This Law Firm Publication by Jackson Lewis P.C. discusses the Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act which requires employers that provide their employees with sick leave benefits to allow the employees to use that leave for the illness, injury, or medical care of specific family members. Employees are not permitted to use more than half of their yearly sick leave benefits for family care. Employers that do not already provide personal sick leave benefits to their employees are not required to start now. The law only applies to those that do offer such benefits. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2017.