Wage increase affects Chicago jobs

Posted on July 3, 2015

A new minimum wage increase is affecting Chicago jobs.

The city’s minimum raise will be $10, the first raise for Chicago workers since 2010. An increase of the tipped minimum wage to $5.45 is also in effect. In December 2014, City Council passed the Mayor’s ordinance to raise the minimum wage for all Chicago workers to $13 per hour by 2019. The ordinance raises the minimum wage in steps, starting with the increase to $10 on July 1, 2015.

The City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) has made available on their website the promulgated regulations and other informational materials, including a Notice to Employers and Employees, which business owners are required to display at their business. Informational materials will be available to business owners and workers in English, Spanish, Polish, Mandarin Chinese and Korean.

The minimum wage increases to $10.50 in 2016, $11 in 2017, $12 in 2018, and to a final minimum wage of $13 by 2019. Over five years, it will increase the earnings for approximately 410,000 Chicago workers, inject $860 million into the local economy, and lift 70,000 workers out of poverty.

“Today, more than 200,000 workers in the City of Chicago will receive a much needed raise, an essential step in making sure that hard work pays off for all of our residents,” said Mayor Emanuel. “If you work hard in the City of Chicago, you should be able to afford to live here and raise your children here.”