Belt Law Protects Workers Taking Time Off For Organ Donation Starting Jan. 1

SPRINGFIELD – Part-time workers may be dissuaded from taking time off to donate a life-saving organ due to fears of losing their job. That will change come Jan. 1, thanks to a new law championed by State Senator Christopher Belt ensuring part-time workers are covered for this time away.

“We need all the organ donors we can get,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “I received a life-saving kidney transplant, so I know firsthand that donations save lives. This law removes barriers for people who are willing to step forward and give that gift.”

The law allows eligible part-time workers to take up to 10 days of leave in a 12-month period to serve as organ donors. For part-time employees receiving compensation for their donation, employers must pay them based on their average daily pay over the previous two months of employment.

Currently, part-time workers often do not receive the same workplace protections as full-time employees. Belt’s law ensures all eligible workers, no matter how many hours a week they work, can take time to donate an organ without risking their job or financial stability.

“Living organ donors are everyday heroes who choose to make a life-saving gift, and the last thing they should have to worry about is job security or lost wages while they are recovering from surgery,” said American Kidney Fund President and CEO LaVarne Burton. “By providing paid, protected leave for all workers, whether they are full-time or part-time employees, the state of Illinois is helping to remove barriers faced by potential living organ donors, helping to alleviate financial hardships and worries about their employment. With more than 96,000 people in the U.S. on the kidney transplant waitlist, including nearly 4,000 in Illinois, we commend lawmakers for taking action to protect living donors and working to expand the donor pool.”

House Bill 1616 takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.

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