer in alphabetical order, with federal laws first, and Illinois laws thereafter. Readers may be surprised at how many labor and employment laws cover employers with one or more employees. This Legal Update does not discuss every federal, Illinois, and local labor and employment law but it does provide an overview of several of them. Of course, it is important to bear in mind that laws can change quickly and that new laws are frequently adopted. As this Legal Update does not constitute legal advice, it is important to consult with legal counsel for more information.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with One or More Employees

• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: This federal law creates liability for a person who intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access to obtain information.
• Consumer Credit Protection Act: This federal law prohibits employers from discharging an employee because his or her wages have been subjected to garnishment for any one debt and limits the amount of an employee’s earnings that may be garnished in any one week, with certain exceptions.
• Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA): This federal law provides trade secret owners the opportunity to protect against and remedy misappropriation of important proprietary information in federal court and to recover attorneys’ fees if the misappropriation was willful and malicious. DTSA includes a safe harbor for whistleblower employees that provides for disclosure of a trade secret that is made in confidence to an attorney or federal, state, or local government official solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law or in a filing in a lawsuit made under seal. (See also the Illinois Trade Secrets Act below).
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA): This federal law prohibits most employers from requesting that an employee or prospective employee take a lie detector test for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, except under unusual circumstances. It also prohibits employers from using the results of a lie detector test and making any adverse employment decisions against an individual who refuses to take a lie detector test, with certain exceptions.
• Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA): This federal law establishes certain standards of conduct and reporting and disclosure requirements for employee welfare benefit plans or benefit plans (e.g., retirement, health, life, or disability plans) offered to employees and their families. ERISA applies to all private employers with employee welfare benefit plans or benefit plans.
• Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA): This federal law amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit sex-based wage discrimination and prohibits employers from discriminating in pay between male and female employees performing equal work, with certain exceptions.
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): This federal law imposes certain requirements on the use of background check information from consumer reporting agencies when making employment decisions.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): This federal law requires employers to pay employees a minimum wage and overtime rates. It also imposes other requirements, such as prohibiting sex discrimination in paying wages, establishing recordkeeping and child labor requirements, and requiring certain employers to provide reasonable unpaid lactation breaks for nursing mothers. Many employers run afoul of the FLSA when they misclassify employees as exempt, misclassify employees as independent contractors, or fail to comply with the rigorous requirements to avoid paying interns and students the minimum wage or overtime. In April of 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a Final Rule increasing the minimum salary thresholds for employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA. On July 1, 2024 the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees went from $35,568 to $43,888. On Jan. 1, 2025 the salary threshold was to increase again to $58,656. On July 1, 2024, the salary threshold for highly compensated workers went from $107,432 to $132,965. On Jan. 1, 2025, the threshold was to increase to $151,164. Starting on July 1, 2027, salary thresholds were to be updated every three years.
  On November 15, 2024, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas held that the DOL exceeded its authority in issuing the 2024 Final Rule and its related increases to the minimum salary threshold for exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees. Accordingly, the Court entered a summary judgment vacating the DOL’s 2024 Final Rule.  This ruling applied nationwide and struck down the January 1, 2025 salary increase and future automatic increases, as well as the prior increase that had taken effect on July 1, 2024.The Final Rule did not change any of the duties tests for the white-collar exemptions. The duties tests are as follows:
  • Salary Basis Test: An employee must be paid a fixed salary that is not subject to reduction based on the quality or quantity of the work performed.
  • Salary Level Test: The employee must earn a salary that meets or exceeds the threshold the employer has established.
  • Duties Test: The job duties of the employee must primarily involve executive, administrative, or professional duties.
• Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act (“HEART Act”): This 2008 federal law provides tax and other financial benefits to military personnel, veterans, and their families. The main intention of the HEART Act is to provide support to persons who serve in the military by making adjustments to the tax code that can assist them and their families.
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA): This federal law provides employees the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively, and to engage in other protected concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. It also prohibits employers from discriminating against or interfering with employees in their exercise of these rights and from engaging in unfair labor practices. Employers often make the mistake of assuming that the NLRA only applies to unionized employers.
• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA): This federal law requires employers to provide a safe workplace free from serious hazards, to follow OSHA safety and health standards, to provide safety training, to find and correct safety and health problems, and to abide by certain posting and recordkeeping requirements.
• PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act: This federal law expands existing legal rights for nursing employees. Specifically, under this law, most nursing employees have the right to reasonable break time and a place, other than a bathroom that is shielded from view and free from intrusion, to express breast milk while at work. This right is available for up to one year after the child’s birth. All employers covered by the FLSA, regardless of the size of their business, are required to comply with this law. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if they can demonstrate that compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship.
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973: This federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment, and in the employment practices of federal contractors.
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: This federal law provides protections against retaliation for whistleblowers who report wrongdoing regarding securities law violations.
• Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Section 1981): This federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and ethnicity when making and enforcing contracts.
• Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act: This federal act was signed into law in 2019. It makes several changes to retirement planning designed to improve retirement security for Americans. For individuals born after June 30, 1949, the SECURE Act increased the age that a person must take required minimum distributions (“RMD”) from an IRA or an employer sponsored retirement plan from 70.5 to 72. The SECURE Act also allows individuals over age 70.5 to contribute to an IRA. The SECURE Act also makes it easier for small businesses to set up retirement accounts by teaming up with other small businesses to offer multiple employer plans. SECURE Act 2.0 was signed into law on Dec. 23, 2022. It raised the RMD again, from age 72 to 73 starting in 2023. The RMD will increase to 75 by 2033. It clarifies certain provisions of the original SECURE Act. Under SECURE Act 2.0, automatic enrollment of new employees will be required for certain employers with 401(k) or 403(b) plans. There will also be a larger tax credit for employers with up to 50 employees, increasing the tax credit to 100% of qualified start-up costs and providing for an additional credit for five years of up to $1,000 per employee for eligible employer contributions. The law also allows employers to match student loan payments and deposit the funds in their retirement account. The law also has provisions regarding, among other things, catch-up contributions and emergency savings accounts.
• Speak Out Act: This federal law prohibits enforcement of any agreement containing a nondisclosure or nondisparagement provision clause that is entered into before an employee is subject to sexual harassment or sexual assault and that may apply to the employee’s later claims of sexual harassment or sexual assault. This does not mean that an employer and employee cannot settle claims of sexual assault or harassment with an agreement containing these provisions. Any settlement agreement containing these provisions would be executed after the employee was subject to the sexual harassment or sexual assault. The Speak Out law also pairs with the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which prohibits enforcement of pre-dispute arbitration agreements and class/collective action waivers for sexual assault and sexual harassment disputes. The Speak Out Act does not preempt state laws that may provide greater protection for employees. Illinois is among those states with additional and greater protections for employees regarding the disclosure of sexual assault and sexual harassment claims. See, for example, the discussion below of the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act.
• Stored Communications Act: This federal law provides privacy protections for customers of network service providers. This law prohibits a person from (1) intentionally accessing without authorization a facility where an electronic communication service is provided; or (2) intentionally exceeding authorization to access such a facility in order to obtain, alter, or prevent authorized access to a communication while it is in electronic storage.
• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA): This federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on a person’s membership, application for membership, service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services and provides certain re-employment rights and benefits to employees who must take a leave of absence from work due to service in the uniformed services.
• Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act: This Illinois law requires reporting of any discovery of child pornography while installing, repairing, or otherwise servicing electronic and information technology equipment, and for workers in certain industries, to report to the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services if they have reasonable cause to believe that a child known to them in their professional/official capacity may be abused or neglected. It also prohibits employers from discriminating against any employee who makes a good faith report or testifies about suspected child abuse or neglect.
• Illinois AIDS Confidentiality Act: This Illinois law establishes confidentiality requirements associated with tests designed to reveal HIV infection. Any person, including an employer, must obtain documented informed consent prior to ordering an HIV test.
• Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act: This Illinois law regulates employers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) interviewing in the recruiting process. It applies to applicants for positions based in Illinois and requires employers that ask job applicants to record video interviews and use AI analysis of the videos to: (1) provide notice to each applicant that AI may be used to analyze the interview and consider the applicant’s fitness for the position, (2) provide information explaining how the AI works and what general types of characteristics it uses to evaluate applicants, and (3) obtain the applicant’s consent to be evaluated by AI. The Act also prohibits employers from using AI to evaluate an applicant without consent and from sharing an applicant’s video except with those whose expertise or technology is necessary to evaluate the applicant’s fitness for a position. Finally, the Act requires employers to delete an applicant’s video interview, including any copies, within 30 days of an applicant’s request.
• Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA): This Illinois law prohibits private companies from collecting biometric data unless they inform the individual in writing that their biometric data is being collected, informs the subject in writing of the specific purpose and length of term for which the biometric data will be used, and receives the subject’s written consent. BIPA does not apply to public sector employees. In 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a separate claim accrues each time a private company scans or transmits an individual’s biometric data in violation of this law. In response to this ruling, in August 2024, Governor Pritzker signed an amendment to BIPA which provides that the collection of the same biometric data from the same person only qualifies as one violation regardless of the number of times it is collected.
  A significant question affecting the measure of damages that could be assessed against an employer still remains for courts interpreting the new amendments to BIPA.  Can the new limitation of damages to one recovery per violation to an individual ($1000 for negligent violation, $5000 for intentional or reckless violation) be applied retroactively to violations of the Act that occurred before the August 2, 2024 effective date of the Amendments?The new language in BIPA provides that:
  • without written consent, if biometric data is collected from the same employee on more than one occasion, the employer commits only one violation; and
  • without written consent, if the employer discloses biometric data from the same employee to the same third party recipient (i.e. payroll service that reads the device collecting the information), the employer commits only one violation of the Act regardless of the number of times data for the employee is disclosed.

  Currently, in cases before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where these cases are often filed (particularly class actions), judges have found that the amendment to BIPA cannot be applied retroactively to limit the calculation of damages assessed against an employer to just one occasion or disclosure per employee. This interpretation would mean that violations of the statute before August 2, 2024 would be found for each time biometric data was collected from the same person, or each time the employer discloses the employee’s data to a third party.

  Significantly, the statute of limitations to file suit is five (5) years from the date of the violation. If a lawsuit were filed in October 2025, damages for all violations dating back to October 2020 would be calculated on a per occurrence basis before August 2, 2024. Damages assessed against an employer who did not comply with BIPA during this time could be substantial.

  However, recently in one federal case, even though the judge determined that BIPA amendments did not apply retroactively, she concluded that there are substantial grounds for a difference of opinion.  Clay v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, 2025 WL 1651529 at *3 (N.D. Ill. June 20, 2025). With that reasoning, she immediately certified her opinion for an interlocutory appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Seventh Circuit could: 1) refuse to accept the appeal; 2) review the decision and make a ruling as to whether the District Court is correct, or 3) certify the retroactivity question to the Illinois Supreme Court for a definite ruling on an Illinois statute. If the third option is chosen, this would be the second time the federal courts recently have asked the Illinois Supreme Court to make the decision. The last time the Illinois Supreme Court was involved, it suggested that the Illinois Legislature clarify the possible award of damages in BIPA through an amendment. If the Court asks the Legislature again to amend BIPA, the window of sizeable damage verdicts could remain open for several more years until the passage of time resolves the issue.

  In the meantime, to comply with BIPA employers should:

  • develop a written policy for retaining and destroying the biometric data collected from their employees that is available to the employees and the public;
  • provide written notice to employees which must be acknowledged in writing as received; regarding the 1) purpose of collecting the data and information; 2) how long the information will be retained (no more than 3 years from last interaction; 3) and with whom the employer shares the data;
  • obtain a written release (including by electronic signature) before collecting biometric information from all employees. A release can be executed as a condition of employment;
  • protect the biometric data and information like it is confidential, sensitive information;
  • review business insurance policies for coverage of any potential violations of the Act going back several years before the August 2, 2024 amendments to BIPA were in effect.
• Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act: This Illinois law legalized cannabis in the State. The law prohibits employers from terminating or disciplining an employee for the employee’s lawful use of cannabis. The Act allows employers to maintain a reasonable drug-free workplace policy that prohibits the use and possession of cannabis in the workplace. Employers may also prohibit an employee from being impaired or under the influence of cannabis while at work or while performing his or her job duties, however, employers must permit employees a reasonable opportunity to contest the basis of a determination of being under the influence. At the time this law was passed, the Illinois Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, which prohibited discrimination against a person solely for his or her status as a registered qualifying patient or registered designated caregiver, was in effect. (See the Illinois Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program below).
• Illinois Child Labor Law: This Illinois law regulates the employment of persons under 16 years of age and limits their working hours. This law was amended so that, effective Jan. 1, 2024, an employer with workers who do not regularly report to a physical workplace, such as remote workers, shall provide summaries and notices required by the Child Labor Law to these workers by email or conspicuously post these summaries and notices on its website if the website is regularly used by the employer to communicate work-related information to employees.
• Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act: This Illinois law implements programs aimed at assisting displaced energy workers resulting from a push away from dependence on fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources. This law also creates a Clean Jobs Workforce Network Hubs Program to ensure minority populations have the opportunity to obtain credentials to compete for clean energy-related jobs.
• Illinois Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act: This Illinois law prohibits employment discrimination against a person solely for his or her status as a registered qualifying patient or registered designated caregiver; however, employers may still prohibit smoking of cannabis on the premises and enforce policies concerning drug testing, zero tolerance, or a drug-free workplace that are applied in a nondiscriminatory manner.
• Illinois Constitutional Amendment 1: Amendment 1 provides workers with a broad right to collectively bargain and prohibits any laws or ordinances that would bar an employee from automatically joining a labor union upon employment. The Amendment is broader than federal statutes, such as the National Labor Relations Act, because it provides that Illinois employees can collectively bargain to “protect their economic welfare and safety at work.”
• Illinois Criminal Identification Act: This Illinois law prohibits employers from considering expunged or sealed records of conviction or arrest in employment matters and from asking if job applicants have had records expunged or sealed. It also requires employment applications to contain specific language stating that an applicant is not obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrest.
• Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act: This Illinois law sets forth requirements for employers who hire day or temporary workers. On Aug. 4, 2023, this law was substantially amended to expand rights for temporary workers. Temporary workers assigned to a client for more than 90 days must be paid at least the rate of pay and provided the equivalent benefits as directly hired, comparative employees. Employers must work with staffing agencies to provide them with timely information about the pay and benefits of comparative employees. Failure to provide all necessary information for the agency to comply with the Act may result in fines in the amount of $500.00 per violation. A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Illinois Department of Labor from enforcing the equivalent-benefits provision of the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (IDTLSA). Staffing Services Association of Illinois, et al. v. Flanagan, No. 1:23-cv-16208 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 11, 2024). That provision was set to go into effect on April 1, 2024. The other provisions are enforceable. An appeal or the legislator may change the law. Employers hiring temporary workers must provide specific safety training to laborers that address industry hazards that they may encounter at the worksite. Additionally, a worker can refuse to work at a location where a labor dispute exists. To learn more about the Aug. 4, 2023, amendment, please see our August 2023 Legal Update.
• Illinois Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act: This Illinois law creates protections for workers who perform domestic work (g., housekeeping, house cleaning, caregiving, or cooking) by amending existing laws in Illinois such as the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, the Illinois One Day Rest in Seven Act, and the Illinois Human Rights Act.
• Illinois Eight Hour Work Day Act: This Illinois law provides that eight hours of work constitutes one legal work day in every industry except for farm work but does not prevent individuals from contracting to work more hours or work overtime.
• Illinois Election Code (Voting Leave): This Illinois law requires employers to provide employees who are entitled to vote a two-hour leave of absence from employment without penalty, including not reducing compensation due to his or her absence.
• Illinois Electric Vehicle Act: This Illinois law serves to promote shifting the demand from petroleum fueled vehicles to electric vehicles. In 2021, this law was amended to require applicants for grants or rebates subsidizing the installation costs for charging stations to comply with the Prevailing Wage Act for installation of a charging station. (See our section on the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, below).
• Illinois Employee Credit Privacy Act: This Illinois law prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual’s credit history/report and employers from making inquiries about an applicant’s or employee’s credit history or obtaining his or her credit report, with certain exceptions.
• Illinois Employee Organ Donor Leave Act: This Illinois law provides employees of the state or state agencies of any size with up to 30 days of paid leave in any 12-month period to serve as a bone marrow or organ donor, or up to 2 hours paid leave to donate blood platelets (to a maximum of 24 times in a 12-month period, or approximately every 2 weeks). These employees may not be required to exhaust accrued vacation or paid time off before becoming eligible for leave under the Organ Donor Leave Act. On Aug. 2, 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Living Donor Protection Act which amended the Illinois Organ Donor Leave Act with the goal of preventing discrimination and retaliation against employees who take leave to become living organ donors. It applies to employers and insurance companies. The amendment prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee for requesting or obtaining a leave of absence to undergo an organ donation and prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage or increasing premiums or rates for living donors for disability, life and long-term care insurance.” It also tasks the Secretary of State with creating and maintaining an opt-in organ and tissue donor registry.
• Illinois Employee Patent Act: This Illinois law provides that employment agreement provisions stating that an employee shall assign or offer to assign his or her rights to an invention to the employer do not apply to an invention for which no equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information of the employer were used and the invention was developed entirely on the employee’s own time. Employers can enforce their invention assignment provisions under this law if (a) the invention relates to the business of the employer or the employer’s actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development or (b) the invention results from any work performed by the employee for the employer.
• Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act: This Illinois law requires employers to allow employees to use at least a portion of the sick leave time that is already available to them to care for certain relatives.
• Illinois Enterprise Zone Act: This Illinois serves to stimulate business and industrial growth in economically depressed neighborhoods. In 2021, this law was amended to require that contractors and subcontractors for a high impact business construction job project make and keep records regarding their workers’ race, sex, and ethnicity.
• Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 and Subsequent Amendments: The Illinois Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying employees different wages for similar work on the basis of gender or race, subject to legitimate factors such as seniority, merit, or quantity/quality of work. Over time, the law has been refined with several significant enhancements:
  • 2019 Amendment: Employers are barred from asking job applicants about prior salary history or obtaining it from prior employers.
  • 2024 Amendment (effective Jan 1, 2024): For employees who do not regularly report to a physical workplace (e.g., remote workers), required summaries and notices under the Act must be delivered by email or posted conspicuously on a website commonly used for work communications.
  • Pay Transparency Amendment (effective Jan 1, 2025): Employers with 15 or more employees must disclose the pay scale or salary range and a general description of benefits and compensation in all job postings. External job postings must also be communicated to current employees (promotional opportunities) within 14 days. Third-party recruiters must include this pay/benefits information or hyperlink in their postings. Records of job postings, pay scales, benefits, and wages must be maintained for at least five years.
  • HB 2488 Amendment (effective June 30, 2025):
  • This amendment removed the reference to the federal EEO-1 report. Coverage now applies to any private employer with 100 or more employees in Illinois.
  • This amendment requires expanded EPRC data reporting: list all employees with gender, race, ethnicity, county of work, start dates, and pay data; and include a compliance statement about average compensation by gender and race within each job category. EPRC is an abbreviation for “Equal Pay Registration Certificate.”

