Highlights
Impacted Employers: Illinois employers with employees who are volunteer emergency workers
Effective Date: January 1, 2027
Summary: Illinois has enacted legislation that expands job protections for employees who are volunteer emergency workers. Among other changes, the law protects covered employees when they attend required volunteer emergency worker training, not only when they respond to emergencies.
Next Steps: Illinois employers should review attendance, leave, paid time off, payroll, and discipline practices for employees who serve as volunteer emergency workers. More detailed next steps can be found below.
The Details
What has changed?
Here’s a summary of existing law and the changes effective January 1, 2027.
Existing Law
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Effective Jan. 1, 2027
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Employers are prohibited from terminating an employee who is a volunteer emergency worker because they are absent from or late to work due to responding to an emergency.
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Employers are prohibited from terminating or penalizing an employee who is a volunteer emergency worker because they are absent from or late to work due to responding to an emergency. These employees are also protected from such adverse action because they are absent from or late to work due to participating in required volunteer emergency worker training.
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An employer may charge, against the employee's regular pay, any time that an employee who is a volunteer emergency worker loses because of the employee's response to an emergency. The employer is prohibited from requiring the employee to take vacation time or other compensatory time in order to respond to an emergency.
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The pay and paid time off rules also apply to participation in required volunteer emergency worker training. This means an employer may treat the missed time as unpaid but may not require the employee to use vacation time or other compensatory time for the absence.
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The employer has the right to request that the employee provide a written statement from the supervisor or acting supervisor of the volunteer fire department or governmental entity stating that the employee responded to an emergency and the time and date of the emergency.
Volunteer emergency workers must make a reasonable effort to notify their employer that they may be absent or late to work due to emergency response.
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The documentation and notice rules also apply to participation in required volunteer emergency worker training. Employers should update their documentation processes and notice requirements to account for both covered emergency response and required volunteer emergency worker training.
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Next Steps
Illinois employers should:
- Update attendance and leave policies as necessary.
- Consider required volunteer emergency worker training as protected time off.
- Prohibit discipline, attendance points, termination, and other adverse action for protected absences or lateness.
- Ensure policies don’t require employees to use vacation time or compensatory time for covered emergency response or required training.
- Revise documentation forms as necessary.
- Train supervisors and managers on the changes before Jan. 1, 2027.