My Company Made A New "repayment Of Maternity Leave Policy" Agreement

Location: Illinois

Hello to anybody who can give me some advice here.

I'm a woman working in Illinois, and my husband and I were actively planning for a baby last year. Since the company I work for had no maternity leave policy in place, I opted into short-term disability when selecting benefits just in case I got pregnant. That was going to be my only choice for my leave.

Well, I did get pregnant. About two weeks before I planned to tell my boss and HR, the company put out an updated handbook for us to review and sign. In the latest update, they created an official maternity leave program. They now offer a full 12 week paid leave, continue to accrue PTO while on leave, and still have access to all my benefits. Short-term disability runs concurrently with the 12 weeks of 100% pay.

While this is great, there's a catch. I have to sign an agreement that says if I take this paid leave, I have to work for this company for 12 months upon my return. If I leave before the 12 months are done, I will have to pay back any paid leave outside of approved short-term disability within 6o days of my resignation.

So, if I'm approved for 6 weeks of short term disability and take the full 12 weeks leave, if I leave before the 12 month agreement is done, I will owe them 6 weeks of pay. My only concern is if I do need to leave within a year. The company is going through major changes and is already overworking most employees with understaffing. Personally, I can already protect my own time with the poor management. My problem is if my baby requires extra care after birth. This agreement forces me to make a major decision before I've met my child and given birth. Second, if my baby requires extra care, I'm concerned that paying back a large amount won't be financially possible.

As far as I understand, this policy isn't strictly illegal, but I want to know if this is toeing the line into illegal. I'm not comfortable signing the agreement until I can gather more information to make sure we're making the best decision.

Thank you for any help or references that can be provided.