(WTVO) — The new year is only 4 months away, which means new laws will soon take effect.

A lot of the laws in Illinois have to do with the workplace, and there are a bunch that can benefit the workers themselves. There are amendments to pre-existing laws that will employees should be aware of as well.

One new change is to the ODRISA law, which stands for “One Day Rest In Seven Act.” While the law currently says that it “provides for employees a minimum of twenty four hours of rest in each calendar week,” according to the Illinois Department of Labor, the wording will change in 2023 and employees can capitalize on it.

Starting on January 1, the act will change to employees having at least 24 hours of rest every consecutive day-period, according to the Illinois General Assembly. This means that the law now applies to everyone that works for six consecutive days, regardless of if the employee’s schedule aligns with a Sunday-Saturday work week.

The ODRISA law also involves meal breaks, and come 2023 that will be changing as well. The law currently gives employees “a meal period of 20 minutes for every 7.5 hour shift beginning no later than 5 hours after the start of the shift.” In the new year, that will change to say that employees “who work in excess of 7 1/2 continuous hours shall be entitled to an additional 20-minute meal period for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours worked. That means workers who work 12-hour shifts are entitled to two meal periods.

Outside of ODRISA, changes are being made to the “Family Bereavement Leave Act.” New additions have be made to when an employee is entitled to have a day off. According to the Illinois General Assembly, the new amendment allows workers to have a day off due to a:

• A miscarriage
• An unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure
• A failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party
• A failed surrogacy agreement
• A diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility
• A stillbirth

Workers must also be given 10 workdays of unpaid leave if they are attending the funeral of a covered family member. Covered family members include “an employee’s child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent.”