Emily Seagren
• 1 Jan 2025

Decoding this Year’s Compliance Landscape: 10 Key Employment Law Changes in Illinois Every Employer Should Know

Stay compliant in 2025 with Illinois' 10 key employment law changes. From pay transparency to worker protections, find out what every employer must know.

Employer, How To

Last Updated: February 11, 2025

You may already have many regulations and compliance standards to follow, but there’s still another that you need to adhere to—state laws.

We’re here to discuss new changes to employment laws in Illinois and how these regulations will affect your business, including employee wage, safety, and benefits regulations.

10 Employment Law Changes in Illinois

These 10 employment law changes in Illinois will highlight the state’s commitment to fostering transparency, fairness, and worker protection across various employment areas.

1. Illinois Equal Pay Act 2003: Pay Transparency

Effective January 1, 2025, employers with more than 15 employees must include the salary range in their job postings.¹ This added requirement to the Equal Pay Act of 2003 allows candidates to have enough information about the job. It also ensures that salary is not disclosed only after an extensive application process.

This also includes all associated benefits to the role and those the company willingly provides. If you’re providing stock options, bonuses, or other incentives, this should be written in the job post or hyperlinked to a specific webpage detailing all benefits provided to every successful hire.

2. Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act

This law was effective January 1, 2024, last year. While the act has been practiced for a while, it might benefit you to know more about this act and ensure you provide the right benefits to employees who have lost a child or may experience the same in the future.²

The act is an extension of the Family Bereavement Act, which only allows 60 days of continuous leave starting from the day of notice of death. However, the Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for companies with more than 250 employees and 6 weeks for companies with at least 50 to 249 employees. When employees return, the company must provide the bereaved employee the same position, salary, and benefits.

3. Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act

Also effective January 1, 2024, this act requires companies to provide employees with 40 hours (5 days) of paid leave in a year. The law applies to private organizations of any size but exempts seasonal workers and college students. It also doesn’t apply to Cook County and Chicago City, which have their own leave ordinances and policies.³

Employees are not required to provide any reason or documentation for their absence. If a company’s leave credits exceed 40 hours, they may require documentation and reason for absence.

4. Freelance Worker Protection Act

This law protects freelance and contract workers in Illinois. Starting July 1, 2024, it applies to independent contractors with at least a $500 contract within 120 days.⁴ Under this law, the contractor must pay freelance workers within 30 days of contract completion. It also prohibits companies from setting a more favorable payment schedule in exchange for lower compensation. Here are the contract requirements that must be in writing according to the law:

Name, contact, and mailing address of both parties.
Complete deliverables the contractor must provide.
Compensation rate.
Payment method that will be used.
Payment schedule.
Due date of service rendered.

The company should also maintain the contract for at least two years and submit the contract to the Illinois Department of Labor.

5. Day and Temporary Labor Services Act

The original DTLSA requirement specified that temporary employees should be paid within certain parameters if they have worked for more than 90 calendar days. Effective August 9, 2024, this was amended to temporary laborers being paid for more than 720 hours of work within a 12-month period.⁵

This amendment mandates the following:

New requirements if a worker works more than 4,160 hours within 48 months.
Companies must inform temporary workers of the seniority of similar roles and their hourly rate.
Alternative rate computation is based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Temporary employment agencies must provide receipts to rejected applicants.

6. Chicago Ordinances: New Paid, Sick, and Safe Leave

Enacted on December 31, 2023, this new policy will provide Chicago employees with up to 40 hours of paid leave that can be used for any reason and 40 hours of paid sick leave dedicated to illness, injury, or medical appointments.⁶

This will allow employees to take paid medical leave for their own illness or to care for a family member. It also applies to those experiencing mental issues, domestic or gender violence, sexual harassment, human trafficking, substance abuse, or quarantine.

7. Transportation Benefits Program Act

Starting January 1, 2024, Illinois employers with 50 or more employees located within one mile of fixed-route transit service in Cook County and 38 other townships in other counties must provide pre-tax commuter benefits to covered employees.⁷ This mandate applies to employees who work full-time for at least 35 hours weekly.

8. Illinois Human Rights Act

In 2024, the Illinois Human Rights Act was substantially enhanced to support affected individuals and employees.⁸ Here are some of the significant revisions and amendments:

Increased Penalties: HB 5371

Repeat offenders of the IHRA will be fined $50,000 (up from $25,000) for each violation. Employers who violated the IHRA in the last 5 years will be fined $75,000. Furthermore, those who committed two or more violations in the last 5 years will be fined $100,000.

Statute of Limitations: SB 3310

The time required to file complaints about workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation with the state has increased from 300 days to 2 years.

Family Responsibilities: HB 2161

Employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against employees based on their family responsibilities, such as providing care or emotional support to a family member. Employers are not required to accommodate these responsibilities but must apply workplace policies fairly and without discrimination.

Reproductive Health Decisions: HB 4867

Employers must not discriminate against employees based on their reproductive care choices, including choices about contraception, pregnancy, abortion, fertility, and other related healthcare.

Limited Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): HB 3773

The law prohibits employers from using AI discriminatorily, such as using ZIP codes to identify employees. Furthermore, employers must notify employees if AI is used for employment processes like recruitment, contract renewal, termination, disciplinary action, or tenure.

9. Illinois Child Labor Law

The revised Child Labor Law outlines specific industries and job roles where minors are prohibited from working, such as mining, manufacturing, and construction.⁹ It establishes their allowed working hours, depending on their age.

Additionally, the law mandates that employers ensure minors working for their company have valid working permits. This should include both civil and criminal risks and penalties if these regulations were violated. Here are some of the regulations under this law:

Employers must submit a letter of intent to hire and an employment certificate to the minor’s school.
Employers must maintain records, including name, birth date, residency, employment certificate, and notice of intention to hire.
Employers must keep all records for up to 3 years after the minor ends their contract.
Employers must provide 30-minute breaks every five hours of work.
Minors aged 13 and below must not be employed.
Minors can only work for 18 hours a week during regular school sessions.
During breaks, minors can only work up to 40 hours a week.
Minors are not allowed to work more than 8 hours a day.

10. Illinois Personnel Record Review Act

This act allows employees to inspect their personnel records and review documents determining their employment status, promotion, compensation, and disciplinary actions.⁹ The recent amendments in 2024 expanded the types of documents employees can review, such as employee benefits and handbooks, workplace policies and procedures, and employment agreements.

Stay compliant with Hughes Recruiting & Consulting.

It’s important to stay updated with evolving laws. If you’re located in Illinois, this article aims to provide enough insight to navigate these challenges.

As a staffing partner, Hughes Recruiting & Consulting values compliance in employment. We ensure our partners remain compliant with various laws and regulations. We can also provide you with skilled workers in manufacturing, warehousing, finance, insurance, healthcare, hospitality, professional, and technical services.

Call us today and book your next candidate!

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