  These changes have significantly expanded the Equal Pay Act’s reach and enforcement capabilities, increased transparency requirements, and heightened employer obligations in recruiting, reporting, and recordkeeping. Violations of the posting requirement may result in civil penalties ranging from $500 for a first offense to $10,000 for subsequent offenses.

• Illinois Equitable Restrooms Act: This Illinois law sets forth requirements for restroom facilities in places of public accommodation. In 2020, this law was amended to require every single-occupancy restroom in a place of public accommodation or public building to be identified as all-gender by exterior signage that must not indicate any specific gender.
• Illinois Firearm Concealed Carry Act: This Illinois law generally allows licensed persons to carry concealed firearms, but it prohibits them from carrying firearms on or into schools, public playgrounds, courts, bars, hospitals, and other “prohibited areas.” The law also permits private property owners to prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms on their property with certain limitations.
• Illinois Freedom to Work Act (IFTWA), which deals with Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreements: This Illinois law, amended in 2021 to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022, prohibits employers from entering into a covenant not to compete or a non-solicitation agreement with low-wage employees and makes such restrictions illegal and void. However, the 2022 amendments to the IFTWA provide that non-competition and non-solicitation agreements with employees who meet the compensation thresholdare not illegal and void if they met the requirements of the IFTWA. Those requirements include, among other things, certain threshold compensation levels which preclude a covenant not to compete with an employee unless the employee’s actual or expected annualized rate of earnings exceeds $75,000 per year. This amount shall increase to $80,000 per year on Jan. 1, 2027, $85,000 per year on Jan. 1, 2032, and $90,000 per year on Jan. 1, 2037. The IFTWA also states that no employer shall enter into a covenant not to solicit with any employee unless the employee’s actual or expected annualized rate of earnings exceeds $45,000 per year, which amount will increase to $47,500 per year beginning Jan. 1, 2027, $50,000 per year beginning Jan. 1, 2032, and $52,500 per year beginning Jan. 1, 2037. The non-compete and non-solicit must also be supported by and adequate consideration, (e.g., two years of employment or “other financial or professional consideration” sufficient to support the non-compete or non-solicit provisions). The IFTWA also states that a covenant not to compete is void and illegal with respect to individuals employed in construction except for construction employees who primarily perform management, engineering or architectural, design, or sales functions for the employer or who are shareholders, partners, or owners in any capacity of the employer. The law also requires an employer to provide a 14-day period to consider a non-compete or non-solicitation agreement and to advise the employee to consult with an attorney before entering into such an agreement. Finally, if an employee prevails on a claim to enforce a covenant not to compete or a covenant not to solicit, the employee shall recover from the employer all costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) announced a final rule banning most noncompete agreements in the United States (the “FTC Rule”). This legal update summarizes the FTC Rule. The FTC rule, however, has been subject to court challenges. On Aug. 20, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Ada Brown of the Northern District of Texas set aside the FTC Rule on non-competes finding it unlawful and ruling that it cannot be enforced anywhere in the nation. This is an evolving situation and will likely not be resolved for quite some time. In addition, in September of 2025, the FTC scaled back the broad regulatory push to ban non-competes, but it has not fully walked away from scrutiny.
• Illinois Gender Violence Act (GVA): This Illinois law protects victims of sexual violence by creating a private cause of action against the perpetrators of sexual violence, with a long statute of limitations. For those impacted by physical, gender-motived violence, it offers a way to hold abusers accountable. It was unclear whether employers could be held liable for their employees’ sexual violence. An Illinois Appellate Court decision, Gasic v. Marquette Mgt., Inc., clarified this issue and held that employers can be held liable for their employees’ actions under the GVA. 2019 IL App (3d) 170756 (May 17, 2019). The GVA provides a lesser-known alternative option of relief for victims, a private cause of action.
• Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act: This Illinois law, among other things, prohibits employers from requesting genetic information or a genetic test as a condition of employment or pre-employment application and generally prohibits employment discrimination based on the genetic information of an employee or his/her family member, with certain exceptions. Recent cases have held that requesting family medical history as part of a pre-employment physical qualifies as requesting genetic information and made clear that the request, in and of itself, violates the law. For additional information, please see the following Clark Hill alert: Court Allows Two GIPA Cases To Proceed Based on Pre-Employment Physical  Exams | News & Events | Clark Hill PLC.
• Illinois Healthcare Violence Prevention Act: This Illinois law requires health care providers to comply with new workplace violence training and related safety requirements, such as the adoption of a workplace violence prevention program that complies with federal and Illinois guidelines and posting of notices stating that verbal aggression will not be tolerated and that physical assault will be reported to law enforcement.
• Illinois Health Care Workers Background Check Act: This Illinois law requires licensed and certified long-term care facilities to conduct criminal background checks of certain health care workers and employees who have or may have contact with the residents, have access to the living quarters of the residents, or have access to the financial, medical, or personal records of residents. In 2019, this law was amended to streamline the hiring and occupational licensing processes for more than 4 million Illinoisans with arrest or conviction records. The law also permits organizations supporting ex-offenders to initiate fingerprint-based criminal history record checks for individuals with a disqualifying conviction. Previously only health care employers extending a conditional offer of employment to an applicant had authority to begin such background checks.
• Illinois Hotel and Casino Employee Safety Act: This Illinois law requires hotel and casino employers to protect employees against sexual assault and harassment by guests by providing panic buttons and written anti-sexual harassment policies in English and Spanish.
• Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) – Key provisions and Amendments:The IHRA prohibits sexual harassment and employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation (including gender identity), pregnancy, unfavorable discharge from military service, citizenship status, family responsibilities, work authorization status, language, or reproductive health decisions.It also prohibits employers from inquiring into or using (a) an arrest record or (b) criminal history record information that was ordered expunged, sealed, or impounded when making employment decisions, and from prohibiting a language from being spoken by an employee in communications unrelated to the employee’s duties. In addition, the IHRA restricts adverse action based on conviction records unless the employer conducts an individualized assessment and provides required notices.Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, with certain exceptions.Coverage: The IHRA generally applies to any person employing one or more employees in Illinois during at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. For discrimination based on disability, pregnancy, or sexual harassment, the IHRA applies to any employer with one or more employees (no 20-week threshold).IHRA Amendments:2017 – Religious Garb LawIllinois amended the IHRA to clarify the scope of protection for sincerely held religious beliefs. Employers may not impose a work requirement that would cause an employee to “violate or forgo a sincerely held practice of his or her religion,” including the wearing of religious attire, clothing, or facial hair. Employers may enforce dress codes or grooming policies only if justified by workplace safety, food sanitation, or if otherwise necessary to avoid undue hardship.2019 – Sexual Harassment Prevention Training & Reporting
  Through the Workplace Transparency Act (WTA), Illinois required all employers with employees in Illinois to provide sexual harassment prevention training at least once per year. The WTA amended the IHRA framework, but the annual training obligation itself is sourced to the WTA.Important Note: See discussion below under Ordinances regarding the more demanding annual sexual harassment training requirements under the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance. Other Illinois municipalities may also adopt their own local training requirements, so employers should confirm compliance at both the state and local level.

