Labor & Employment Law Update

On July 1, 2018, the Chicago Minimum Wage and Cook County Minimum Wages increased as follows:

• Chicago Minimum Wage increased to $12.00 per hour for non-tipped employees and $6.25 for tipped employees (Chicago Municipal Code §1-24).
• Cook County’s new minimum wage is $11.00 per hour for non-tipped and $5.10 for tipped employees.

IMPORTANT: Even if you are in a municipality that opted out of the Cook County or Chicago minimum wage or paid sick leave ordinances initially, remember to stay up to date as sometimes things can change.  For example, after opting out of the Cook County Minimum Wage ordinance in 2017, the Wilmette Village Board recently voted to opt in to the Cook County Minimum Wage starting October 1, 2018.  The village of Northbrook opted out of the Cook County Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave ordinance, but is now reconsidering the decision to opt out of the Paid Sick Leave ordinance.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REQUIREMENTS: With the increase of the minimum wage, the required posters have been updated to reflect the increase.  Employers that are subject to the Cook County or Chicago minimum wage should review and make sure that they have the current required poster posted.  The new poster for the Chicago Minimum Wage ordinance can be found on the City of Chicago website and are in English, Spanish, Polish and Mandarin. The Cook County minimum wage ordinance poster can be found on the Cook County website and is only in English.