Illinois Enacts Legislation Protecting Familial Caregivers

On August 9, 2024, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 2161, amending the Illinois Human Rights Act to provide protections for familial caregivers in the workplace. The amendment will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

The law as amended makes it a civil rights violation for employers with one or more Illinois employees to refuse to hire, harass, or discriminate against employees who have “family responsibilities.” This includes municipal corporations and other governmental units, but does not include educational institutions and certain religious entities. Family responsibilities are defined as an employee’s actual or perceived provision of personal care to a family member. Family member includes an employee's child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent. The law does not obligate an employer to make accommodations for employees with family responsibilities; rather, it merely prohibits the employer from discriminating against employees on that basis.

The caregiver amendment will protect all employees providing services in Illinois, including unpaid interns. Employers will also be responsible for a non-managerial, non-supervisor employee’s harassment against a familial caregiver if the employer becomes aware of harassing conduct and fails to take reasonable corrective measures. Accordingly, Illinois employers should prepare to comply with the new caregiver amendment by educating all employees on familial caregiver harassment and discrimination.

The full test of the amendment can be found on the Illinois General Assembly’s website.