  Employers must also comply with annual reporting requirements: by July 1 each year, employers must disclose to the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) any adverse judgments or administrative rulings against them for unlawful employment practices during the prior year. IDHR compiles and publishes aggregate statewide data.

  2022 – CROWN Act (Effective Jan. 1, 2023)

  The CROWN Act amended the IHRA to ban race-based hair discrimination. It expands the definition of “race” to include “traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locs, and twists.”

  2024 Amendments (Effective Jan. 1, 2025)

  • Family Responsibilities – Discrimination based on caregiving responsibilities for children or other family members is prohibited.
  • Reproductive Health Decisions – Discrimination based on decisions related to contraception, fertility treatment, abortion, or other reproductive health matters is prohibited.
  • Extended Statute of Limitations – The deadline for filing an employment discrimination charge with the IDHR increased from 300 days to two years (does not affect federal or local filing deadlines).

  2025 Amendments (Effective Jan. 1, 2026)

  Artificial Intelligence

  Employers are prohibited from using artificial intelligence in recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, or terms/conditions of employment if the AI “has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination” based on protected classes under the IHRA. Employers must also provide notice to employees when AI is used for those purposes. Details of required notice will be clarified through IDHR rulemaking.

  Fact-Finding Conferences (SB 2487)

  • IDHR fact-finding conferences are now discretionary rather than mandatory.
  • If both the complainant and respondent submit a written request within 90 days of the charge, IDHR must convene a conference (unless a report has already been issued).
  • IDHR may still require a conference on its own initiative.
  • Applies to charges pending or filed on or after Jan. 1, 2026.

  Civil Penalties

  Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, IDHR and the Human Rights Commission may impose monetary penalties in addition to other remedies. Penalties scale based on prior violations:

  • First violation: up to $16,000
  • One prior violation (within 5 years): up to $42,500
  • Two or more prior violations (within 7 years): up to $70,000

  If the same employer committed both the prior and current violations, higher penalty levels may apply regardless of time elapsed. Penalties may also be imposed separately for each act and for each aggrieved party.

• Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants (“Ban-the-Box Act”): This Illinois law prohibits most employers from considering or inquiring into a job applicant’s criminal record or history until after the individual has been determined qualified for the position and notified of an impending interview or, if the applicant will not be interviewed, until after a conditional offer of employment is made. The law does not prevent an employer from notifying applicants in writing of specific offenses that will disqualify an applicant from employment in a particular position due to federal or state law or the employer’s policy. Additionally, Illinois employers are prohibited from discriminating against applicants or employees on the basis of their arrest records.
• Illinois Jury Act (Jury Duty Leave): This Illinois law allows employees who have been summoned for jury duty to take unpaid time off from employment to serve on the jury and be reinstated without loss of seniority. It also prohibits employers from discharging, threatening to discharge, intimidating or coercing any employee based on jury service.
• Illinois Living Donor Protection Act: This law amends the Illinois Organ Donor Leave Act and is intended to prevent discrimination and retaliation against employees who take leave to become living organ donors. It applies to employers and insurance companies. The law “prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee for requesting or obtaining a leave of absence to undergo an organ donation and prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage or increasing premiums or rates for living donors for disability, life, and long-term care insurance.” It also tasks the Secretary of State with creating and maintaining an opt-in organ and tissue donor registry.
• Illinois Mini-COBRA (Illinois Continuation Law): This Illinois law protects employees who lose their group health insurance coverage with an employer group of any size and provides eligible employees with certain rights to continue their insurance under the employer’s group policy. It also requires employers to provide written notice of continuation coverage within 10 days to the affected employee and to the insurer. Illinois mini-COBRA will apply to most employers who offer fully insured group health plans, with certain exceptions. Employers may also have obligations under the Illinois Spousal Continuation Law and the Illinois Dependent Child Continuation Law. The federal COBRA law covers employers with 20 or more employees who sponsor group health plans. See discussion below.
• Illinois Minimum Wage Law: This Illinois law requires employers to pay employees who are 18 years of age or older the Illinois minimum wage and overtime rates, with certain exceptions. It applies to employers with one or more employees but excludes employees who work for employers who employ less than four employees exclusive of the employer’s parent, spouse, child, or other immediate family. This law was amended so that, effective Jan. 1, 2024, employers with workers who do not regularly report to a physical workplace, such as remote workers, shall provide summaries and notices required by the Minimum Wage Law to these workers by email or conspicuously post these summaries and notices on its website if the website is regularly used by the employer to communicate work-related information to employees.
• Illinois One Day Rest In Seven Act: This Illinois law requires employers: to allow most employees at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every calendar week in addition to the regular period of rest allowed at the close of each working day; to permit employees who work for 7.5 continuous hours or longer at least 20 minutes for a meal period beginning no later than five hours after the start of the work period, with certain exceptions; and to keep certain records regarding employees and hours worked. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, this law was amended to require an additional 20-minute meal period if an employee is working a 12-hour shift or longer. Reasonable restroom breaks do not count towards the meal period. The amendment also provides that employees must have at least 24 consecutive hours or rest in every consecutive 7-day period (as opposed to a calendar week) in addition to the regular period of rest allowed at the close of each working day.
• Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act: This Illinois law requires employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid leave to employees, which leave employees may use for any reason. Employees do not need to provide a reason for taking paid leave under this law, and employers may not require employees to provide documentation in support of their need to take such leave. The paid leave benefit can be called vacation, but employers cannot require the leave to be for vacation or any specified purpose. Under this law, an employer may require an employee to provide up to seven days’ notice before taking leave if the need for taking leave is foreseeable. If the need to take paid leave is not foreseeable, the employee may provide notice as soon as practicable. Employers are not required to comply with this law if a local municipal or county ordinance is in effect by Jan. 1, 2024, that requires employers to give any form of paid leave to their employees. The City of Chicago and Cook County have such ordinances through the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance and the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance respectively.
• Illinois Personal Information Protection Act: This Illinois law requires all entities (including employers) that own or license personal information for Illinois residents to notify any Illinois residents if there has been any breach in the entity’s computer system.
• Illinois Power Agency Act: This Illinois law requires businesses operating renewable energy projects to pay the prevailing wage to their employees.
• Illinois Prevailing Wage Act:
  • This Illinois law requires contractors and subcontractors performing public works projects to pay laborers, workers, and mechanics no less than the general prevailing rate of wages (consisting of hourly cash wages plus fringe benefits) for work of similar character in the locality where the work is performed. In 2025 there were Amendments (SB 1344 / Public Act 104-0023, effective June 30, 2025):
  • Expanded Definition of Public Works: Now expressly includes sewer inspection projects using closed-circuit television (CCTV) to identify structural defects (such as cracks, blockages, or root intrusions).
  • Certified Payroll Requirements: Contractors and subcontractors must file certified payrolls for public works projects. Failure to do so may result in civil penalties: up to $1,000 for a first offense and up to $2,000 for a second or subsequent offense within five years. Each month in which a violation occurs constitutes a separate offense.
  • No Defense of Ignorance: Lack of knowledge of the filing requirement is not an acceptable defense.
  • Administrative Hearings and Enforcement: Contractors may request an administrative hearing within 10 business days of notice. Hearings must comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and final administrative decisions are subject to judicial review. If penalties are not paid or timely appealed, the Attorney General may enforce the order in circuit court.
  • Revenue Allocation: All penalties and related revenues under the Act are directed to the Employee Classification Fund, to support enforcement of both the Prevailing Wage Act and the Employee Classification Act.

