Family Military Leave Act
The Family Military Leave Act, 820 ILCS 151/1, provides that any employer employing between 15 and 50 employees must provide up to 15 days of unpaid family military leave to an employee during the time federal or state deployment orders are in effect. 820 ILCS 151/10 (a). An employer with more than 50 employees shall provide up to 30 days of unpaid family military leave to an employee during the time federal or state deployment orders are in effect. 820 ILCS 151/10(b). The employee shall give at least 14 days’ notice of the intended date on which the family military leave will commence if leave will consist of 5 or more consecutive workdays. 820 ILCS 151/10(c).
An employee who exercises the right to family military leave under the Family Military Leave Act, upon expiration of the leave, shall be entitled to be restored to the position the employee held when the leave commenced or to a position with equivalent seniority status, employee benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. The requirements regarding reinstatement do not apply if the employer proves that the employee was not restored as provided under the Act because of conditions unrelated to the employee’s exercise of rights under the Act. 820 ILCS 151/15(a).