Illinois HR Laws for Small Employers (2026)

Illinois at a glance

Pay range in job posts: Required at 15 or more employees (counted inside and outside Illinois) for postings made or republished after January 1, 2025. The post must show the pay or pay range plus a general description of benefits.
New-hire reporting: Report each new hire to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) within 20 days of the first day on the payroll, online, by fax or by mail.
Paid sick leave: Paid Leave for All Workers Act: 1 hour for every 40 worked, up to 40 hours in 12 months, usable for any reason after 90 days. Chicago and Cook County follow their own ordinances instead.
Paid family and medical leave: No state law requires paid parental leave, according to the Illinois Department of Labor. Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave under the federal FMLA.
Final pay when you end employment: At separation if possible, and no later than the next regularly scheduled payday.
Final pay when they quit: The same rule: at separation if possible, and no later than the next regularly scheduled payday.
Unused vacation at exit: Required. Earned vacation is paid at the final rate of pay, and no policy may make it forfeit at separation. Leave given only under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act does not have to be paid out unless it sits in a vacation or general PTO bank.

Hiring in Illinois

Pay scale and benefits in job posts. Under the Illinois Equal Pay Act, an employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale and benefits in every specific job posting made or republished after January 1, 2025. All employees count toward the 15, whether they work inside or outside Illinois, full-time or part-time. The rule covers jobs done at least partly in Illinois, and jobs done elsewhere that report to a supervisor, office or work site in Illinois. See pay transparency in job posts.

Pay scale means the wage or salary, or the range, plus a general description of benefits and other pay you reasonably expect to offer, such as bonuses, stock options or other incentives.
Benefits include health care, retirement, paid time off, job-protected time off and any other benefit reported for federal tax purposes. You may link to a public web page that lists them.
A recruiter or job board you use can be liable for a post without the information, unless it shows you never gave it the details.
If you post a promotion opportunity outside the company, announce it to current employees within 14 calendar days.
If there was no public posting, give an applicant the pay scale and benefits on request, before any offer or talk about pay.
Keep records of each posting, including what it looked like when it was published.

Fines for an active job posting without pay scale and benefits
Offense	Maximum fine
First	$500
Second	$2,500
Third and later	$10,000

You get 14 days to fix a first offense and 7 days to fix a second. Fines for postings that are no longer active are lower.

Salary history: you may not ask for an applicant's wage or salary history, or screen applicants by it. You may discuss their pay expectations.
Criminal history: employers with 15 or more employees may not ask about criminal records until the applicant has been found qualified and invited to interview, or, if there is no interview, until after a conditional offer. Some jobs are exempt.
New-hire reporting: report each new hire to IDES within 20 days of the first day on the payroll. See new-hire reporting.
AI in hiring: since January 1, 2026, the Illinois Human Rights Act bars using artificial intelligence in employment decisions in a way that discriminates against protected groups, or using zip codes as a stand-in for them, and requires notice to employees when AI is used for those decisions.
Pay data: private employers with 100 or more employees in Illinois must get an Equal Pay Registration Certificate from the Illinois Department of Labor and renew it every two years ($150 fee).

Non-competes. The Illinois Freedom to Work Act voids a non-compete unless the employee earns more than $75,000 a year, rising to $80,000 on January 1, 2027. A non-solicitation agreement needs earnings above $45,000, rising to $47,500 on January 1, 2027. Either one is void unless you advise the employee in writing to consult a lawyer and give them at least 14 calendar days to review it.

Leave in Illinois

Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA). Employers of every size, outside Chicago and Cook County, must let employees earn at least 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours in a 12-month period. You can frontload the full amount at the start of the year or of employment instead. Employees can start using it after 90 days, for any reason or no reason, and you may not ask why or ask for documentation. Unused leave carries over. Keep records of each employee's balance and share it on request, and display the PLAWA notice. Chicago and Cook County employers follow their own paid leave ordinances. See paid sick leave laws.

