Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act: What Illinois Employers Need to Know

On August 15, 2025, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (the “Act”), which will require employers with 16 or more employees to provide unpaid parental leave to employees with a child receiving treatment in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

To take leave under the Act, an employee must first exhaust any available time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Once the employee has no other available time off under the FMLA, they will be eligible to take leave under the Act. While employers may request “reasonable verification” of the child’s stay in the NICU to approve the requested leave, they cannot require any confidential medical information to verify the employee’s leave. Leave may be taken either continuously or intermittently, and the employer may establish a minimum leave duration if taken intermittently, so long as it does not exceed two hours.

Employees who choose to take leave under the Act have additional protections. At the conclusion of leave, employers are required to reinstate employees to their former or a substantially equivalent position of employment. This means, if an employee takes leave under the Act, they cannot be demoted or replaced upon return as a result of their leave. Employees are entitled to maintain any applicable health insurance benefits during their leave and are protected from retaliation or adverse actions by their employer for exercising their rights under the Act.

Importantly, employers are not required to provide notice to employees of their rights under the Act. However, the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) is authorized to adopt and enforce rules necessary to administer the Act and may address the lack of a notice requirement through future regulation, which could change the Act’s current notice procedures.

The Act will become effective on June 1, 2026, at which time employees will be eligible to exercise their rights under this new law. With the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act set to take effect in June 2026, employers should begin reviewing leave policies to confirm they align with the new requirements. From updating handbooks to training managers, proactive steps now will help your organization stay compliant and avoid disruption later. Danna McKitrick’s employment law team is here to guide you through these changes.