Eligible Illinois employees are now entitled to up to 40 hours of paid leave annually to serve on military funeral honors detail thanks to an amendment (the “Amendment”) to Illinois’s Military Leave Act that Governor Pritzker signed on August 1, 2025.
The new law benefits qualified employees of Illinois employers with more than 50 employees and took immediate effect to allow paid leave for those qualified to participate in a military funeral honor guard.
The Amendment limits the benefit to those who are qualified to participate in a “Funeral Honors Detail,” an honor guard detail provided for the funeral of any veteran in compliance with federal regulations. A Funeral Honors Detail performs specified services at a veteran’s funeral ceremony, such as folding the United States flag and presenting it to the veteran’s family, or playing “Taps” at a veteran’s funeral.
The Amendment applies to Illinois employers with at least 51 employees, but it is silent as to whether this count includes employees beyond the state’s borders. Covered employers must provide at least eight hours of paid military funeral honors detail leave (“Funeral Honors Detail Leave”) per month, up to 40 hours per calendar year, to qualified employees.
The Amendment provides that, to be eligible, an employee must have worked for the covered employer for at least the preceding 12 months and at least 1,250 hours during those 12 months. To be qualified, the employee must also be trained to participate in Funeral Honors Detail at veterans’ funerals; and must be either:
- a retired or active member of the United States armed forces (including the reserves), or National Guard; or
- personally designated as an “authorized provider” or a registered member of an “authorized provider,” defined by the Amendment as private individuals and organizations that augment the uniformed members of a military Funeral Honors Detail.
Funeral Honors Detail Leave is in addition to any other relevant paid or unpaid leave, including Military Leave and rights available under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which provides for protected but unpaid “funeral honors duty.” Eligible employees must be permitted to use Funeral Honors Detail Leave without previously exhausting other types of leave, including sick leave or disability leave.
Employees seeking to use Funeral Honors Detail Leave must provide reasonable notice of their intent to use leave and employers may request documentation to verify the employee’s participation in Funeral Honors Detail. Employers must grant an eligible employee’s request to take Funeral Honors Detail Leave except: (a) where an employer is an independent living facility, assisted living facility, nursing home facility, or other similar congregate care facility or a facility providing 24/7 care, and granting the request would reduce staffing levels below the minimum or impair the safe and efficient operations of the facility; or (b) granting the request would violate a collective bargaining agreement.
There is no posting or notice requirement under the Amendment, but Illinois employers should review relevant policies and procedures to ensure compliance with this newest form of mandatory paid leave.
Elizabeth A. Ledkovsky, a Staff Attorney at Epstein Becker Green, contributed to this post.
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