  Workplace Transparency Act Linkage:  SB 1344 also included a contingent amendment to the Workplace Transparency Act, allowing recovery of compensatory damages for challenges to contracts that violate the WTA. This contingency was triggered by passage of HB 3638 (Public Act 104-0320, effective January 1, 2026). Thus, beginning in 2026, additional remedies are available under the WTA for contracts intersecting with public-works compliance.

  Practical Effect: The 2025 changes significantly tighten compliance obligations for contractors and subcontractors, particularly around certified payrolls, and channel new penalty revenues into enforcement resources. Employers performing public works should carefully review payroll-reporting practices, understand that “public works” now covers sewer inspection work, and be prepared for stricter enforcement and higher financial exposure if violations occur.

• Illinois Public Employee Disability Act (PEDA): This Illinois law requires public sector employers to pay to pay first responders and other qualified employees, such as correctional officers who are injured or have an illness in the line of duty, 100% of their wage without withholding for taxes for up to one year from the date of the incident.
• Illinois Public Labor Relations Act (IPLRA): This Illinois law provides public employees the right to self-organize, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively, and to engage in other protected concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. It also prohibits employers from discriminating against or interfering with employees in their exercise of these rights and from engaging in unfair labor practices.
• Illinois Public Safety Employee Benefits Act: This Illinois law requires public employers to pay the health insurance premiums of public safety officers, and their spouse and dependents, until they are Medicare eligible if those public safety officers are killed or suffer a catastrophic injury (i.e., received a line of duty disability pension) and their injury occurred in response to fresh pursuit, an emergency, an unlawful act perpetrated by another, or during the investigation of a criminal act.
• Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act: This Illinois law prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual’s use of lawful products off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours. It also prohibits employers from inquiring whether a prospective employee has ever filed for or received workers’ compensation benefits and from requesting employees’ information in order to gain access to the employee’s personal social networking account or profile.
• Illinois Service Member Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (ISERRA): This Illinois law requires public employers to pay wage differentials for active service members, certain deployments, and training and consolidates various job-related protections for military service members under existing federal and Illinois laws. Among other duties, ISERRA requires posting a notice of employee rights and prohibits employers from discriminating against service members or restricting a service member employee’s military leave.
• Smoke-Free Illinois Act: This Illinois law prohibits smoking in any place of employment or within 15 feet of any entrance to a place of employment and requires employers to post “no smoking” signs, with certain exemptions.
• Illinois Time Off for Official Meetings Act: This Illinois law requires employers to allow employees who serve as election officials for a unit of local government or a school district to have time off to attend and travel to and from official meetings.
• Illinois Trade Secrets Act: This Illinois law allows companies, including employers, to protect against and remedy misappropriation of important proprietary information in court. See also the discussion of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act early in this Legal Update.
• Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act: This Illinois law governs employers’ unemployment insurance obligations, including the payment of employer contributions and the filing of wage reports. Employers are also required to report certain information about new hires within 20 days of hire. When workers are laid off for seven days or more, or are otherwise separated from the payroll, employers must provide them with the State’s publication “What Every Worker Should Know About Unemployment Insurance,” available from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. There are a few “voluntary leaving exceptions” available for eligible employees:
  • • Physical Impairment: An employee who leaves work because a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant has deemed the employee physically unable to perform his or her duties, and the employer is unable to provide a reasonable accommodation, is not disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.
    • Mental Health Disability (Temporary Carve-Out): For claims filed December 28, 2025 through December 24, 2028, an employee who leaves work because a licensed psychiatrist deems the employee unable to perform the job due to a mental health disability, and where the employer cannot provide a reasonable accommodation, is likewise not disqualified. This mirrors the physical-impairment exception but applies only within the specified window.

  Employer Tip:  Under laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act, it is important for an employer to engage in and document the interactive process and any reasonable accommodations considered for both physical and mental health disabilities.  If no accommodation is feasible, the employee may still qualify for benefits even after a voluntary resignation.  Note the sunset: the mental-health carve-out applies only to claims filed through December 24, 2028.

• Illinois Veterans Preference in Private Employment Act: This Illinois law allows—but does not require—private employers to adopt a voluntary preference for hiring, promoting, or retaining a veteran over another equally qualified applicant or employee. Employers who wish to provide preferential treatment of veterans must adopt a veteran’s preference employment policy in writing, publicly post the policy in the workplace or on the employer’s website and inform all job applicants of this policy on its job application form.
• Illinois Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA, as amended through 2025): VESSA provides unpaid, job-protected leave and workplace protections for employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or other crimes of violence, or whose family or household members are victims. Leave entitlement depends on employer size: employers with 1–14 employees must provide 4 workweeks; 15–49 employees, 8 workweeks; and 50 or more employees, 12 workweeks, within a 12-month period. Employees may take the leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule. Employers must maintain confidentiality, may require 48 hours’ notice when practicable, and may request certification to support the leave within a reasonable time. VESSA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations (such as schedule modifications, work adjustments, or enhanced security) unless there would be an undue hardship, and prohibits retaliation or discrimination against employees who request or take leave, or who are perceived to be victims.Amendment effective January 1, 2024: VESSA was expanded to permit up to two workweeks (10 workdays) of unpaid leave, to be taken within 60 days of receiving notice of death, for employees to attend a funeral or alternative memorial service, make arrangements, or grieve the death of a family or household member killed in a crime of violence. Employers may require verification of death through documentation such as a death certificate, obituary, or verification from a funeral or memorial service provider. For employees entitled to leave under the Illinois Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA), this bereavement leave is in addition to FBLA leave. For those not covered by FBLA, the bereavement leave counts toward the employee’s overall VESSA entitlement.Amendment effective August 1, 2025: VESSA was further amended to protect employees’ use of employer-provided electronic devices (such as phones or tablets) to document or preserve evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or other crimes of violence affecting them or a family or household member. Employers may not retaliate against employees for such use, deny them access to relevant photos or communications stored on company devices, or refuse to issue company equipment because of such use. Employers should review and, if necessary, revise their electronic device and personal-use policies to ensure compliance with this new protection.Key Takeaway: VESSA now combines robust leave entitlements, mandatory accommodations, anti-retaliation rules, and — as of 2025 — protections around use of employer-provided devices. Employers must ensure policies and practices align with these evolving obligations.
• Illinois Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act: This Illinois law prohibits employers from terminating an employee who is absent from or late for work because the employee was acting as a volunteer emergency worker. An employer also cannot discipline an employee for responding to an emergency phone call or text message requesting emergency services during the employee’s work hours.
• Illinois Voter Leave Law: This Illinois law requires employers to give two hours of leave to employees for the purpose of voting on Election Day.
• Illinois Wage Assignment Act: This Illinois law prohibits employers from discharging or suspending an employee on the basis that the employee’s earnings have been subjected to wage demands on the employee’s employer for any indebtedness and imposes certain requirements in connection with employees’ wage assignments.
• Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA): This Illinois law generally requires employers (a) to notify employees in writing, at the time of hiring, of the rate of pay and of the time and place of payment; (b) to pay wages at least semi-monthly and not later than 13 days after the end of the pay period in which such wages were earned, with certain exceptions; (c) to pay terminated employees’ final compensation by the next regularly scheduled payday; and (d) to pay earned and unused vacation as part of such final compensation. It also restricts employers from making deductions from wages or final compensation without an employee’s consent and imposes certain requirements in connection with accurate records for each employee, notices, and payroll cards. This law was amended so that, effective Jan. 1, 2024, employers with workers who do not regularly report to a physical workplace, such as remote workers, shall provide summaries and notices required by the Wage Payment and Collection Act to these workers by email or conspicuously post these summaries and notices on its website if the website is regularly used by the employer to communicate work-related information to employees. New obligations for employers under the IWPCA, particularly regarding payroll transparency and recordkeeping, went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, to promote openness and accountability. Each pay period employers must provide employees with hours worked, overtime hours worked, total wages earned, total deductions, rate of pay, and year-to-date total wages and deductions. Employers must maintain copies of an employee’s paystubs for at least three years, even if they no longer employ the employee. An employer must offer to provide a departing employee a record of all the outgoing employee’s paystubs from one year preceding the separation date. The employer must make the offer by the end of the final pay period and document in writing the date the offer was made and how the exiting employee responded to the offer. Penalties for employer non-compliance may include up to $500 per violation, plus any other legal liability, and possibly payment of an employee’s attorneys’ fees.In August 2025, Illinois enacted Public Act 104-0135 (SB 2164), making significant changes to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA). The amendments expand the enforcement powers of the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL), increase penalties for violations, and strengthen employee protections.  Here are the key changes:
  • Expanded IDOL Authority: IDOL may now subpoena documents, compel witness testimony, administer oaths, and more aggressively investigate wage claims.
  • Debt Conversion / Enforcement: If an employer fails to pay or timely challenge an IDOL order within 35 days, the order automatically becomes a debt owing to the State and may be enforced like a civil court judgment.
  • Increased Penalties:
    • A 5% monthly penalty accrues on unpaid wages until the order becomes a debt.
    • A 1% daily penalty accrues for each day unpaid wages remain outstanding after an IDOL order, until converted to a debt.
  • Higher Administrative Fees: Employers ordered to pay wages must also pay non-waivable administrative fees: $500 for amounts up to $3,000; $750 for amounts over $3,000 up to $10,000; and $1,250 for amounts over $10,000.
  • Retroactive Application: Procedural provisions apply retroactively (subject to the statute of limitations), while substantive provisions apply going forward.

