All employers and employees subject to the federal Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are now subject to the Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA), expanding unpaid leave rights for employees across Illinois, that went into effect on January 1, 2023.

The Family Bereavement Leave Act is an amendment to the Child Bereavement Leave Act (CBLA) that expands leave time requirements to cover pregnancy loss, failed adoptions or surrogacy agreements, unsuccessful reproductive procedures, and other diagnoses or events negatively impacting pregnancy or fertility. The FBLA also requires employers to provide leave time after the loss of family members previously not covered by the CBLA, including spouses, domestic partners, siblings, grandparents, and stepparents.

The US Department of Labor online tool can be used to determine if employees meet the definition of “eligible employee” under the Act, such that they would be entitled to the expanded benefits. That elaws Advisors tool can be found here: https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/fmla/4.aspx.

The full Illinois Department of Labor News Release, including a Bereavement Leave form, is available via this link.