Other Illinois leave rules
Law	Who it covers	What it gives
Employee Sick Leave Act	Employers that offer personal sick leave	Employees can use their sick leave for a covered family member's illness, injury or appointment on the same terms. You may cap this at what they would earn in 6 months.
Family Bereavement Leave Act	Employers with at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius	Up to 2 weeks (10 workdays) of unpaid, job-protected bereavement leave.
Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA)	Varies with employer size	Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for victims of domestic, gender, sexual or other violence.
Federal FMLA	50 or more employees	Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees.

There is no Illinois law requiring paid parental leave. For new parents, the main protection is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), plus any PLAWA or company leave.

Final pay in Illinois

Final pay under the Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115/5)
Situation	When final pay is due
You end the employment	At separation if possible, and no later than the next regularly scheduled payday
The employee quits	At separation if possible, and no later than the next regularly scheduled payday
Earned, unused vacation	Paid at the final rate of pay as part of final compensation
PLAWA leave only	No payout required, unless it is part of a vacation or general PTO bank

Final compensation includes wages, earned commissions, earned bonuses and earned vacation. A policy that makes earned vacation forfeit at separation is not allowed, so check your PTO policy wording before you write it. If the employee asks in writing for the final check to be mailed, you must mail it. See final paycheck laws and unused PTO payout.

Unemployment notice. When an employee is separated from the payroll for any reason, or laid off for 7 days or more, give them the IDES publication 'What Every Worker Should Know About Unemployment Insurance'. If you cannot hand it over at work, mail it to their last known address within 5 calendar days of the separation.

Other things to know

Minimum wage: $15.00 an hour for workers 18 and older since January 1, 2025, and $13.00 for workers under 18 who work fewer than 650 hours a year for you. A tip credit of up to 40% is allowed.
Overtime: one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. See overtime rules.
Anti-discrimination: the Illinois Human Rights Act covers employers with one or more employees in Illinois for 20 or more weeks a year, and any employer with one or more employees for claims of disability or pregnancy discrimination or sexual harassment.
Harassment training: every employer with employees in Illinois must give sexual harassment prevention training at least once a year, using the state model program or its own program that meets the same standards.
Illinois WARN Act: covers employers with 75 or more employees (not counting part-time). A mass layoff (25 or more employees making up at least 33% of a site, or 250 or more) or a plant closing (50 or more) needs 60 days' written notice. See WARN Act layoffs.
Workers' compensation: required from the first employee, even a part-time one. See workers' compensation requirements.
Posters: all employers display Your Rights Under Illinois Employment Laws, the Paid Leave for All Workers Act notice and the VESSA notice, among others. See labor law posters.

Common questions

Does the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act apply in Chicago?

No. Chicago and Cook County passed their own paid leave ordinances before 2024, so employers there follow those instead. Chicago questions go to the City of Chicago Office of Labor Standards, and Cook County questions to the Cook County Commission on Human Rights.

Do I have to pay out unused PTO in Illinois?

Earned vacation must be paid out, and a policy cannot make it forfeit at separation. A use-it-or-lose-it rule during employment is allowed only if employees get a reasonable chance to use the time. Leave given only to meet the Paid Leave for All Workers Act does not have to be paid out, unless it is part of a vacation or general PTO bank.

Does the Illinois pay transparency law cover remote jobs?

It covers jobs done at least partly in Illinois, and jobs done outside Illinois when the employee reports to a supervisor, office or work site in Illinois. The 15-employee count includes employees in every state.

What is the salary threshold for a non-compete in Illinois?

The employee must earn more than $75,000 a year, rising to $80,000 on January 1, 2027. Non-solicitation agreements need more than $45,000, rising to $47,500 on the same date.

Is sexual harassment training required in Illinois?

Yes. Every employer with employees in Illinois must provide it at least once a year, using the state model program or one that meets the same minimum standards.

How MambaHR handles this

MambaHR posts jobs with the pay scale and benefits in the listing, keeps applications in one pipeline, and drafts offers inside your pay range for a person to approve. It approves time-off requests within your policy, and at exit it works out final pay under Illinois rules, earned vacation included, for a person to approve. Every change is logged.

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Sources

Last reviewed October 2, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and exceptions apply, so check the sources above or an employment lawyer before you act on a specific case.