June 2022: Illinois Expands Unpaid Leave to Employees for Pregnancy and Adoption Loss

Update Applicable to:
All employers with 50 or more employees in the state of Illinois.

What happened?
On June 9, 2022, Governor Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3120 (SB 3120), also known as the “Family Bereavement Leave Act,” into law. This act expands unpaid

What are the details?
Effective January 1, 2023, employers will be required to provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave to employees who are absent due to:

• A miscarriage;
• An unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure (e.g., artificial insemination or embryo transfer);
• A failed adoption match or adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party;
• A diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility; or
• A stillbirth.

Like the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), employees become eligible for unpaid bereavement leave under the Family Bereavement Leave Act after 12 months of employment and at least 1,250 hours worked within the previous 12-month period. It also permits but does not require, employers to request reasonable documentation in response to an employee’s request for unpaid bereavement leave.

However, the employer is prohibited from requiring the employee to specifically identify whether the leave pertains to a miscarriage, a failed adoption, or any other category of the event set forth in the Act, even if the employer requires the employee to provide documentation. In such a case, employers should anticipate receiving a form from the employee’s healthcare practitioner – provided by the Illinois Department of Labor – that will verify the leave-inciting event without identifying the specific statutory category.

Notably, the Act does not create an employee right to take unpaid leave that exceeds the leave time permitted under the FMLA.

For more information, please see the links below:

Senate Bill 3120 (SB 3120)

Illinois Press Release

Article

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above and make adjustments to their bereavement leave policies so that come January 1, 2023, they will be in compliance with the law.