Illinois Employee Handbook

When your company hires employees in Illinois, you are required to comply with federal, state, and local employment laws. There are a variety of human resources and labor policies in the workplace that differ by state. Through your employee handbook, employers can easily document and distribute the correct policies to their employees to comply with the laws of each state.

Creating your Illinois Employee Handbook is a useful way to explain important policies and procedures, mitigate legal risk, and introduce employees to the expectations and operating practices of the organization.

Mosey has compiled the relevant policies a company with employees in Illinois must consider.

Launch your employee handbook in minutes.

Everything you need to automate a compliant handbook for all 50 states.

Get Started

Illinois Employee Handbook Policies

There are 23 state and local employee handbook policies in Illinois.

Wage and Hour

Illinois Minimum Wage Policy

You are entitled to a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour in Illinois if you are 18 years of age and older at Employer. If you are a tipped employee, Employer may pay 60% of the minimum wage but must ensure your combined tips and wages meet the minimum wage of $15.00 per hour.

Illinois Rest Break Policy

You are entitled to reasonable, paid restroom breaks in addition to the meal breaks provided by Employer.

Illinois Lactation Break Policy

You are entitled to reasonable break time to express breast milk for up to one year after childbirth. These breaks are paid and typically align with existing breaks. You may coordinate additional breaks with your supervisor, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

Employer will provide a private, secure space for expressing milk that is not a bathroom and is free from intrusion. If a dedicated space is unavailable, an alternative will be provided as needed.

If accommodating breaks or space creates undue hardship on operations, exceptions may apply. Employer prohibits retaliation or discrimination and reducing compensation for lactation breaks.

Illinois Meal Break Policy

You are entitled to an uninterrupted, unpaid meal break of at least 20 minutes for every 7.5 hours worked, to be taken no later than five hours after the start of the work period. For shifts lasting 12 hours or more, an additional 20-minute meal break must be provided.

Illinois Mandatory Day of Rest Policy

Employees working more than 30 hours in a week are entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest, with exceptions for emergencies or specific exempt roles, such as executives or supervisors. Employees may voluntarily work a seventh consecutive day by notifying their supervisor, with a permit arranged if needed. Employer prohibits coercion, discrimination, or retaliation related to exercising the right to rest.

Chicago Minimum Wage Policy

You are entitled to the minimum wage of $16.60 per hour, effective July 1, 2025. If you are a tipped employee, you are entitled to $12.62 per hour. Employer will make up the difference if your wages plus tips does not equal or exceed the minimum wage.

Vacation, Sick, and Safe Leaves

Chicago Paid Leave Policy

You are entitled to paid leave if you work at least 80 hours for Employer within any 120-day period. Accrual begins on your first calendar day of employment, with one hour of paid leave earned for every 35 hours worked. You entitled to use accrued paid leave beginning after your 90th day of employment for any reason of your choosing.

Chicago Paid Sick and Safe Leave Policy

You are entitled to paid sick and safe leave if you work at least 80 hours for Employer within any 120-day period. Accrual begins on your first calendar day of employment, with one hour of paid leave earned for every 35 hours worked. You are entitled to use accrued paid sick and safe leave beginning after your 30th day of employment for any medical or safety reason relating to you or your family members.

Illinois Paid Leave Policy

You are entitled to earn one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year. Paid leave may be used after 90 days of employment for any reason.

Leaves of Absence

Illinois Blood Donation Leave Policy

You are permitted to take 1 hour of paid time-off to donate blood every 56 days.

Illinois Military Funeral Honors Detail Leave Policy

You are entitled to up to 8 hours per month and up to 40 hours of paid leave per calendar year to provide funeral honors detail services if you are a veteran, active duty member, or part of an organization providing veterans services and have received appropriate training.

Illinois Military Service Leave Policy

You are entitled to military leave under the Illinois Servicemember Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (ISERRA), which applies to all employees of Employer. ISERRA protects your military service and ensures your leave is protected for up to five years of cumulative service. While ISERRA does not provide paid leave for private-sector employees, it guarantees you with job-protected leave upon return, provided your discharge is not dishonorable. You must provide advance notice of your leave and submit a timely request for reemployment after service.

Illinois Voting Leave Policy

You are permitted to take up to two hours of paid time off to vote if you would not otherwise have sufficient time to vote.

Illinois Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave Policy

You are permitted to take unpaid leave to serve as a volunteer firefighter, EMS, EMR, EMT, ambulance driver or paramedic in response to a fire or an emergency. You may be required to provide proof of service and should provide advance notice that you will be absent or late as soon as possible.

Illinois Organ Donation Leave Policy

You are permitted to take up to 10 days of paid time-off to donate an organ every 12 months.

Illinois School Visitation Leave Policy

Employer provides employees with up to 8 hours of unpaid leave each year to participate in activities at a child’s school or daycare.

Illinois Jury Duty Leave Policy

You are entitled to unpaid job-protected leave to serve as a juror. Unless directed otherwise by your manager, you should return to work at the completion of jury duty, even if for a partial day.

Illinois Crime Victim Leave Policy

Employer permits employees to request and take up to 4 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in any 12-month period if the employee or a family or household member is the victim of a violent crime.

Illinois Military Family Leave Policy

Under the Illinois Family Military Leave Act, you are permitted to take up to 15 days of job-protected military family leave per calendar year if your spouse, parent, grandparent, or child is ordered to active duty of at least 30 continuous days.

Illinois Family Bereavement Leave Policy

Employer is required to provide up to 10 working days of family bereavement leave for the death of a child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent. Bereavement leave also covers miscarriage, stillbirth, unsuccessful IVF treatments, failed adoption attempts as defined by law, or medical diagnoses affecting fertility.

Illinois Domestic Violence Leave Policy

You are entitled to take between four to twelve weeks of job-protected leave to seek medical attention or counseling for domestic violence-related issues, obtain victim services, seek legal assistance, participate in safety planning, and attend a funeral, make arrangements, or grieve a family member killed in a violent crime.

Expense

Illinois Remote Employee Reimbursement Policy

You are entitled to have necessary business expenses reimbursed.

Privacy

Illinois Social Media Privacy Policy

Generally, Employer is prohibited from accessing your personal social media accounts and will not discipline or terminate an employee for refusing to disclose their social media login information or for denying to provide access to their social media accounts.

Employee handbook builder

Build your employee handbook in every state and keep it up to date automatically with Mosey.