The details

Background

Illinois requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide unpaid leave to employees when their spouse, parent, grandparent, or child is ordered to active duty for a period of 30 days or more. Employers with 15 to 50 employees must provide at least 15 days of such leave. Larger employers must provide at least 30 days of the leave.

To be eligible, an employee must have been employed for 12 consecutive months prior to the leave and have worked at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period before the leave.

Senate Bill 220

Effective Aug. 1, 2025, Senate Bill 220 amended the law to also require employers with more than 50 employees to provide paid leave to eligible employees for funeral honors details.

Under the law, a funeral honors detail is defined as honor guard provided for the funeral of any veteran in compliance with federal law and regulations. The detail performs a ceremony that includes the folding of a United States flag and presentation of the flag to the veteran's family and the playing of "Taps."

An eligible employee may use up to eight hours per calendar month to participate in a funeral honors detail, up to a total of 40 hours per calendar year.

Employee eligibility

To be eligible, an employee must have been employed for 12 consecutive months prior to the leave and have worked at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period before the leave. They must also:

·       Be trained to participate in a funeral honors detail at the funeral of a veteran; and are either:

o   A retired or active member of the armed forces of the United States or a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the Illinois National Guard; or

o   An authorized provider (recognized by the armed forces to augment such details), or a registered member of a nonprofit or other organization that is an authorized provider, including a member of a veteran’s service organization.

Employee Notice and Documentation

An employee taking funeral honors detail leave must give their employer reasonable notice.

An employer may request confirmation from the relevant veteran’s service organization that dispatched the employee to the funeral honors detail, or any official notice provided to the employee in relation to the funeral honors detail, that can be used as proof of the employee's participation in the detail.

Interaction with Other Leave Policies

An employee who takes funeral honors detail leave may do so in lieu of, and without having exhausted, their vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave, or any other leave that may be granted to the employee, including sick leave and disability leave.

Pay During Leave

During funeral honors detail leave, the employee is entitled to their regular rate of pay.

Exceptions

An employer may deny a request for leave under the law if granting the request would, at an independent living facility, assisted living facility, nursing home facility, or other similar congregate care facility or at a facility providing 24/7 care, reduce staffing levels to below the established minimum or impair the safe and efficient operations of the facility.

Next steps

Review policies, practices and training to ensure compliance with the amended law.