Two workplace protection laws covering menopause take effect January 1, 2027, leaving employers in Illinois and Philadelphia roughly fewer than weeks to update handbooks, post required notices, and confirm their accommodation processes are ready. Most covered employers have not started.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Illinois Menopause Equity and Care Act (Public Act 104-0793) on August 7. The law amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to add menopause-related conditions as a protected category and requires employers with one or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations, applying the same interactive-process framework that governs pregnancy accommodations. That means evaluating accommodation requests individually, documenting the process, and updating employee handbooks and workplace notices before January 1. The law also separately requires insurers to cover menopause-related care, a provision that takes effect in 2028.
Philadelphia’s ordinance followed an earlier path. Mayor Cherelle Parker signed Bill No. 250849 on December 3, 2025, amending the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance to prohibit discrimination on the basis of menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause. The ordinance applies to employers with one or more employees working in Philadelphia and similarly requires reasonable accommodations when symptoms substantially interfere with an employee’s ability to perform job functions. It too takes effect January 1, 2027.
Both laws sit within a fast-moving national pattern. Rhode Island became the first state to mandate menopause accommodations when Governor Daniel McKee signed House Bill 6161 on June 24, 2025. That law is already in effect.
As of mid-2026, menopause-related legislation had been introduced in more than 25 states, with at least 10 states and Philadelphia having enacted some form of law covering workplace accommodations, insurance coverage, or provider education, according to the Menopause Education Center’s June 2026 legislative tracking report. The Menopausal Workers’ Fairness Act, introduced in Congress, would extend federal accommodation requirements to employers with 15 or more employees nationwide if enacted.
The legislative activity is accelerating faster than employer readiness. According to NFP’s 2026 US Leave Management Trend Report, only 10% of employers currently offer menopause accommodations, despite approximately 20% of the workforce being in peak symptom years.That gap between current offerings and legal obligation is where clients with Illinois or Philadelphia employees are most exposed right now.
Reviewing client rosters for covered jurisdictions is the immediate task. Both laws apply to any employer with one or more employees in the jurisdiction, meaning multi-state employers with even a single Illinois or Philadelphia-based worker are covered. Handbook language, accommodation request procedures, and manager training all need to reflect the new protected category before January 1.
The legislative momentum also creates an opening beyond the clients who face immediate compliance deadlines. Advisors working with employers in states where legislation is active but not yet enacted can use the Illinois and Philadelphia examples to open the plan design conversation before a deadline forces it. New York, California, and New Jersey are among those with proposals under consideration.
A 2023 Mayo Clinic study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings puts the annual cost of menopause-related missed workdays at approximately $1.8 billion across the US, with total economic costs reaching $26.6 billion when medical expenses are included. That figure sits against a backdrop where, according to SHRM’s 2026 Employee Benefits Survey of more than 5,000 organizations, only 27% of US employers currently offer any form of menopause benefit.
The gap between cost exposure and benefit provision is wide, and the employer plans most likely to miss it are the ones where women’s health coverage has historically focused narrowly on maternity and reproductive years rather than the full career lifecycle.
The compliance deadline concentrates attention on two jurisdictions. The legislative trajectory and the workforce cost data make the case for employers everywhere else. NFP, an Aon company, recommends employers partner with their broker to audit current benefits, identify coverage gaps, and begin building communication around whatever menopause support they already have in place before employees or regulators do it for them.
