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Illinois bereavement law expands Jan. 1

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Illinois Capitol Springfield
By Mandy Robertson

(WSIL) -- The Family Bereavement Leave Act will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, expanding unpaid leave rights for employees in Illinois.

The law is an amendment to the Child Bereavement Leave Act that expands leave time requirements to cover pregnancy loss, failed adoptions, unsuccessful reproductive procedures, and other diagnoses or events negatively impacting pregnancy or fertility.

Employees may take up to two weeks, or 10 working days, of unpaid leave time for any of the events covered by the act to grieve, to attend a funeral, or to make arrangements necessitated by the death of the family member.

Employers may require reasonable documentation to certify that an employee requesting FBLA leave experienced an event covered by the Act, but employees are not required to identify the specific event that qualifies them for the leave. 

Reasonable documentation includes death certificates, published obituaries, and documentation from an adoption or surrogacy organization. A
 is available on the Department’s website that may be used as reasonable documentation.