Labor & Employment Law Update

On January 1, 2024, we saw the Illinois minimum wage increase from $13.00 to $14.00.  The City of Chicago and Cook County are also increasing their minimum wages on July 1, 2024.

The minimum wage for the City of Chicago will increase from $15.80 to $16.20 per hour for non-tipped employees, and from $9.48 to $11.02 per hour for tipped employees.  Notably, Chicago will no longer allow a different minimum wage for “small employers,” i.e., employers with more than 3 but fewer than 21 Employees. Meaning, the minimum wage will be the same for ALL Chicago employers with 4 or more employees.

The Cook County minimum wage rate will increase from $13.70 to $14.05 for non-tipped employees. The minimum wage for tipped employees will remain $8.40.

All minimum wage increases effective July 1, 2024 for the City of Chicago are indicated in the following chart, which also provides a full picture of the minimum wage increases applicable to all Illinois employers that went into effect in 2024:

* Effective July 1, 2024, the Minimum Wage to be paid under City of Chicago contracts or concessionaire agreements increases from $16.80 to $17.40 per hour for non-tipped employees and from $8.80 to $9.40 per hour for tipped employees.

** Workers who are under 18, subsidized temporary youth employment program or transitional employment program

As a reminder, many municipalities in Cook County opted-out of the Cook County Minimum Wage and/or Paid Leave ordinances. Businesses in Cook County (but not the City of Chicago), should make sure to double check whether or not the municipality in which they operate opted-out of one or both of these ordinances, as some municipalities have changed since initially opting-out.

Remember to update your posters AND provide written notices to employees!  

Under the City of Chicago’s rules, employers have to post the most up to date minimum wage, paid leave and paid sick leave posters, and provide written notices to covered employees each year with the first paycheck after July 1^st, whether by paper or electronic means. The City of Chicago posters for Chicago minimum wage, paid leave and paid sick leave can be found on the City of Chicago webpages for Minimum Wage and Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog and Korean.

The Cook County website has posters for Minimum Wage and Paid Leave in English, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Filipino and Urdu.

The State of Illinois has its posters for Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave on its website in English, Spanish or Polish.

Mileage Reimbursement

On January 1, 2024, the IRS standard mileage rate used by employers to reimburse for travel increased from 65.5 cents to 67 cents per mile. While businesses are not required to use the IRS standard mileage rate when reimbursing for travel, the alternative requires calculating the actual cost of the employee’s use of their own vehicle.  Employers using the IRS standard mileage rate, should update their internal systems to reflect the new rate as of January 1, 2024.