CHICAGO (CBS) — Starting July 1, the minimum wage in Chicago will rise to at least $13.50 per hour, while most of the rest of Illinois will see the minimum wage go up to $10.
Many employees in Chicago also will see further protections, including a new “fair workweek ordinance” requiring some employers to post work schedules two weeks in advance, and new protections against retaliation for staying home while sick from COVID-19.
On Wednesday, the city’s minimum wage will rise from $13 per hour to $13.50 for businesses with 4 to 20 employees, and to $14 per hour for businesses with 21 or more workers. The city’s minimum wage ordinance will increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour on July 1, 2021, except for businesses with fewer than 20 workers, who will get until 2023 to bring their minimum wage to $15.
Meantime, also on Wednesday, the city’s subminimum wage for tipped workers will go from $6.40 per hour to $8.10 for employers with 4 to 20 workers, and to $8.40 for businesses with 21 or more employees. Businesses are required to make up the difference if an employees wages and tips don’t add up to the standard minimum wage.
For employees under age 18, the minimum wage will rise from $7.75 an hour to $10 an hour in Chicago on Wednesday, and to the full $15 by 2025.
For most of the rest of the state, the minimum wage will be rising for the second time this year, from $9.25 per hour to $10 per hour. The subminimum wage for tipped workers will go up from $5.55 to $6 per hour, and the minimum wage for employees under age 18 will remain at $8 per hour.
Some other cities and counties in Illinois also have higher minimum wages than the rest of the state. For example, in suburban Cook County, the minimum wage will go up to $13 an hour on Wednesday, although home-rule towns can opt out of the increase.
In addition to the higher minimum wage, other protections for many Chicago workers also go into effect on Wednesday.
The new Chicago Fair Workweek ordinance is designed to protect workers from sudden changes to their schedules, by requiring employers to post work schedules at least two weeks in advance.
Businesses that make changes to their work schedules with less than 10 days notice must pay workers an extra hour of additional pay per affected shift. When employers make changes to a shift with less than 24 hours notice, employees must be reimbursed for 50% of their pay for any lost hours, on top of receiving an extra hour of pay for every affected shift.
Workers also would have to be paid 1.25 times their normal wage for any shift that begins 10 hours after the end of their previous shift.
The Fair Workweek Ordinance covers eight industries — building services, healthcare, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, warehouse services — and applies to workers earning no more than $50,000 a year as full-time employees, or no more than $26 per hour as hourly staff.
The ordinance covers restaurants with at least 30 global locations and 250 employees, workers in other businesses that employ 100 people or more, non-profits with at least 250 workers, and employees of franchise owners who have at least four locations.
Last month, the City Council approved a new provision of the Fair Workweek Ordinance, to protect workers from retaliation if they take time off work because they are sick with COVID-19, have been exposed to someone else who tested positive for the virus, or are caring for someone else who is sick from COVID-19. The measure would prohibit any business from firing, demoting, transferring, or reducing the pay of any employee in that situation.
While the ordinance shields businesses from employee lawsuits for six months, the city may still enforce fines of $300 to $500 against businesses that violate the anti-retaliation measures.
