Illinois Grants Unpaid NICU Leave for Parents of Premature Babies

Illinois will soon become the second US state to offer parents unpaid leave specifically for NICU stays. The new law, starting next week, allows time off to care for newborns in intensive care. It follows a difficult experience for one family whose premature baby spent over three months in hospital.

Emily Niemiec’s son, Shane, arrived 15 weeks early, weighing just 1 pound 10.5 ounces. He spent 109 days in the NICU at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital. His medical bills alone exceeded $3 million.

Niemiec’s husband had to return to work after only a week, leaving the family juggling hospital visits with full-time employment. Their situation highlights the strain on parents during long NICU stays. The Illinois Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act now provides unpaid leave of 10 or 20 days, depending on employer size. This leave can be taken after standard Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time is used up. The Illinois Department of Labor will oversee enforcement. Currently, only Colorado offers similar NICU-specific leave, granting up to 12 weeks of paid time. Thirteen other states and Washington, D.C., have broader paid family leave programs—but Illinois does not. Today, Shane is nearly one year old and thriving, a positive outcome after his challenging start in life.

The new law gives Illinois parents more flexibility during NICU stays, though it remains unpaid. Employers must now accommodate eligible staff taking time off for neonatal care. For families like the Niemiecs, the change comes as a long-awaited support measure.