Regarding an employee’s personal use of employer-provided electronic devices, Illinois has amended the state’s Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) as follows:
- An employer may not fail to hire, refuse to hire, discharge, constructively discharge, harass, discriminate with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or retaliate against an employee in any form or manner because the employee used employer-issued equipment to record domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence committed against the employee or a family or household member of the employee.
- An employer may not deprive an employee of employer-issued equipment solely because the employee used or attempted to use the employer-issued equipment to record domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence committed against the employee or a family or household member of the employee.
- An employer must grant an employee access to any photographs, voice or video recordings, sound recordings, or any other digital documents or communications stored on an employer-issued device relating to domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence committed against the employee or a family or household member of the employee.
These changes go into effect on January 1, 2026. You can access the enacted bill here.