Chicago Minimum Wage Increase and Improvements fair work week ordinance takes effect July 1.

Andy Fox, Director of Labor Standards for the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection(BACP), said the laws are intended to maintain strong protections for all Chicago workers.

Any employee who works two or more hours in the city during a two-week period must also be paid at least Chicago minimum wage.

“These are low-wage workers all over the city of Chicago. And rather than focusing on city employers, we’re focusing on the worker. So if a Chicago City worker performs work within the city’s geographic limits, they become a covered employee,” Fox said.

The Chicago minimum wage is tiered for large businesses with 21 or more employees and small businesses with 4 to 20 employees. The minimum wage for heavy workers has increased every year by the consumer price index or by 2.5%, whichever is lower, since it hit $15 an hour in 2021. The minimum wage for small businesses continues to increase to $15 per hour by 2023. The minimum wage as of July 1, 2022 will be:

• $15.40 for employers with 21 or more employees (including all domestic workers, regardless of the number of employees)

• $14.50 for employers with 4 to 20 employees

• The minimum wage for tipped employees will be $9.24 for employers with 21 or more employees and $8.70 for employers with 4 to 20 employees (employers must make up the difference between the tips received and the applicable minimum wage for untipped workers.)

In addition to the minimum wage increase, improvements to the Fair Work Week Ordinance will require employers in covered industries to post work schedules with at least 14 days’ notice, an increase from the 10 days prior notice. Employees will need to earn less than $29.35 an hour or $56,381.85 a year to qualify for protection under the Fair Work Week Order. Industries covered include construction services, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, or warehousing services.

Fox said his office hasn’t received much pushback on the laws so far from businesses in the city.

“Good employers are only interested in compliance. They’re not interested in complaining, they don’t have time to complain. They manage the same things that we as consumers try to manage like their gasoline, their rent. Everything is going up in this economy right now, so they are trying to manage things,” he said.

Employers interested in learning more about the changes can watch the webinars Employer Responsibilities Under the Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance and Employer Responsibilities Under the Chicago Fair Work Week Ordinance.

On July 23, BACP will host a free in-person meeting Small Business Fair 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Kennedy-King College with industry experts, government agencies, educational workshops and an hour of networking.