Illinois § 10

§ 10.

Neonatal intensive care family leave. (a) An employee of an employer with 16 or more employees and no more than 50 employees shall be entitled to use a maximum of 10 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave while any child of the employee is a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit. An employee of an employer with 51 or more employees shall be entitled to use 20 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave while a child of the employee is a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit. Leave may be taken continually or intermittently at the employee's selection. An employer may require that leave be taken in minimum increments of not less than 2 hours in duration. (b) An employee who is entitled to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act and takes leave under this Act shall be granted, upon completion of and in addition to any leave taken under the Family and Medical Leave Act, any leave available under this Act. An employee shall be entitled to leave for the maximum number of days specified in subsection (a) or the length of time the employee's child was a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit, whichever is less. An employer shall not require that an employee use any paid leave available to the employee for any reason instead of leave the employee is entitled to under this Act. An employee who is entitled to take paid or unpaid leave, including family, medical, sick, annual, personal, or similar leave, from employment, under federal, State, or local law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an employment benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute any period of leave for an equivalent period of leave provided under this Act. (c) Upon the conclusion of leave taken under this Act, an employee shall be reinstated to his or her former position or a substantially equivalent one with no loss of benefits held or accrued prior to taking leave. During the period of leave, any health insurance benefits shall be maintained by an employer as if an employee had not taken leave. An employer shall not require an employee who uses unpaid neonatal intensive care leave to provide a replacement worker. (d) If an employee takes unpaid neonatal intensive care leave under this Section, an employer may require reasonable verification of the employee's child's length of stay in a neonatal intensive care unit. As part of a reasonable verification, an employer shall not request any confidential information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or other law. (Source: P.A. 104-259, eff. 6-1-26.)