  Employer Takeaway: The amendments make IWPCA enforcement faster, more expensive, and harder to ignore. Employers must act promptly when receiving an IDOL order, as failure to respond can quickly create a collectible state debt with significant penalties. Companies should update wage-claim response procedures, ensure timely payment of all wages owed, and consult counsel immediately if served with an IDOL complaint or order.

  Cross-References:

  • See also: Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (paid leave mandate)
  • See also: Illinois Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act (leave for blood and organ donors)
• Illinois Whistleblower Act:
  • Illinois Whistleblower Act (pre-2025): The Illinois Whistleblower Act prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who disclose information to a government or law enforcement agency about conduct they reasonably believe violates the law. It also prohibits employers from creating policies or taking actions intended to prevent employees from making such disclosures. Before 2025, protections largely focused on external disclosures to government agencies, and remedies were more limited.
  • Expanded Protections Effective January 1, 2025: Amendments to the Act significantly broaden employee protections. The law now protects employees who, in good faith, make or threaten to make internal reports to supervisors, officers, board members, or contracting entities, as well as those who refuse to participate in conduct they reasonably believe is unlawful or poses a substantial and specific danger to health or safety. Definitions of “employee” and “retaliatory action” are broadened, and remedies are enhanced to include injunctive relief, back pay with interest, front pay, liquidated damages up to $10,000, and civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. The Illinois Attorney General is now authorized to investigate and bring claims under the Act. These changes apply to claims or complaints filed on or after January 1, 2025, making the statute one of the most expansive state whistleblower protections in the country.
  • Key Takeaway: Illinois now offers broad whistleblower protections for both internal and external disclosures, with stronger remedies and enforcement powers, creating increased exposure for employers who retaliate against reporting employees.
• Illinois Workers Compensation Act: This Illinois law generally covers all accidental injuries that arise out of, and in the course of, employment. Under this law, employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. This law provides that it is the employee’s exclusive remedy if he or she sustains a compensable injury. Employers can be held liable to employees for retaliating against them for filing a workers compensation claim.
• Illinois Workers’ Rights and Worker Safety Act: Enacted in 2025 (SB 1976), this law prohibits Illinois agencies from weakening worker protection or safety rules below the level of federal law as it existed on April 28, 2025. It establishes a baseline floor for wages, hours, health, and safety protections. Agencies may adopt rules that are more protective, but not less, unless specifically authorized by new state legislation enacted after that date. The Act is scheduled to sunset on January 20, 2029.Safe and Healthy Workplace Act (Companion Provision):  As part of SB 1976, the Safe and Healthy Workplace Act directs the Illinois Department of Labor to adopt replacement workplace safety and health standards if federal OSHA standards (or similar federal safety rules) are repealed or revoked after the 2025 baseline. This ensures that Illinois workers retain at least the same safety protections they had prior to any federal rollbacks.Employer Tip:  Illinois has effectively “locked in” federal worker protection and safety standards as of spring 2025, and state agencies cannot dilute them. If federal OSHA or wage/hour rules are rolled back, Illinois is required to preserve the prior standard. Employers should continue to comply with at least the 2025 federal baseline and monitor state updates, since Illinois may implement more stringent standards going forward.Cross-Reference:  See also: Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Act (state-level OSHA protections for public-sector employees), discussed below.Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Act:  The Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Act (Illinois OSHA) establishes workplace safety and health protections for public-sector employees (state, county, municipal, and school district workers) in Illinois. Private-sector employers remain under federal OSHA jurisdiction. Key features are as follows:
  • Coverage: Applies to public-sector employers and employees. Private employers are covered by federal OSHA, but Illinois OSHA rules often parallel federal standards.
  • Standards: The Illinois Department of Labor adopts and enforces occupational safety and health standards that are at least as effective as federal OSHA standards.
  • Inspections and Enforcement: The Division of Occupational Safety and Health conducts workplace inspections, issues citations, and requires abatement of hazardous conditions. Penalties may be assessed for noncompliance.
  • Employee Rights: Employees have the right to report unsafe conditions, request inspections, and participate in proceedings without retaliation.
  • Training and Education: The law provides for training, consultation, and educational programs to improve safety awareness among public-sector employers and employees.

  Employer Tip:  Public-sector employers in Illinois must comply with Illinois OSHA standards and cooperate with inspections. They should also maintain written safety programs, conduct regular hazard assessments, and train employees on workplace hazards. While private employers are not directly regulated by Illinois OSHA, they should be mindful of federal OSHA standards and of Illinois’s broader trend toward strengthening worker safety protections.

  How They Differ:

  • The Workers’ Rights and Worker Safety Act sets a broad “no rollback” baseline for all workers in Illinois (covering wages, hours, health, and safety), and requires the state to preserve OSHA-level protections if federal standards are weakened.
  • The Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Act applies specifically to public-sector employees in Illinois, functioning as the state’s OSHA program, while private-sector workers remain covered by federal OSHA.
• Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (the WTA): This Illinois law restricts employers’ use of nondisclosure and nondisparagement provisions in employment settlement and separation agreements. Confidentiality provisions must be bilateral, bargained for, in writing, and reflect the employee’s documented preference for confidentiality. An employee must have sufficient time, as specified by the law, to review and agree to these provisions. The law also restricts an employer’s ability to require arbitration clauses as a condition of employment in unilateral contracts, particularly where they limit statutory rights. The law further requires employers to hold annual sexual harassment trainings that meet or exceed the standards provided by the Illinois Department of Human Rights.The WTA has been amended effective January 1, 2026 in the following respects:(1) The Amendments broaden the definition of an “unlawful employment practice” beyond discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. The definition will now encompass any unlawful practice that is actionable under state or federal employment laws, including wage claims and workplace safety matters. This includes matters within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Labor Relations Board, the Illinois Department of Labor, and the Illinois Labor Relations Board.

  (2) The Amendments prohibit language in any contracts that restricts an employee from engaging in “concerted activity” to voice concerns about work-related matters.

  (3) Under the Amendments, an employment contract may not unilaterally (a) abridge the applicable statute of limitations, (b) apply non-Illinois law to Illinois-based claims, or (c) mandate that claims be adjudicated outside of Illinois if doing so would deny an employee a substantive or procedural right or remedy under applicable law. These provisions, however, are permissible if they are mutual and if they (i) are set forth in writing, (ii) provide actual, knowing, and bargained-for consideration, and (iii) acknowledge the right to report unlawful and criminal conduct to an appropriate federal, state, or local government agency. Moreover, the contract must confirm an employee’s right to participate in any proceedings related to unlawful employment practices.

