To: Deans, Directors, and Department Heads
From: Jami Painter, Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
The State of Illinois recently created or amended three leave types. Please share this communication with those in your area with human resource responsibilities; they will receive more detailed information as it becomes available.
- New - The Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act, effective January 1, 2024, also referred to as Zachary’s Parent Protection Act, provides up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid leave for eligible employees if the employee experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide. Additional information may be found on Child Extended Bereavement Leave webpage.
- Expanded - The Victims Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) is not new, but the legislation has been amended to allow for additional reasons for which VESSA may be used. The new reasons provide up to 2 weeks of leave to attend the funeral, make arrangements, or grieve the death of a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence. Changes to this leave are effective January 1, 2024. Additional information may be found on the VESSA webpage.
- New - The Firefighter Training Leave of Absence Act, effective January 1, 2024, provides eligible university employees to receive paid leave to receive a Basic Operations Firefighter certification and/or paid leave for special or advanced firefighter training. Additional information may be found on the Firefighter Training Leave of Absence webpage.
We are updating University of Illinois System policies, websites, and systems to reflect and manage these leave events. Updated information will be shared with you and HR staff, who grant and process leave requests, as it becomes available. An all-employee communication will be deployed soon.
Please have your colleges or units track these leaves manually until further notice.
Questions regarding these changes may be directed to: