In this series, we will explore some of the ways states vary from one another in their employment laws.

There is an ongoing trend of states passing laws for the benefit of women’s health and wellbeing. As I’ve previously discussed, more than half of states now protect lactation breaks and Rhode Island now requires reasonable accommodations related to menopause. Could menstruation-related laws come next?

On Jan. 27, 2026, the Illinois state senate introduced a bill to create the Menstrual Health Workplace Equity Act. If enacted, the legislation would allow employees experiencing a menstrual health condition to use up to 40 hours of paid leave per year for menstrual health reasons. This in itself would not be overly significant, as the bill specifies that this would be leave an employee is already entitled to under the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act. More significantly, the bill allows an employee to request an additional 40 hours of paid menstrual leave per year or request a hybrid work option if the initial 40 hours of leave were insufficient to cover the employee’s needs. 

At this early stage, it is unclear whether the bill will be enacted into law. Currently, no other state has enacted a menstruation accommodation law, although Philadelphia has a local ordinance that requires menstruation-based accommodation. What is clear is that women’s health issues are at the forefront of legislators’ minds and that similar bills are likely to be introduced at the state and local levels in the coming months and years.