Illinois is expanding when workers can take time off for bereavement. A new law will cover pregnancy loss, failed adoptions and reproductive procedures and other events impacting fertility and adoption.
"Illinoisans should have time to mourn and heal after an unimaginable loss like a miscarriage or stillbirth,” said Governor JB Pritzker, who signed SB 3120. “There are no words to erase such immense grief, but today, we take action to ensure that our residents are given the support and grace they deserve."
Employers will be required to provide two weeks of unpaid leave in such cases and also to attend the funeral of certain family members. Those include children, stepchildren, spouses, domestic partners, siblings, parents, parents-in-law, grandchildren, grandparents, or stepparents.
Employees across the state are covered under the act. Employees can also utilize this time off to support a spouse or partner experiencing one of these losses.
The law also specifies that the employee does not have to identify which category of event they are taking leave for, even if they are required to provide documentation. The Department of Labor will provide forms for health care practitioners to verify the leave-inciting event without violating patient privacy.
The original Child Bereavement Leave Act, signed into law in 2016, allowed parents and guardians to take leave in the case of the loss of a biological or adopted child, a foster placement, or a stepchild. The amended act addresses the grief parents feel during pregnancy loss and failed adoptions, both of which are often under-recognized as traumatic events requiring time for recuperation and healing.