  (4) With regard to separation and settlement agreements, the Amendments require that a confidentiality provision be supported by consideration separate and apart from any consideration contained in a general release of claims or other terms. Employers must document that confidentiality is the employee’s preference, but may not unilaterally insert language asserting that preference. Employers also may not include confidentiality language in a settlement or separation agreement that restricts an employee from engaging in future or prospective concerted activity pertaining to workplace conditions.

  (5) Under the Amendments, current, prospective, and former employees will be allowed to testify not only in administrative, legislative, or judicial proceedings regarding alleged criminal conduct and unlawful employment practices, but also in arbitration proceedings.

  (6) The Amendments expand remedies for current, prospective, and former employees. In addition to their existing right to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, employees will also be permitted to recover consequential damages.

  Except for labor contracts covered by the National Labor Relations Act or the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, the revisions will apply to any employment agreement entered into, modified, or extended on or after January 1, 2026. Employers are strongly advised to review their existing agreements and forms of agreement and, when necessary or advisable, update them before January 1, 2026.

• Important Note re: Ordinances: Cook County and the City of Chicago also have various employment laws that may affect covered employers with one or more employees in Cook County and/or Chicago. These include the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance, the Cook County Wage Theft Ordinance, the Chicago Clean Indoor Air Ordinance of 2008, the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance, the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance, the Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance of 2014, the Chicago Vehicle Equipment Ordinance on the Use of Mobile Telephones, and the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance.As noted earlier, the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act requires annual sexual harassment training, however, the training requirements are not as extensive as those for the City of Chicago. In 2022, the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance was amended, among other things, to require employers to provide the following trainings every year: (a) one hour of sexual harassment training for all employees; (b) one hour of bystander training for all employees; and (c) one additional hour of sexual harassment prevention training for supervisors / managers. Other counties and cities may have similar or other ordinances that may need to be taken into account.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 4 or More Employees

• Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA): This federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual’s national origin or citizenship status when hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, unless otherwise required by law.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 5 or More Employees

• Illinois Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act (pre 2026):Under Illinois law, an employer with five or more employees (excluding the employer’s parent, spouse, child, or other immediate family members) must provide reasonable break time each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her nursing infant, for up to one year after the child’s birth. The employer must make reasonable efforts to provide a private room or location (other than a toilet stall) in close proximity to the employee’s work area for this purpose. The break may run concurrently with any regular break time, and an employer may not reduce the employee’s compensation or require the employee to use paid leave for this break, unless providing the accommodation would create an undue hardship under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Changes effective January 1, 2026:  Beginning in 2026, the Act requires that breaks taken to express milk be paid at the employee’s regular rate of compensation. The law provides for 30 minutes of paid break time each time an employee needs to express milk, with the option to use other paid break or meal time if additional time is needed. Employers may not require the employee to use accrued paid leave during these breaks or reduce compensation in any other way. The private space requirement remains in place, and the undue hardship exception continues to apply.

• Illinois Personnel Record Review Act (IPRRA): This Illinois law gives employees certain rights to inspect and correct their personnel records and imposes certain obligations on employers with respect to personnel records, with certain exceptions. It applies to employers with 5 employees or more than 5 employees exclusive of the employer’s parent, spouse, child, or other immediate family members.

Amendments to IPRRA go into effect January 1, 2025. All requests from employees must be made in writing to a person responsible for maintaining the employer’s personnel records, including the employer’s human resources department, payroll department, the employee’s supervisor, or department manager, or to an individual as provided in the employer’s written policy, unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement. If an employee meets those qualifications, the employee is entitled to: any personnel documents which are, have been or are intended to be used in determining that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action, except as provided in Section 10 of the IPRRA; any employment-related contracts or agreements that the employer maintains that are legally binding on the employee; any employee handbooks that the employer made available to the employee or that the employee acknowledged receiving; and any written employer policies or procedures that the employer contends the employee was subject to and that concern qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action. Some of the foregoing are new requirements.

An employer is required to produce requested documents to which employees are entitled within seven working days after receipt of the request. If an employer can reasonably demonstrate that the foregoing time period cannot be met, it may have seven additional calendar days to comply with the request. An employer must grant at least two requests from an individual or the individual’s representative in a calendar year for the inspection, copying, or production of records. An employer is not required to organize or categorize records in any particular manner.

Employers may still charge a fee for providing copies of requested records. Having said that, the fee needs to be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the requested records. The fee may not include the cost to purchase or rent copying machines or computer equipment, the cost to acquire or use software, attributed costs of time spent duplicating information, or other comparable expenses.

Personnel record information that was not included in an employee’s personnel record but should have been as required by IPRRA shall not be used by an employer in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding. However, personnel record information which, in the opinion of the judge in a judicial proceeding or the hearing officer in a quasi-judicial proceeding, was not intentionally excluded from the personnel record may be used by the employer in the proceeding if the employee agrees or has been given a reasonable time to review the information. Material which should have been included in the personnel record shall be used at the employee’s request.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 15 or More Employees

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) & ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA): These federal laws prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals based on disability, including: (a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual; (b) a record of such an impairment; or (c) being regarded as having such an impairment. Covered employers need to reasonably accommodate qualified individuals unless to do so would cause an undue hardship or unless an individual poses a direct threat (i.e., a risk of substantial harm) to the health and safety of the individual or others in the workplace. Covered employers have an obligation to engage in an “interacative process” when considering reasonable accommodations.
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA): This federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information and prohibits employers from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information of an employee or employee’s family member, with certain exceptions.
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII): This federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on a person’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and prohibits retaliation against an employee for opposing such unlawful employment practices or for making a charge, testifying, assisting, or participating in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under Title VII.
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA): This federal law amended Title VII to prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: This federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.
• Illinois Civil Patrol Leave Act: This Illinois law requires employers to provide up to 15 days of unpaid civil air patrol leave to an employee performing a civil air patrol mission.
• Illinois Military Leave:
• Illinois Military Leave Act (formerly Family Military Leave Act): Illinois law requires covered employers to provide unpaid, job-protected leave to certain employees who have an immediate family member called to military service for more than 30 days. Employers with 15 to 50 employees must provide up to 15 days of leave, while employers with more than 50 employees must provide up to 30 days. Eligible employees must have at least 12 months of service and 1,250 hours worked in the prior year, and generally must exhaust accrued vacation, personal, or other paid leave (but not sick or disability leave) before taking this unpaid military family leave. During the leave, employers must restore the employee to the same or equivalent position, maintain benefits continuity (at the employee’s expense), and refrain from retaliation.
• Military Funeral Honors Leave (effective August 1, 2025): A recent amendment to the Act created a separate entitlement for employees who participate in funeral honors details at veteran funerals. Employers with 51 or more employees must provide up to 8 hours of paid leave per month, capped at 40 hours per year, for this purpose. The leave is paid at the employee’s regular rate, is not contingent on exhausting other accrued leave, and may not be offset by requiring use of vacation or other paid time off. Employers may request verification of participation and, in limited circumstances, may deny leave in 24/7 congregate care facilities if granting it would impair safe operations.
• Key Difference: Family military leave is unpaid and intended to support family members of service members, while funeral honors leave is paid and specifically for employees who serve in veterans’ funeral ceremonies. Another distinction is employer size: family military leave applies starting at 15 employees, while funeral honors leave applies only to employers with 51 or more employees.
• Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act: This Illinois law restricts employers’ inquiries about a job applicant’s criminal record or history until the applicant has been determined qualified for the position and notified that the applicant has been selected for an interview or, if there is not an interview, until after a conditional offer of employment is made, with certain exceptions.
• Illinois Workplace Violence Prevention Act: This Illinois law gives employers the right to petition a court for a workplace protection restraining order to prohibit further violence or threats of violence by limiting access to the workplace by individuals who have made a credible threat of violence to be carried out at the workplace (g., against an employee).

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 16 or More Employees

• The Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (the Neonatal Act): This Illinois law will take effect on June 1, 2026. Employers with 16 to 50 employees will be required to provide employees with up to 10 days of unpaid leave to be used when their child is a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Employers with 51 or more employees will be required to provide up to 20 days of unpaid leave. Employees may take leave continuously or intermittently, though an employer may require that leave be taken in increments of not less than two hours.

During leave, employers must maintain an employee’s health insurance benefits on the same terms as if the employee had not taken leave. Upon conclusion of the leave, employers must reinstate an employee to his or her former position or to a substantially equivalent position with no loss of benefits accrued prior to the leave. Employers may not take any adverse action against employees who exercise their rights under the Neonatal Act.

An employer that violates the Neonatal Act is subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per affected employee. It will be enforced by the Illinois Department of Labor, which may impose penalties and supervise recovery, and also by private right of action in circuit court.

Employers may require reasonable verification of a child’s NICU stay, but they may not request confidential medical information protected under HIPAA or other laws.

The Neonatal Act does not specify how employees should be counted across multiple locations or jurisdictions for purposes of meeting the 16-employee threshold. The Illinois Department of Labor may issue rules to clarify whether counting should be by location, statewide, or otherwise. Absent such rules, prudent practice would be to count all employees in Illinois across all locations when evaluating coverage obligations.

The Neonatal Act also provides that an employee entitled to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) who takes leave under the Neonatal Act shall be granted, upon completion of and in addition to any leave taken under the FMLA, any leave available under the Neonatal Act. An employee is entitled to leave for the maximum number of days specified in the Neonatal Act or the length of the child’s NICU stay, whichever is shorter. An employer may not require an employee to substitute any paid leave for Neonatal Act leave. An employee, however, may elect to use available paid or unpaid leave (such as family, medical, sick, annual, personal, or other leave) in place of Neonatal Act leave.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 20 or More Employees

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA): This federal law prohibits employment discrimination against employees 40 years of age or older.
• Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA): This federal law provides employees with the right to temporary continuation coverage under group health plans for beneficiaries who would otherwise lose coverage due to a qualifying event, such as termination of employment. COBRA covers employers with 20 or more employees who sponsor group health plans.
• Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA): This federal law amends the ADEA and prohibits discrimination against employees who are 40 years of age or older and imposes certain requirements for employers who ask such employees for a release of their rights or claims.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 25 or More Employees

• Illinois Election Judge Leave: This Illinois law allows employees to be absent from work for the purpose of serving as an election judge after giving his or her employer at least 20 days’ written notice. This law covers employers with 25 or more employees.
• Illinois Employee Arbitration Act: This Illinois law allows employees to apply to the Illinois Department of Labor to mediate controversies not involving questions that may be the subject of a civil action. It applies to employers with 25 or more employees.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 50 or More Employees

• Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA): This federal law applies to employers with 50 or more employees and provides eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected FMLA leave for up to 12 weeks for certain family and medical reasons or any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that an employee’s spouse, child, or parent is on covered active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or for up to 26 weeks to care for a covered servicemember who is the employee’s spouse, child, parent, or next of kin. The law covers employers with 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
• Illinois Family Bereavement Leave Act: This Illinois law, which became effective on January 1, 2023, substantially amended the Child Bereavement Act (which only covered the loss of a child) and provided new protections for employees dealing with the loss of a family member. Now titled the Family Bereavement Leave Act, the law requires up to 10 workdays of unpaid bereavement leave for the loss of a “covered family member.”  A “covered family member” is expansively defined and includes a “child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent.”  Additionally, bereavement leave is not limited to time off for a “loss.”  It now covers time off: attending the funeral, making arrangements necessitated by a death, time spent grieving a death, and mourning caused by a miscarriage, unsuccessful artificial insemination, failed adoption match, a failed surrogacy arrangement, a diagnosis which negatively affects pregnancy and fertility, or a still birth.  Taken together, this amendment significantly expands protections for grieving employees. The law covers employers with 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
• Illinois Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act: This Illinois law became effective on January 1, 2024. It enhances bereavement leave rights for two categories of Illinois employees:  (a) parents who lose a child to suicide or homicide, and (b) family members of those killed in a crime of violence. Employees who experience the loss of their child by suicide or homicide may take unpaid leave from work to grieve their loss of that child. This includes an employee’s biological, adopted, foster, or stepchild, legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis. The length of the leave entitlement differs based on whether the employer is considered a “large” or a “small” employer. A “large” employer is one that employs 250 or more full-time employees in Illinois. Eligible employees of “large” employers may use up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave after the loss of their child by suicide or homicide. A “small” employer is one that employs at least 50 but fewer than 250 full-time employees in Illinois. Eligible employees of small employers may use up to six weeks of unpaid leave after the loss of their child. Employees may use Extended Bereavement Leave in a single, continuous period or intermittently in increments of not less than four hours. While the Family Bereavement Act requires leave to be taken within 60 days after an employee receives notice that a family member has died, the Child Extended Bereavement leave may be taken within one year after the employee notifies his or her employer of the loss. Absent an unreasonable or impracticable situation, employers may insist that employees provide reasonable advance notice of their intention to take leave. Employers may require reasonable documentation of death and the cause of the death. Employees are allowed to substitute any paid or unpaid leave for an equal amount of leave under the Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act. The Act, however, does not extend the maximum period of leave of employees under the Family and Medical Leave Act or other leave laws. With regard to leave for family members of those killed in crimes of violence, please see the segment of this Update entitled Illinois Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA).
• Illinois School Visitation Rights Act: This Illinois law generally requires employers to grant an employee unpaid leave of up to a total of 8 hours during any school year to attend school conferences or classroom activities related to the employee’s child if the conference cannot be scheduled during non-work hours. This law applies to employers with 50 or more employees. Beginning in 2020, this law was expanded to include an employee’s attendance at meetings to address behavioral or academic performance for his or her children.

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 51 or More Employees

• Illinois Employee Blood Donation Leave Act, now known as the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act: This law requires covered employers—those with 51 or more employees, as well as units of local government and boards of election commissioners—to provide certain leave benefits. Employees who have been employed on a full-time basis for at least six months are entitled to up to one hour of leave every 56 days to donate blood, consistent with recognized medical standards.

In 2023, Illinois amended what had been the Employee Blood Donation Leave Act to include organ donation. Renamed the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act, the law requires employers to provide up to 10 days of leave in any 12-month period for full-time employees serving as organ donors.

In 2025, further amendments expanded eligibility: beginning January 1, 2026, part-time employees will also be entitled to use up to 10 days of leave in any 12-month period for organ donation. For these employees, the statute now specifies that employers must calculate and pay a “daily average pay” based on the prior two months of employment.

Note on pay: The Act’s intent section states that it is meant to provide “time off with pay,” and employers commonly treat both blood-donation and organ-donation leave as paid. However, the operative statutory text is ambiguous. The law expressly requires pay for part-time employees taking organ-donor leave (effective January 1, 2026), but for full-time organ donors the statute only states that an employee “may” be entitled to leave with pay, without expressly mandating payment. Until clarified by regulation or case law, employers face uncertainty.

Employer Tip: Although the statute’s language is unclear, the safer course—and the one most consistent with legislative intent—is to treat both blood-donation and organ-donation leave as paid leave for full-time and part-time employees alike. Employers should also update policies before January 1, 2026, to reflect the expansion to part-time employees and should consult counsel before denying pay for such leave.

• See Military Funeral Honors Leave above in the segment titled “Illinois Military Leave.”

Employment Laws Covering Employers with 75 or More Employees

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Reporting Requirements (EEO-1 Report): The EEO-1 Report is a survey mandated by federal law and requires all private employers who are subject to Title VII with 100 or more employees to provide and certify certain employment data categorized by race/ethnicity, gender, and job category on an annual basis.
• Illinois Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (Illinois WARN Act): The Illinois WARN Act requires an Illinois employer with 75 or more employees to give 60 days’ written notice to affected employees and the government before ordering a mass layoff, relocation, or employment loss, with certain exceptions (e.g., the layoff, relocation, or employment loss is due to a physical calamity or an act of terrorism or war).
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Federal WARN Act): This federal law requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 days’ advance notice of any plant closings and mass layoffs to the affected workers, to the dislocated worker unit in the state, and to the appropriate unit of local government, with certain exceptions.

Conclusion

This Legal Update includes only a sampling of important employment laws. It does not discuss every law that may apply to an employer or an employer’s workplace, including laws in other states in which an organization may do business, nor does it discuss laws relating to employers that have “government contracts.” Certain laws that we did not mention may nonetheless be particularly important to you or your business, and we encourage you to consult with legal counsel for more information. In addition, as reflected in the foregoing discussion, new laws are frequently adopted and the law can change quickly. Of course, nothing in this Update constitutes professional legal advice, nor is it intended to be a substitute for professional legal advice.